Toby’s Estate Espresso School & Cafe

I love this quiet little spot on the corner of Church and williams st.
It’s a chain, sure. But the spirit is kept really simple and friendly. The coffee is pretty great and the breakfast options make it quite worth the trip.
Also, free wifi. Which is not really common. Great little spot to do some work while having some joe.
COOKIES are also great. And fattening. Lets get fat.
Another great aspect is that it’s actually a school. You can learn different coffee processes and how to be a barista.

I get the impression this is a coffee place, but for a tea drinker, it sucked. And it’s quite hard to fuck up tea really. Weak tea, no tray, small metal pot. The pot was ok actually but a cute or ceramic pot might have made things a bit better. I actually won’t be going back based on this.

Wow, this is such a great find on the strange side of Crown Street. Sure it’s a Toby’s, so you can rely on consistently good coffee, but what makes this place different is the learning atmosphere. Rather than the «we currently do it, and will always do it best» mentality, the staff here is open about the fact that they’re continually refining, tweaking, experimenting on industry trends and knowledge and doing everything they can to serve you up something delicious every time.
If none of the above excites you, perhaps you’ll like knowing that there’s a large seating (read: working) area in the back that’s never crowded and the place has mildly-​reliable free wifi.

Love it here, Good coffee & tea. Very friendly staff. Breakfast is fresh and yummy. We go there for coffee /​tea most Sunday mornings and they are happy to split a fresh apple juice into to 2 take away cups for our daughters

One can assume that a coffee from an espresso school is going to be quality. After all, you lead by example and no one wants to learn how to make a shitty coffee.
However, as I’ve learnt from sampling two of Toby’s cafes (their Broadway shop and the new 80 Bay café), quality does vary. The coffee’s I’ve had at 80 Bay have been outstanding, whilst the Broadway shop has churned out mixed results. As for Wooloomooloo’s contestant? Not bad. Not bad at all.
Again, this Toby’s Estate shop is different to the two previously mentioned. Wooloomooloo’s shop is much smaller, its walls decorated with a scrawled wallpaper of coffee blenders, filters, jugs, group holders and espresso machines. A couple of tables sit on the footpath outside the café, and these overlook Wooloomooloo’s trademark urban art.
The menu here is a blend of the two, with a succinct selection of sandwiches (also displayed in their mini fridge) and an affordable and tempting brekky menu. Their menu also outlines their traditional ice coffee ingredients (ice, condensed milk, cold milk and double ristretto — $ 3.80) and their filter coffee (brewed at 94’C over 3 minutes, resulting in a rich, clean and sweet brew — $ 5). They also sell a range of whole and ground beans to take home (although the selection here isn’t as wide as at their Broadway shop).
The coffee is robust and comes out quick — no dilly dallying here, as Toby’s School teaches to make that coffee good and make that coffee fast. Food comes fast, you’re served quickly and students of Toby’s School rush in and out of the shop like they’re chasing the clock, fuelled by the very coffee they’re perfecting. Haunted by a phrase I’d heard a week or two ago which likened the way one makes coffee to the way one makes love, my Wooloomooloo rendezvous with Toby’s Estate was fine-​tuned and fast as lightening and damn was it satisfying.