A Coffee at a Carnival - Southbank, QLD

D: This coffee was had in the most unusual of places, a random carnival that had come to Southbank. I was with a friend and we gave their little cafe a go on the 23rd of September 2009.

Their coffees were $3.50 each and came in paper cups as expected. They were however made very quickly, and ended up tasting quite good.

The froth was thick and covered in lots of chocolate sprinkle, and the coffee itself was not too bitter. I still added 2 sugars but rather enjoyed this one.

I give this coffee: 8.5/15

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Gloria Jeans - Carindale, QLD

D: This coffee was definitely very necessary on the particularly sleepy day of the 14th of September, so we thought we'd give Gloria Jeans a try.

Firstly I was suprised that the coffees were served in paper takeaway cups when we were having them in the cafe, and we weren't actually asked if it was take away or have in. They weren't brought out to us either, even though the store was hardly busy. Their small coffees cost $3.45 each.

The presentation was different to the usual coffee sprinkle, this time with a nice few stripes across the froth.

The taste in my opinion was pretty average, if anything, a little strong, needing 2 sugars.

I give this coffee 8.5 out of 15.

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K: It was a sleepy afternoon when D and I to stumbled into the Gloria Jeans at Carindale. I was hoping for a strong coffee to shake my tiredness, so thank goodness for once my wishes came true. The coffee was strong, one sugar making it pretty damn good by my standards, and the presentation was simple but effective. Perhaps it was just because I really needed a caffeine hit, maybe I was just enjoying the company of my sleepy companion, or maybe they're really not too bad at doing their jobs, but I found this experience to be pretty good - 9/15

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Beard Papas - Garden City, QLD

D: I would never have thought to try coffee from this place but I saw a poster for an offer that seemed too good to pass up - A coffee and 2 mini cream puffs for $3.95. So we gave it a go.

As you would imagine, this coffee scores points for its value. Beard Papa's coffees cost just $3.00 normally, and for an extra 95c we got cream puffs as well - which were pretty nice too.

The coffee itself wasn't awesome, but wasn't terrible either. The froth was below the lip of the cup but was still thick and the choclate sprinkle added a very nice chocolately flavour.The coffee lost points due to the spilled chocolate sprinkle all over the saucer however. I added 3 sugars to this cup and thought the taste was pretty average.

Overall, I give this coffee: 10.5 out of 15.

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K: As a student it is hard to turn down any deal that provides both a coffee and snack for under $4.00, so when we saw this deal at Beard Papas in Garden City we really couldn't just walk away. The coffee itself was pretty good for the price. The froth wasn't disappointing, with the sprinkle on top though messy quite nice and sweet. One sugar was enough for me to enjoy the coffee, which was rather standard - not too strong, not too watery. The added bonus of the mini cream puffs and the cheap price were clever distractions from this ordinariness, making it a nice caffeine hit on the run - even if it could've been a bit stronger - 8.5/15

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Kate's Instant Coffee, Kate's House

D: Kate was kind enough to offer me a coffee on a particularly sleepy day, and I must say, for presentation, she went over and above expectation.

So the coffee was instant coffee, so there was no froth, but Kate more than compensated with her bright and colourful floral arrangement around the mug.

The taste was average instant coffee taste, but the service was smiley and friendly and as for value, you can't beat FREE!! So I give Kate's coffee 12/15.

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Donut King - Capalaba, QLD

D: Donut King has just released a new type of coffee - 'Royal Bean' and claims something like, 'any better, and it would be illegal'. They are also promoting their new coffee with a rewards card that has one free coffee on it to get you started. So given this little incentive, we found ourselves trying a Donut King cappucino with a lot to live up to.

Honestly, I really don't understand their slogan with this new coffee. Regardless of taste, does it really make sense anyway?

The price for a small cappucino was $3.40, which wasn't bad, especially since they were offering us a free one as well. The coffee itself was fairly strong, I added 2 sugars and found the taste to be pretty average. Presentation wasn't much either, I guess I can't really say much about the appearance of a coffee in a Donut King mug....but nevertheless, the froth was nice and frothy. Overall, I give this coffee 7.5 out of 15.

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K: As I sit here thinking about the coffee I drank at Donut King, I'm left lost for words. Not because it was an amazing coffee, not because it was terrible even - it was just very easy to forget. The taste was pretty standard, not too strong, not too weak...the froth was pretty standard, not too thin, not too thick...so overall, you guessed it - one pretty standard, not very exciting but reasonably priced coffee - 6.5/15

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The Garage - South Bank, QLD

D: A mid-afternoon wake up call that didn't disappoint. $3.00 - the cheapest I've come across thus far, is all they charge for their regular cappucinos, and they don't taste bad either. The coffee was brought out to me, which is a luxury you don't always receive from many coffee shops. Yes, it arrived with a small spill on the side, but i've been given coffees at the counter that have been spilled worse. The presentation wasn't spectacular but there was a fair bit of chocolate spinkle on some thick and decent froth. The taste was pleasing, only needing 2 sugars, and gave me that nice coffee buzz. I give this coffee 12 out of 15.

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Michel's Patisserie - Garden City, QLD

D: Michel's Patisserie at Garden City offers a deal every morning between 9am and 11am - buy a coffee, and get a free fruit scone or piece of raisin toast. The offer only stands when you buy a medium sized coffee, so this coffee was a little more expensive than our usual 'small' cappucino, but the freebies were worth it.

So we purchased a couple of cappucinos, one with a free scone and the other was a free one I could redeem from my loyalty card. Gotta love freebies. The one coffee I paid for cost me $3.90.

So the coffee itself was pretty average. It had decent froth, a plain sprinkle of chocolate and was very strong. This may be a good thing for some coffee lovers, but for me, I put in 3 sugars and still found the taste to be too bitter. The scone was average too, but it came with jam and (fake) cream which I thought was a nice little addition.

Overall, I give this coffee 5 out of 15.

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K: This was one of the stronger tasting coffees I've had in a while - which was a nice surprise considering the barely flavoured water I've tasted of late for the sake of blogging. Though somehow my froth, despite the chocolate sprinkled hastily across it, was immensely bitter - a strange and unexpected taste that I couldn't really enjoy. Regardless, the coffee itself was pretty standard and of decent value - 6.5/15

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Muffin Break - Carindale, QLD

D: Bleh. I don't know about their muffins, but Muffin Break at Carindale really doesn't even try when it comes to their coffees.

$3.70 for a small cappuccino was definitely too much for this bland drink, which was given to us spilled (with no apology or attempt to clean up.) There was no effort in presentation with just a pathetic chocolate sprinkle on top of thin froth. I added 2 sugars to this concoction and found the taste to be bland and unsatisfying.

The only thing that was not terrible about this coffee experience was that we were offered the choice of skim or full cream milk at no extra charge.

I give this coffee a rating of 3 out of a possible 15.
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K:

What can I say really? I wanted to be surprised with good service and a great coffee, but my cynical self was just proven right again. For $3.70 I purchased hot flavoured water with traces of froth. Yay.

I really can't elaborate more than that - my bland coffee just left me wishing I'd saved my change - 2/15.

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