Klink Handmade Espresso Cafe - Sydney Australia

Sydney has never stop to amaze me. As I write each blog, i'm starting to worry on my next blog because I am not sure if I can constantly find gem like this every fortnight.

This fortnight blog is a request from my colleagues as a result of their curiosity. I worked in the Sydney CBD area and I attempt to go to as many cafes as possible just to try the cafe out. What really caught my colleagues and my attention for this cafe is the word "handmade" stamped on the takeaway cup. We were wondering what does the word handmade mean? Was the coffee hand roasted or was it this or was it that?

So here we go.

The above picture shows you the view of the cafe when you are walking towards it from Druitt Street. No signage, no tables or chairs, nothing... Now let me show you why it is called hole in the wall cafe

There you go, if you are planning to buy your takeaway coffee, that's the window where you can order your coffee. Prior to this interview, Klink to me was really just a "hole in the wall" type cafe. Never did I realize how wrong I was and that there is so much more character to this cafe than I thought.

Starting with the building, did you know that this building was built in 1891? It was originally constructed for the Clarence Street Police Station. When you visit the place today, you can still see the word "police" on the facade of the building.

Working with Gaffa which is an artist run space, Klink established himself in this historical site. As you would have expected a site of this historical value is also one of the listed site on the Sydney Heritage List.

Now for those of you that has only gone to this cafe for its takeaway, give yourself a chance to enjoy the space within! It is such an amazing spot, with so many choices to enjoy depending on your mood. You can choose to sit within the limited space near the espresso machine

Or perhaps you have some important matters to discuss and would like a bit of a hideaway spot

If you just feel like sitting around and have a chat, why not pick the area along the corridor and on a good day, you will get the sun shinning through the skylight. At the same time enjoy a glass of water, complimentary of Sydney Water (just kidding).

There are so much more to this area that I can go on and on about it, but I think is time to move on to the cafe after these final few photos of Gaffa.

Exhibits of the ground floor at the moment consist of a meeting room and a table tennis/ping pong room. According to the staff, these are all temporary and it will change, so if you want to play a game of table tennis, go before they remove it. The cost of the game is a gold coin donation to Gaffa.

 



Now let's move on to the interview
Cafe Name: Klink Handmade Espresso

What's the idea behind the cafe name?
There are 2 parts to the name
1. Klink (technically spelled as Clink according to dictionary.com) is  the sound of glass hitting one another making a light, sharp, ringing sound.

2. As introduced earlier, this cafe was built in a police station building. Klink is also a slang for jailhouse/prison. The only slight evidence in the interior of the building that might have gave an impression of a prison will be the bars.

Now to the word handmade. According to James, this is to illustrate the labor effort that is required in making a cup of coffee. Each cup of coffee is "handmade" by the barista at the machine. To push this concept further, even the logo on the takeaway cup is also hand stamp.

Coffee beans: Golden Cobra

Why this location?
Firstly, it was a collaboration with Gaffa and while it is in Sydney center, but the location is still slightly off trek, away from the main street (George Street) which also add some character to the location.

Secondly, there is already a cafe scene happening on this street, as I walked towards Klink, I saw at least 5 other cafes including a roaster on the same street within 2 blocks.

281 Clarence Street

Operating Hours
Monday to Friday: 7.00am to 4.00pm

Owner name: James Humphreys

James had been working in this industry for the last 10 years in various Sydney cafes. He used to run a cocktail bar in New Zealand before he venture across the Tasman Sea to Australia.

What do you like about working in a cafe?
The love for coffee was an obvious start but is the quest for the perfect cup each time and the social aspect of seeing different people everyday which made the job interesting even though making coffee can be a very repetitive task.

But James highlighted that while it is repetitive it is different to that of a factory, the handmade component of making a cup of coffee require skilled repetition and is not just a simple matter of pressing a button.

What are your plans for the future?
Perhaps a second cafe but only when he is sure that Klink has attained the level of quality in product and service before he would contemplate a second cafe.

What is your favourite coffee?
Got to put an interesting note here, for James it is not about the type of coffee (ie Cappuccino or latte) but is deeper than that.

So the answer to this question from James is: current favourite is El Topacio beans

Cappuccino Price Index: AUD $3.40

So next time, take a moment to enjoy the ambience while you sipped your way through your coffee in a shopping arcade of a different kind.

That's all from me this fortnight, next time, I will be venturing out of Sydney to a suburb (Engadine) which is about 37 kms south of Sydney City.

York Lane/Annex Espresso Bar - Sydney Australia

A fortnight has gone past and I am late again. Apologies from me.

I am back in Sydney again, I hope you have all enjoyed my last 2 blogs that were completed in Singapore. If you know of any Australian roasters/cafes owners in anywhere else in the world, please tell me. 

