Order Coffee in Perth

Sometimes when faced by the bewildering number of coffees on the menu board at cafes in Perth, it’s easy to bug out and just order the first thing on the menu. We thought we’d help guide travellers (and locals) through the intricacies of ordering a coffee, and point out some of our favourite places to get a caffeine fix. It’s the LP guide to coffee in Perth. Cheers.

Coffee Cup

Types of Coffee

Espresso (Short Black)

A single shot of strong black coffee, ideally with a thick reddish-brown foam, crema, floating on top, and served in a small demitasse cup.

Long Black

A long black is a double-shot of espresso pulled over hot water so as not to disturb the thick crema of the espresso, and served in a long glass.

Cappuccino (Cap)

“The Cap” is an Aussie icon. Made with espresso, hot milk, and milk foam with a sprinkle of chocolate powder on top, it’s been the default take-away coffee in Australia for decades. Long before double-shot lattes, frappes, and flavoured infusions made their presence felt, the cappuccino was available from just about anywhere that served hot drinks. Indeed, most road-side eateries with week-old food simmering in a bain-marie will still be able to whip up a fresh cappuccino with thick, chocolate-sprinkled foam.

Latte (Caffe Latte)

A Latte is a shot of espresso that has been poured into a long glass and filled with steamed milk. It’s then topped off with foamed milk.

Flat White

An Australian original, the flat white is made in the same way as a latte, but served with slightly less foam in a china cup.

Long Macchiato (Long Mac)

This is one of the few coffee orders that will differ greatly depending on the coffee shop you order from. Most trained barista will serve you an Italian-style long mac: a double shot of espresso with a small amount of milk floated on top. Also common is a double shot of espresso in a long glass which is then filled to the brim with heated milk. Try your luck, or ask before you order.

Short Macchiato (Short Mac)

A short black served in a small glass or demitasse cup, with a dash of cold milk added.

Affogato

A shot of espresso poured over a scoop of vanilla ice-cream. Great for those with a sweet tooth!

Anything else?

If you’re feeling health-conscious, add “skinny” to the front of any order (“Skinny latte, thanks) to have it made with skim milk. Likewise, “Low-fat” will ensure you get low-fat milk. Most coffee shops also offer soy milk these days, just ask when you order.

For those visiting from overseas, in Australia the French Press is referred to as a “Plunger”. Asking for a French Press will likely elicit blank looks; ask for “plunger coffee”. Americano is also unfamiliar to most Australians.

Illy at height

The Best Coffee in Perth

There’s a lot of great coffee to be had in Perth, here’s a couple of our favourites.

Tiger, Tiger is hidden away, just off Murray St in town. Here’s a great review on Abstract Gourmet.

ExoMod at 615 Beaufort St, Mount Lawley (opposite Planet books) has great coffee, free-wifi, and is super for people-watching on Beaufort St. Try their one litre mega-coffee if you dare. They also have a loyalty card that lets you get your eighth coffee free.

Infusion is in Plaza Arcade in the city and if you’re walking up the arcade you’ll smell it before you see it. They sell all the usual coffees, and also flavoured coffee, biscuits and nougat. There’s not a huge amount of space, but there’s free wifi, plenty of flyers for upcoming music events and a great vibe.

If you’ve got any favourites we’ve missed, let us know in the comments.

Corporate Culture

For those travellers wanting a shot of corporate culture, Starbucks hasn’t yet made its presence felt in Perth, but the Gloria Jean chains are slowly worming their way into shopping centres around Perth. The largest is inside the Borders bookstore opposite David Jones on Murray St. For a slightly more home-grown corporate alternative, try one of the many Dome or Cino to Go franchises scattered around the city.

Free Wifi in Perth

If you’re looking for free-wifi, there’s a map of hotspots in Perth on Hotspotr and Whirlpool has this list of free wifi hotspots for Australia. Two areas of note are the Mount Lawley strip: Exomod, Caffissimo and Pony Club, and the Fremantle South Terrace area.

Coffee Blogging in Perth

We’ll add these as we come across them:

  • Cafe Grendel – “is mostly about coffee, about making coffee and drinking coffee. Thus it covers a broad spectrum of life because after all, life is what happens between each coffee.”

Elsewhere in Australia

If you’re in Melbourne, the Melbourne Coffee Review has hundreds of reviews of coffee shops in Melbourne and a neat “3 bean” rating system. Elsewhere, Ozi Barista is certainly passionate about coffee and has notes on coffee making Australia-wide.


Posted by Dan (Apr 27, 07:03 pm). Posted in

17 Comments for Order Coffee in Perth

  1. hey everyone there is a new cafe opened up on sleat road in applecross….. ditto espresso bar …great coffee i believe they have thier own blend and roasted fresh in perth….. friendly place to eat too

    michael · May 18, 10:12 pm

  2. they also have wifi too and

    michael · Jun 3, 08:25 pm

  3. Black Toms in West Perth do great coffee (good specials with muffins cakes etc too!) and they have WiFi. Looks really nice now it has been refurbished

    simon · Apr 6, 12:32 pm

  4. Hey nice review! Just would like to give some advice to the Japanese people here in Perth. Firstly forget about the mentioned Gloria Jeans…its so over priced coffee and under-trained staff!!
    Don’t forget to walk down Oxford Street in Leederville (like a 2 min walk from the train station) where you will come across some nice cafes and two very cute clothes shops the J-girls adore ;) And my tip is the one with the orange sign…it has the best berry cheesecake in Perth!!
    If heading out Freo way, ssooo forgot the Cappuccino Strip (South Terrace) Its so over rated and the coffee, food and service is bad…a victim of its popularity!!! My little hot tip is in Henry Street near The Esplanade called ‘Moore & Moore’..I’ve seen two J-ladies working there and you can tell they really enjoy working there! It closes at 4pm with last orders @ 3pm so be warned!
    Also don’t forget Subiaco, which contains a few different cafes to suit your style. It also contains my favourite cafe but I’m not going to tell you that because it is hard to find, small and always crowded…sorry about that (unless you meet me cause I take all my friends there)
    I always enjoy Cino-to-Go which have Frooties and White Choc Mochas :D
    And yeh Tiger Tiger in Perth is always good

