Coffee Forest Hill

Melbourne's coffee baristas and roasters are among the most inventive, accomplished, and technical in the world. It almost seems as if there's a new brewing technique, a new gadget, or a shift in the idea of what good coffee is each passing month. The rest of the world seems to follow what we do, at least as far as coffee is concerned.

Whether you're working in Melbourne or just visiting, you're in luck because the city's coffee culture is unmatched. The fascination with delicious coffee in Melbourne started with the advent of Italian immigrants after the second world war. Since then, it has taken off. In fact, according to a survey done by Booking.com, Melbourne is the city with the world's best coffee, beating the likes of Vienna, Rome, and even Sydney.

If you are in search of the best coffee in Melbourne, this post is for you. The good thing about coffee is that you don't have to be a coffee sommelier to know the difference between good coffee and bad coffee. The good stuff will be delicious and help propel you through a slow day, while horrible coffee will just add to the blues of a lousy day.

The Coffee Scene in Forest Hill

Melbourne's coffee scene is quite hot, and lucky for us the city is one of the finest destinations in the world for coffee. It's home to award-winning roasts, global barista champions, and a world leader in coffee brewing techniques.

To help guide you to the best cup of coffee in town, we have sampled different coffee origins, sunk countless espressos, and sipped all of the house blends on offer. We can tell you that In a Nutshell Coffee is where you should get your next cup.

In a Nutshell Coffee: Overview

In a Nutshell Coffee was founded around three core values: excellence, community, and innovation. These values allow them to focus on what is most important for the community and help deliver the most fantastic cup of coffee while pushing for a more sustainable future.

The cafe has had its flag planted firmly in the Forest Hill coffee scene. It's home to some of the best coffee in Victoria, with single-origin, seasonal blend espresso and filter options from all over the world. Served with meticulous execution, the baristas make cup after cup of perfectly brewed coffee.

The cafe is without a doubt a great contender for the best coffee Melbourne has to offer. For anyone on the east side of the city grid, In a Nutshell Coffee Forest Hill is the place to go for a speciality brew. The natural light and pastel hues provide the perfect escape from the outside world, while the high coffee calibre, no matter if you prefer something milky or a filter, should help keep you appeased for the day ahead.

The Setting

The cafe has evolved over the years and this single destination store in Forest Hill has grown into an institution of coffee culture, packed with diners as white overalled waiters and baristas spin out cup after cup of perfectly brewed coffee. Drinking coffee feels fun here, and if you're looking for the best cup of coffee in town, the cafe has to be on your radar.

With a great location and convenient position at Forest Hill Chase, not to mention the abundant free parking, this coffee powerhouse is such a great spot and is known for being the best coffee cafe on both sides of the Yarra River.

It's the everyday home to a sleuth of loyal morning customers who are spread out across the region. While the atmosphere might feel a bit casual, their approach to coffee is anything but with a roaster inside, fulfilling the demands of customers. At the cafe, you can be sure that you will be greeted with smiles by baristas perched over the coffee machine.

While most establishments only give coffee their full attention, and rightfully so, the folks at In a Nutshell Coffee put equal thought to the cafe itself. The ambience has a warm, natural feel to it that everyone can appreciate.

One of their best-kept secrets, at least in their opinion, is that the team has carved out a name for themselves in the uber-competitive cafe culture around Melbourne by delivering an unpretentious brew that's loved for its rich and bold flavours.

The family-owned establishment doesn't sell single-origin coffee. You get to enjoy a taste of beans from all over the world. Their coffee comes from as far as Africa to South and Central America. This is great for those who like getting to know the story coffee tells about different geographical locations.

Melbourne's Best Coffee Beans for the Best Brews in Town

What about the coffee? Well, In a Nutshell Coffee Forest Hill exclusively uses the best beans for all their brews. These brews come in the form of espresso, cappuccino, filtered, or latte. If you're the kind of person who doesn't know about the inner workings of coffee brewing.

Like great alchemists, the baristas only choose the best coffee to brew the perfect cup. The coffee is sourced from different parts of the coffee-growing regions of the world, from Colombia to Kenya, as outlined below:

Guatemala Coffee

Guatemala coffee beans are quite large, and often difficult to get your hands on. Originating from Central America, these beans have an amazing flowery aroma with a delicate sweet cup. They are also low acidity, great quality, and look handsome when roasted light or dark. Guatemala beans are commonly regarded as some of the best coffees for their extremely smooth nature.

Kenyan Coffee

From a high altitude of over 4,000 feet, Kenyan beans have a characteristic sweet & nutty flavour and a high acidity. They are ideally light roast and low in caffeine.

Costarican Colombian Coffee

These are fine quality, medium acidity beans from Central America with a refined bourbon character and a full rich liquor profile.

Decaf Coffee

This is true Colombian coffee that is double washed using the natural Swiss Water Method to remove all the caffeine content and retain the original Colombian flavour.

Continental Coffee

This is flavoursome coffee with an underlying Santos taste. High roast with a very rich taste.

American Coffee

These have a subtle taste as required by conventional American coffee drinkers. The Maragogype medium roast makes the coffee very smooth.

Colombian Organic Excelso Coffee

This is toasty coffee with notes of Buttered Popcorn and Chocolate upfront. It has a soft Mandarin Acidity to it, with a finishing of sweet toffee and malt taste.

Their coffee spot is more than just an Australian coffee cafe. Their mission is to offer you a more holistic coffee experience. To them, this not only involves the variety and quality of the beverage itself, but also the overall service and experience.

In A Nutshell Coffee: The Menu

Colin opened his cafe in Forest Hill, and this is a great spot to try out his beans. The cafe is one of the city's most thriving and innovative coffee spots, whether you like cold brews, long blacks, cascara, batch brew, or bottled latte.

On the menu are 15 different coffee variants, along with batch brews, milk, pour-overs, and cups ranging from $5 to $25. Don't forget that the team takes their job rather seriously, and they will happily give you any coffee-related guidance you might need.

Check Out Their Coffee Menu

• Cappuccino
• Espresso
• Mocha
• Cafe Latte
• Vienna
• Carocino
• Short Macchiato
• Long Macchiato
• Affogato
• Baby Cino
• Flat White
• Short Black
• Italian Chocolate
• Latte
• Vanilla Chia Latte
• Green Matcha Latte
• Spiccy Chia Latte

Their house blend is the best seasonal coffee available, which makes them one of the best places to drink specialty coffee. Drop by their cafe for their famous house blend, just the way you like it. If you want some lunch or breakfast on the go, try out their gourmet sandwiches and tasty toasties, freshly made to order.

Be sure to also try out the sample of some of their flakey baked goods residing in the glass benchtop. Taking some coffee and pastry here is a true experience, with a great selection of delicious filter and espresso blends, which helped craft their creations into some of the best brews in Melbourne.

In a Nutshell Coffee Forest Hill - The Best Coffee in Melbourne

So, whenever you need a good cup of coffee on Forest Hill, be sure to check out In a Nutshell coffee shop, in the Chase shopping centre. The cafe is the mothership of a host of respected coffee brands and cafes, and it pumps out espresso and batch brews for everyone, from the hurried office workers to the lonely hearts and the celebrators looking for that long heart-to-heart session with their friend.

In a Nutshell Coffee sources its product from up to 30 different estates all over the world, including the less common locations like Indonesia. The coffee is  brewed with great care and attention to detail. This is perhaps the main reason why the place is growing in popularity.

Even for tourists, In a Nutshell Coffee Forest Hill is a great place to start if you want to experience what's all the rave about Melbourne's coffee scene. Be sure to try out their unique take on the cold drip and cold brew.