If you are wondering why I am writing about 2 cafes this week....just bear with me, I will lead you to the answer. 

Sydney city laneways were formalised but not purposely built to any planner's grid. Laneways are developed to provide access to the rear of buildings and they can be charming walkways like Angel Place or Tank Stream Way.

A submission by the Central Sydney Planning Inquiry in August 1992 has highlighted the loss of laneways in the city which is something that is providing Sydney its character. From 1969 - 1989 Sydney Council generated about 57 million dollars from the sales of laneways.

In March 1993, an inventory of Sydney laneways was taken which reported a total of 107 laneways in Sydney City. Tours are available today to show you to some of the laneways. Check this link for Laneways Tour Brochure

In the Central Sydney Planning, it is recommended that York Lane is to be retained with enhancement to pedestrian amenity. With the blessings of the government, a unique cafe York Lane ( YOLA ) is born. The story begins now...

What's the idea behind the cafe name?

We simply want to take on the identity of the street and hence we named it York Lane but when I was interviewing Dieter, he mentioned YoLa (which is simply the first 2 characters of the 2 words). Restricted by council requirements, the sign of the cafe cannot stretch beyond a certain width to prevent smashing into the side of a truck hence YoLa. 

YoLa Location

York Lane

Wynyard, Sydney

Mon to Wed - 0630 to 2200

Thur to Sun - 0630 to 2400

If you are coming from Erskine Street

 

If you are coming from Margaret Street side. 

Coffee beans: Block 136

It is called Block 136 because on the council old map, York Lane Cafe is located within the block that is known as Block 136. With some diggings, I managed to find one of the old maps from Sydney Archives. 

Why this location?

Council was giving grant for laneway shop and Dieter always like the whole laneway cafe culture. He is excited to be able to bring back the old laneway cafe culture into the new Sydney. So what does old laneway culture looks like? Abit like this, for example sitting on the crates and having coffee out of it. If you are planning to visit York Lane, on the same street you can also sit on the same type of milk crates and enjoy a pizza from the Italian pizza store that is about 10 metres down the lane. 

If he can, Dieter would have got all his customers to sit in the laneway on the crate. While the idea of drinking a coffee on a crate is new to someone like me. Dieter is flattered by all the attention that he has been receiving because to him YoLa was not anything dramatically special and he did not expect the Sydney office crowd to be so excited by what is considered as a style that has been around for centuries. 

Owner Name: Dieter Steinbusch (picture) and John Ubaldi

This is his 4th or 5th cafe ventures. He strongly believe in that cafe needs to be setup with thoughts and not just a a simple gathering of tables, chairs and an Espresso machine. He gets disappointed when he goes to a cafe and felt that minimum effort was put into the place. 

Now let me introduce a new term to you, 'Repurpose' - that is to reuse something and give that item a new lease of life. It is a bit more complex than just recycling or reusing because repurpose meant that something like an airline trolley can be repurpose into shelves such as those used in YoLa (see left hand side of the picture). 

In fact many things were given a new lease of life in YoLa. The rubber floor, the English oak wall, even the ceilings lights are made up of shallot bowls. The next time you visit YoLa, give yourself a bit more time to appreciate the environment. Creative you would say and that is exactly what Dieter and John planned to present. They built this environment with a no money mindset and they believe that only when you are restrained financially will there be creativity in the use of materials and decor items. 

So why did you setup YoLa as a cafe bar?

Because in Europe that how it is. If you feel like abit of alcohol with your coffee, go for it. 

What do you like about working in the cafe/industry?

Everyday is different, loves the variety. Is like being on a stage and creating a new play everyday. 

Okay now why we have Annex Espresso Bar in the title?

That is because, in order to get YoLa, they would need to lease the cafe situated in the Clarence Street office building. Is a cafe that is totally different from YoLa. As you walk into YoLa on the far left is the entry to Annex. 

So from a rustic looking YoLa cafe, you enter to the clean and atypical of a Sydney office cafe. But even in an atypical cafe, you will still see sights of repurpose such as the tables and the stripe pattern wall paper all to go with the caravan/art studio theme. 

Why is it called annex?

Annex refers to the side bit of a caravan that is like a chill out place, which is the purpose of this cafe. A chill out place for the office workers. 

Annex is also the preparation ground for the food in YoLa because they can not cook in YoLa due to building restriction. If you are thinking that both cafes will be serving the same beans, well... there is a surprise for you. Both cafes actually served different beans because according to Dieter, Block 136 is blended to suit the atmosphere of YoLa. Drinking it in Annex would simply do it no justice. 

To end the interview

What is your favorite coffee?

Latte - Early Morning

Piccolo - 10am

Long Black with Grappa  - Lunch

Espresso - 3pm

Cappuccino Price Index: AUD $3.50

Well people that's all from me this fortnight. I hope you will enjoy the blog and have a Happy Easter!