Growers Espresso

I was pleasantly surprised by this cafe, which I'd been curious about for a while, as they serve Australian-grown coffee, which is still unusual.
My espresso was excellent, a good length and nicely balanced.
I was more surprised by my muesli, which is not something I ever rave about, but this time, served with stewed rhubarb, and a great yoghurt, it was superb. The breakfast menu has a good range of other offerings, and the decor is pretty slick, as well as very capable staff. A good all rounder.
While I was in, a lot of locals were coming to buy coffee for home, and get it ground, which is...

In my opinion, Growers is the best in Melbourne. Sure I've been to Axil, Seven Seeds, Brother Baba etc, but I find the simplicity and ability to be somewhat removed from that "scene" an endearing quality, not to mention the coffee. the coffee is always good, really good. I love the beans, and the staff are really friendly (maybe that is because I'm a local and have got to know Hamish well - just take him some toffee pops and he'll be your friend). They've made some recent changes inside and there's a second, espresso only machine, which is apparently good (I don't know about the hardware).

The service and staff was a bit flat when I dropped in. I suspect they were coming down from a coffee high. Coffee was well made, but lackluster. I have heard good things through the grape vine, so I will be back to try again. I love the Australian grown focus -- you wont find much of that in Melbourne. They are also have introduced single orgins.