Bean Drinking

The beans are good but the barista effort is a bit spotty. I’ve had a few milky cappuccinos which is surprising when you realise I’d ordered a double shot regular drink. Also, be warned they’ve embraced the 68C espresso. It sometimes seems lukewarm which I really don’t like (I’m not one to like a steaming hot cup of joe but I also don’t like to feel like I need to slug down the coffee before it cools too much).

Visited on a very busy Saturday morning. Staff were friendly and very quick with our orders. There is no table service as such, you order and pay at the counter.
Coffee was strong and hot. Lots of different types to try.
Food was good but far to expensive. $ 30 for 2 coffees and toast (one w/​avocado)
I had the fruit toast but next time would definitely try avo smash on toast, it looked amazing.
Great location not too busy with lots of sunlight in outside seating.

Great coffee here. They accommodated our request for an iced latte even though it is not in the menu. Nice location, lots of outdoor seatings and good place for catch up with friends.

Sooo there’s argument to suggest El Nino wont be gracing us with his presence this year however I beg to differ — exhibit 1 — weather causing major havoc to my coffee habit these last couple of weeks. Bean Drinking … you saved us!
Oh boy do these guys know their coffee? I must have shot them in excess of 20 questions one after the other all answered without batting an eyelid. Bean Drinking? More like Bean Tasting — they offered a number of single origin samples to try. both hot and cold — the time spent showing me their pretty impressive lab was truly a testament to their passion and service they provide to not just their regulars but to every customer walking through their doors. Given the day I popped in was hot as buggery, I was looking for a cold drip … there it was glistening in all its 10hr dripping glory. Oh but it didnt stop there, they had a cold brew too … so out come the samples to try … the drip (the winner) was sweet, fruity (blueberry to be specific) a cool punch to finish it off — just a real pleasure to drink.
I walked out of there a few shades cooler than the sun, armed with a bag of their Columbian caturra beans perfect for a home-​made drip, espresso or press (little to no milk).

If you read anything I write — if James F has gone there and loves it, it is certain to be a good thing. And yes, James came here and it was a great thing.
So Bean Drinking is not only a café, but they roast their own beans right on the premises, and so they love their coffee. More importantly, the staff here is more than willing to answer any questions, and make heaps of suggestions for your coffee drinking delight.
To top off the experience here, the food is brilliant. I came here for breakfast. The cherry and raisin bread came with their personal homemade panela and cinnamon spiced butter, which was one of the most amazing things I have ever tried. And yes, I made sure I ordered more.
The only problem with this place is that it is small — so thank the Lord that I came early, because there were a lot of people who could not get a place to sit.

Great coffee, nice spot but… There’s one member of staff and I’ve giving him a second chance only to be disappointed further more. I’m not sure if he is aware but I find him incredibly rude no smiles zero help corrected my coffee terms all out quite horrible. Left me feeling flat. I’m a friendly happy person and I believe costumer service is paramount! There used to be a very cool friendly staff there what happened? Sorry but I’ll get my latte elsewhere!

Great coffee, nice atmosphere, friendly service.

Delicious coffee, amongst the best in town. Would benefit from more seating. But on a sunny morning you can sit on the grassed area out the front and soak up the warmth.
The food is good, although the coffee is the stand out here. Great pick me up on a lazy weekend.

We came to this place because it’s listed in SMH’s good food guide. The coffee was great but the staff were not as informative as we wished. We asked what coffees they recommend. The attendant asked what kind of drink. When we said long black, he told us to try their blend but didn’t say what blend it was. We enjoyed the coffee a lot but we didn’t know what it was.

Coffee: Bean Drinking
Passion: ⁹⁄₁₀
Crema: ⁹⁄₁₀
Walk into a café that does its own roasting and you are on the right track. Go into a café that has a separate machine, in this case a Slayer, then you’ve done extremely well. When this café also has multiple single origin coffees on the go, you’ve arrived.
Around this area, this is an easy café to recommend. I love the passion they have for awesome coffee and the attention to service they obviously pride themselves with.
While I was not blown away with the Kiaragana Peaberry, neither was it disappointing. This would make an awesome «sit at home on your balcony and enjoy a weekend morning» coffee. It was smooth and robust, but as a single origin, it just didn’t jump out and say «here I am».
So to ensure I finished on a great note, I got them to warm up the slayer and pop out a Kenyan Tegu espresso (on a dash of hot water), and it was awesome. On par with the Honduras I had at Coffee Alchemy, this coffee was robust enough with a hit of a bright back-​note, but finished cleanly. All in all it was an enjoyable experience which is exactly what I look for in a great coffee.
So if you find your self in Crows Nest, or perhaps are trying to avoid the cafes in North Sydney, this place is a great option.
N.B.
They have public WiFi on offer.
No #powerwhoring available

Excellent coffee and really yummy food. Relaxed atmosphere with plenty of space in the outside area. One visit and it is already one of my favourites.