    Andy · Apr 8, 09:26 pm

  5. hey everyone i have just opened up another cafe in east freo… more of a book cafe with gluten free food all day breakfast mon – sat 7-4…. perfect coffee everytime… NOW that is a big call however if its not me there making your coffee which is 99.99999999 percent of the time then my bro wil be there…i use a local coffee called fiori which im sure everyone knows by now… i been making coffee for over 10 years so im sure you will get the coffee how you prefer best… just came back from melbourne yesterday and full of new ideas and inspiration… chinotto cafe is the name…. silas street east freo… oh if you like books i have many many many to read and purchase with lounges to sit on and 2 alfrescos to choose from….. ciao

    michael · May 18, 06:38 pm

  6. In the city, on King St you’ll find Velvet. Great coffee, perhaps the best in Perth.

    Tim · Dec 10, 10:09 am

  7. dont forget to checkout sites like www.perthcoffeescape.com

    mia · Mar 20, 08:20 pm

  8. Come on Andy, tell everyone about Boucla on Rokeby Rd :-) They really make a great bev. Also a fan of Cimbalino (city, Cott, Dalkeith), and Milkd in North Perth which has a certain charm to its contemporary styling. +1 for Velvet and Tiger Tiger too.

    Coffee newby · Jun 12, 05:45 pm

  9. Hey
    I will be working in West Perth next week and staying in Murray street but last time I stayed I couldn’t find good coffee at all. I resisted Dome because I thought it would be very run of the mill, people suggested Epic but I found it to be bland and not at all bitter, any suggestions?

    Melinda · Jun 25, 11:54 am

  10. Hi coffee lovers. I want to offer my Walk Up Cafe for you to try and leave a honest opinion. Of course i can tell you how great our coffee is… i can tell you i printed a banner that says “great coffee or its free” not as a promotion, but as our promise to every customer and for every cup. Need i tell you about our hand made pies, s/rolls and traditional croissants. Yep they are the ones that you take three days to make! We use a local roast coffee, we pride ourselves in nothing artificial and fresh bake every day! Not a reheat but a BAKE!. We are on the Cnr of Solomon Rd and Armadale Rd Atwell on the Gull service station. Come say hi to Woogi Too!

    Woogi Too · Jul 10, 10:31 pm

  11. Its a shame such nice sites like this get little attention in a place like Perth. We are cultured mob over here, we enjoy our food and have great examples of wine, cheese, coffee, chocolate, seafood and so on.. its all here!

    So come on Perthians or is that Perthites? use these forums and express your views of local produce and suppliers. Go out and try the food and wine and coffee.. come meet me in person .. Woogi Too and try my great coffee or its free promise..

    DOnt be shy!

    Woogi Too · Aug 25, 11:56 am

  12. Can’t argue with a money-back guarantee! To be honest, I’m a CBD worker and my fave is Ristretto.

    johnnygun · Sep 2, 08:36 pm

  13. Hi Johnnygun,

    Yep we know what and how to extract the ristretto! so dont be a stranger and next time your rolling down the fwy on a Sat am wonder into the Walk Up Cafe. I dont have a promotion … i have a promise of great coffee or its free! And we produce our own hand made pies, pastries and the world famous Woogi Puffs!

    Woogi Too · Sep 14, 12:30 pm

  14. What a Shame.. coffee customers are not motivated enough to write reviews on these forums.. The last review was mine over one month ago… Please customer tell us where you like to have that cuppa joe and dont be shy, list it on all forums lets build a Perth coffee culture through these sites that are put up and maintained by passionate people

    Woogi Too · Oct 25, 11:36 am

  15. In my opinion, one of the best coffees I’ve had in Perth is at Radi8 Espresso, Shop 7 Piccadilly Arcade Perth City. Excellent bean, excellent equipment and great barista. check them out at www.radi8espressso.com.au if you want.

    CoffeeLoverPerth · Mar 9, 03:12 pm

  16. I work in the CBD, love my morning coffee at whichever cafe I feel like that day, and love Perth.

    What I dont love is queues, some of my fave cafes can make me wait 20-30 minutes if I arrive at the wrong time. I asked one cafe(wont mention their name) if they considered options to make it easier for customers to preorder, like mobile ordering or txt etc. The answer was no(almost to the point of shuffling me out the door), they liked to have the queue there, it made them feel good, and they liked it looking busy.

    My advice to them is, your not Apple, there is not only ONE store in Perth, we will NOT wait in line all night for YOUR coffee. Listen to your customers, they all want a coffee, not a queue. With winter coming, some of the streetside Cafes are going to be making their customers wait on the footpath in the cold wind for their orders.

    So I made COffeeRunnr, a mobile orders app for coffee, like Mooba, that lets people like ME, order my coffee from work or the train in, so the cafe can receive it via SMS, email, realtime iPad app and let me know when its done.

    Let me order online, tell me when its going to be ready, learn some customer service.

    LOVE COFFEE, NOT QUEUES.
    coffeerunnr.com

    Patrick · May 15, 01:24 am

  17. Woogi Espresso.. Open now! Espresso and Sandwich cafe.. Great coffee or its free and daily fresh Woogi made sambos. International House Arcade 26 St Georges Terrace.. Come try us .. (Formally known as Woogi Walk up Cafe)

    See you soon.

    Woogi Too · Nov 2, 09:21 pm

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