"Got Gumption? This bite-size coffee stand in the Victorian-era Strand Arcade building downtown is perfect for a midday lift. Run by the team behind Coffee Alchemy in Marrickville, Gumption serves coffee and only coffee (no food). Six single-origin bean varieties are on offer, three of them filtered hot, the other three dripped cold and served over ice. Don't think about asking for milk, though, unless you mean a steamed drink. They'll deny you. The staff is not snobby, just matter-of-fact. The coffees come small and extremely drinkable—even for dairy lovers."

"Surry Hills' Caffeine Lab Brace yourself; this is not your typical java joint. The futuristic space—which features a slanted concrete floor, caged lights that run the length of the ceiling, and the outline of a comic strip on a solid black wall—looks like it could be Batman's driveway. Instead it's owner Simon Jaramillo's coffee lab, or reform school if you will. A fourth-generation Colombian coffee farmer and an overt Joker fanatic, Jaramillo aims to change (or at least aid) the public's understanding of coffee. This means tasting notes are written on the chalkboard beneath the coffee's name, and customers are invited to ask questions about the high-tech filter cones, chemex vessels, the spacey looking cold-brew contraption, and the custom espresso machine imported from Italy. Each style of coffee is also served a different way. Flat whites arrive in a mug with a diagonal-cut opening to enhance the aroma; the signature cold drip is delivered in test tubes, well, just for fun. For even more fun, ask Jaramillo about the cupping and roasting classes he runs in Botany Bay."

"The Grounds café—run out of a former pie factory in the warehouse district of Alexandria—makes coffee, juices, smoothies, baked goods, and rustic breakfast and lunch dishes with equal care. Order a flat white (a cross between a cappuccino and a latte) or a piccolo (a mini latte)—there’s also a coffee tasting board and a deconstructed iced coffee—to pair with your seasonal porridge or Big Brekkie (spicy chorizo and serrano ham with braised white beans, smoked peppers, halloumi, avocado, poached eggs, and thick slabs of house-baked toast). After brekkie, peek into the roastery and Potting Shed restaurant next door, and admire the enchanting garden and event space, complete with a coffee cart, barbecue joint, plant stall, and petting zoo."

"Brews and Brunch Opened in a brick-walled space that used to be a favorite local bookstore, Brewtown is the latest venture by Simon Triggs and Charles Cameron, who met while working as managers for the coffee company Toby Estate. The coffee is what you'd expect from two industry veterans—well-executed espresso drinks made using a computerized machine and filter coffee served hot, brewed, or cold and poured from a tap. But the food is somewhat surprising for a small, coffee-focused place. For breakfast, there's polenta with mushrooms and poached eggs, beet-cured trout served on rye toast that's smattered with avocado and feta, and house-made "cronuts"—a cross between a doughnut and a croissant, imported from New York and earning a cult following here. There's also a retail space run by Triggs' wife upstairs, which has plans for an affogato bar."

"Single O Launched in Surry Hills in 2003 under the name Single Origin Roasters, this coffee company quickly received the Aussie shortening treatment and became known simply as Single O. While most Sydneysiders now understand what single-origin coffee means—beans originating from a single lot, farm, or location—that wasn’t the case when the café first debuted its filter bar to demonstrate V60 and AeroPress coffee to the masses. The original Surry Hills location also offers food items, from vegemite on toast and banana bread with espresso butter to a brisket roll for which the meat is rubbed in coffee and slow cooked for a day. Save room for the single-origin affogato, perfectly paired with Cow & Moon gelato."

"Coffee Concept Café A new addition to the old Paramount studios building—also occupied by the Golden Age Cinema and Bar downstairs—the Paramount Coffee Project is just as its name suggests. It's a concept café that sources great beans from all over the world and serves patrons the latest in coffee geekery. The place looks more like an airy French bistro than a testing grounds for proper extraction and dripping, but hey, why not have your coffee and eat great food too? In this case, you should eat the waffle with dulce de leche, toasted hazelnuts, and peanut butter ice cream. Unlike most Sydney cafés, the PCP doesn't have a loyalty with any one roaster; the staff tries beans processed all over Australia and constantly brings in new favorites. They also bring in their favorite coffee companies from overseas (the Coffee Collective from Denmark, Glanville & Babinski from Los Angeles ) to do weeklong café takeovers. Follow these guys on Facebook to keep up with what's next."

"Coffee Doesn't Get Much Cooler In a converted warehouse decked out with white and blue tiles and colored LED light strips, Reuben Hills prepares house-roasted, single-origin coffee three ways (filter, cold-brew, and espresso) and hosts cupping and tasting sessions every Friday at 10 a.m. The food is java-focused, too, inspired by buying trips to Central and South America. Menu staples include eggs with queso fresco and black beans, sopapillas , torta ahogada , and a spiced grilled chicken sandwich with tomatillo salsa (pictured). For non-coffee drinkers, there are fresh juice blends, Mexican Coke, and some seriously tempting milkshakes."

"Sydney Coffee King What started in 2002 as a little café tucked into a Newtown laneway, Campos has become one of the biggest household names in Australian specialty coffee. The company's success stems from its simple but ambitious mission: to buy, roast and serve the finest quality coffee. Today, the Campos menu rotates more than 10 direct-trade coffee varieties grown in nine regions around the world. The café continues to experiment with beans, machines, and barista techniques to maintain its order pace of hundreds of coffees per hour. Now operating in Queensland and Melbourne as well as Sydney , Campos has recently introduced cupping classes Thursday through Saturday held in a dark upstairs lounge above the Newtown location. Customers pay $30 to compare five coffee varieties from different regions and learn the different processing and preparation styles. Sydney's newest Campos café in the Alexandria neighborhood features a siphon bar that only serves select single origin coffees."