Tried this place a few weeks ago and what can you say about atrocious Customer Service? The people behind the counter obviously dont have a clue how to treat their customers. Firstly, the customer in front of me was accused for credit card fraud for using his wife (who was sitting at a table close by) card to pay for their drinks. Secondly, the manager embarrassingly continued talking about the incident to me after the customer had depearted. Thirdly, I had to wait 10 mins for my coffee which was average at best.

Cute place with good coffee and service.
Chai Lattes are excellent!

The coffee is excellent both in quality, preparation and variety. As are the very friendly and helpful staff.
Eschewing the limitations ofAustralian Standard espresso based coffee, Bean Drinking offers a number of new ways to experience the house roast along with a few very nice imports. I’d highly recommend starting with a pour over, the Rolls of filter coffee.
From there await such delights as a chilled cold drip extracted over 5 hours, a Japanese syphon preparation, the excellent Slayer Espresso or the tea like Cascara.
With a daily rotation if new coffee blends and single origins in combination with the many ways to enjoy them, there is always a reason to return.
Food is good but is well outclassed by the coffee, limited to more standard café fare as it is. To their credit even the staple cheese toastie is given an interesting twist with three cheeses, white wine, thyme and truffle oil reduction.
The ambience is pleasant, sitting in the sun watching Crows Nest pass by is a lovely way to spend a lazy Saturday morning.
Overall, highly recommended.

When I first walked past this place I was a little sceptical that they would do great coffee — something about the vibe of the place put me off. But after some tips from some locals I’ve returned here a couple of times, and have been pleasantly surprised by the coffee.
It varies a little, but some of the guys here seem quite passionate about their coffee, and more importantly the coffee seems to be fairly consistent. They have a range of beans available from around the world, or for your coffee in, on my last visit I went for the single origin bean (I believe from Guatemala?). Good taste, well made, all the usual caveats.
Another big plus — they have a wifi connection here! If you’ve read any of my other reviews you might notice this is a big thing for me, but I love to find a decent café where I can actually come and get some work done — something Sydney seems to lack (well, if you count wifi as necessary, which I do). The connection was not exceptional, but it met my needs well enough.

It’s always nice when a café prides itself in selling fair trade coffees. While Bean Drinking is a purveyor of sustainable drinks, what it is most known for is its Coffee Lab. Yes, you can apply your high school chemistry knowledge to creating a cup of Joe. Well, not quite. Inside the café, there is a Coffee Lab that is capable of using various brewing methods such as pour over, cold drip, and syphon, using the highest quality beans around. With this, the customer is exposed to how these brews differ in taste. In fact, this experience is more like wine tasting than anything else. The more you taste, the easier it is to distinguish the discrepancies among the brews.
Even if you want to stop by for a regular cappuccino, Bean Drinking maintains a solid reputation in having experienced baristas who seem to be more like artists than anything else. This café has a lot of personality, which makes it a nice place to lounge around for hours reading by oneself or socializing with others. Additionally, there’s also free Wi-​FI.

Bean Drinking is a coffee Micro Roaster and Espresso bar that specialize in environmentally friendly and sustainable coffee. And bean drinking they have. You know they are masters of coffee because they explain the art, the source and the technique to you. They roast in small batches rather than using large commercial machines.
I love going in to this coffee shop and seeing the influences of Guatemala, Cuba and the like splattered on the walls and heard in the music they play. As a traveller I knew these guys had been to these places and soaked up the vibes and brought them home to share… over a nice hot cuppa it turns out. The staff are all fun and cool though I didn’t like so much being told they can’t heat my soy milk extra hot as it will ruin the taste (I know it’s an art but I also know others have done it without burning my milk sister).
Fancy setting up your own brew bar? Bean drinking will provide you with training and supply you with single origins beans roasted specifically for pouring over, syphon, woodneck & cold drip brewing.

Ennie meanie minie mo. There are 4 different cafés right next to each other on the strip on Ernest St in Crows Nest and from the outside (except for Gloria Jeans) they all could have been great cafes. Luckily we walked into BEAN DRINKING. We sat in the corner on comfortable chairs as we read through the menu. After looking at it we began to realize that wait, this isn’t your ordinary café. These guys are serious about their coffee. Across the room was a coffee lab where you can sample different coffee making techniques and single origin beans. The coffee lab looked like a wine tasting bar and when I talked to the guy working there he used a few choice words to describe the aroma and taste like «floral, tart, rich and jam like flavors». The «Third Wave» as they call it. Letting the coffee speak for itself and taking it to a whole new level. They also have a rare espresso machine called the Slayer. The coffee was delicious and we bought a bag of single origin beans to take home. Not only was the coffee fantastic, but they also have free WiFi and great service!