Howdy Seven Seeds

Date: Sunday July 3rd
Where: Seven Seeds
Location: 106-114 Berkeley St, Carlton


Good coffee. Hard to come by, even harder to resist.


So, the Age Good Cafe Guide told me that a certain Seven Seeds Cafe was awarded 3 cups for its fine brew. Seven Seeds? I had heard of the name but quite frankly never took much notice...  Not sure why, I guess I like to stick to what I know...the likes of St Ali and Di Bella ensures I remain monogamous...for now. But on this particular Sunday, I decided to venture outside of my comfort zone and off I went with my partner in crime to a cafe lacking in good signage, hidden between construction zones and warehouse buildings. We were having real trouble locating this little coffee wonder until we spotted a couple holding what appeared to be coffee outside a run down building. Eureka! We have found the golden brew!


The interior is open and spacious, nothing you wouldn't expect from an old warehouse building. We waited in line for about 5 minutes with not a single hint of service. Wait staff would look at us, smile then walk away. No acknowledgement of our need for a table nor our yearning for a decent cuppa in the cold echoing building.


We finally got directed to a table, a share table with seating for around 10 people. 3 other parties were at the table....sipping away contently...reading magazines, checking their iPhones, diving into what looked like a chocolate cake. 


The food menu at Seven Seeds is by no means extensive. A couple of pressed sandwich options, a muesli I think and a house made baked bean special typed on a slip of paper and attached to the front of the menu. There were a few other dishes but they were pretty unmemorable which is probably why I have erased them from my memory. Coffee is clearly the golden child here....everything else act merely as an after thought. 


First things first, the coffee. I order the soy latte as per usual, the sweetness of the soy allows me to forego sugar while my boyfriend went for his typical strong latte. The coffees arrive swiftly...we admire the coffee art on my boyfriend's brew... some kinda leaf arrangement...nothing too special. The coffee art on mine was a little fuzzy and we couldn't make out what it was. Nonetheless we were there for the coffee and not to fuss over aesthetics. The coffee itself had a thick creamy layer of froth, just how a coffee should look.  The coffee was aromatic and creamy, not overly strong but with nice subtle flavours. It was easy on the palette and I could have easily downed several cups that afternoon. 


On to the food. My boyfriend and I both ordered the grandma ham pressed grain sandwich with a sweet tomato jam and some variety of cheese.  It was delicious. The cheese melted perfectly over the sweet tomato jam and the ham was juicy and succulent. I particularly enjoyed the gherkin which accompanied the sandwich...and seeing as my boy isn't much of a gherkin fan.... I got 2 for the price of 1. The side of pretzels was a little too American for my liking but I did entertain a couple of the crunchy goodness.


So all in all, great coffee and good hearty sandwiches. 


To queue or not to queue? - Queue!