Barista Breakfast at Nelson Cafe, Box Hill, Melbourne

Rise and grind it's coffee time!

Nelson  was a surprise find on a recent trip to Melbourne. Located near the Box Hill hospital, the RSL club and an Avani Hotel; the cafe is positioned well to serve customers visiting those sites. The cafe is a modern affair, with white subway tiles lining the food display while the flooring matches the tone with exposed concrete. Aggregate marble table tops completed the cool vibe and industrial theme and the small purple posies softened the cafe's appeal giving the gift of colour against the grey. But it was the coffee that stole to show, my flat white gave a perfect kick start to the morning, it was rich, smooth and came with cool art. As expected there was a full range of coffee on the menu but it was the Barista Breakfast that was a nice surprise and had me bouncing around for the rest of day.

The coffee tasting tray

The Barista Breakfast appeared on the menu as an alternative coffee option and it was obviously there for the die hard coffee fan. The coffee tasting tray offered 3 coffee styles to experience including an espresso extraction and a milk based coffee. A batch brew filtered coffee was the third taste. The barista explained they made enough batch brew to serve hot but then chilled a further amount that was used for chilled coffees. Each coffee showcased one of Inglewood's coffee bean range. (Inglewood is a leading Melbourne roaster located in the suburb of Mt Waverley).  The coffees were presented on a white ceramic platter along with a brewing card that gave additional information about the bean origin, the new technique and tasting notes. A small glass of soda was served on the platter. I asked the barista about the soda and she said it was common for Italians to drink sparkling water with their coffee to cleanse their palate so they could appreciate coffee's aromatic intensity and flavour.

Quick coffee facts

BATCH BREW is an automatic method for making large quantities of filter coffee.  The batch brew machine uses paper filters to hold ground coffee. The machine releases hot water into the filter and as the coffee brews it is collected in a glass pot.

ESPRESSO is a short coffee made by using high pressure to force hot water through fine ground coffee.

ORIGIN makes reference to the country, region or farm where the coffee bean has been grown and processed.

BLEND is a combination of two or more different coffee beans from different origins.  Roasters select beans from different origins to develop flavours that a single origin bean may not be able to offer.

ROASTING is where green beans are heated to remove moisture and bring out their flavour and aroma of the bean.

Nelson: bright, tasteful ... and tasty!

Organisation and structure with a little style

The service at Nelson was extremely professional, the staff were friendly and nothing was too much trouble. They dealt with dietary requests gracefully and related back orders to check for understanding. The crew appeared to work well together as a team and their organisation was further demonstrated by the neat and structured waiters station. The area was positioned at good height  with no cupboards or drawers to navigate. Cutlery, menus, napkins, water and glassware were all sorted and neatly arranged for easy access. The point of sale was also positioned here to process orders.

Stephen's Take

Unit of Competency Mapping

Please note; the purpose of this article is to introduce current hospitality trends. The content broadly applies to the units of competency listed. It is not intended that all content in this article maps directly to all performance evidence and knowledge evidence in the unit of competency.

Article and photos original by Stephen Duncan