It beat out specialty coffee spots from around the globe – and a second local operator cracked the top 100.
Celebrated Brisbane CBD cafe Coffee Anthology has been named the eighth-best coffee shop in the world in the inaugural World’s 100 Best Coffee Shops awards.
Anthology joined two other Australian cafes in the top 10, with Melbourne’s Proud Mary placing fourth, and Toby’s Estate’s cafe in Chippendale in Sydney taking out the top spot. One other Brisbane cafe made the top 100, with Albion’s Fonzie Abbott coming in 70th.
The World’s 100 Best Coffee Shops isn’t connected to The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, The World’s 50 Best Bars or The World’s 50 Best Hotels – the much-hyped annual lists that have become a major calling card for publisher William Reed Group. And the official website is sparse on information, except to say the voting process involves a panel of experts and members of the public.
But the inaugural list is legitimate, announced last week at Coffee Fest, an annual industry-focused coffee festival and confab that this year was held in Madrid.
“It’s awesome to get this recognition,” Coffee Anthology owner Adam Wang said as the plaudit was made public.
“Already, this is one of our busiest [trading days] ever. We love the acknowledgment, but at the same time it’s just one of those tiny things, when you consider everyone who has come through and supported us over the years.”
Coffee Anthology originally opened on Margaret Street in the city in 2014, and quickly became known for presenting some of the best roasters from around Australia (current regulars include Sample and Primary from NSW, Market Lane and Manta Ray from Victoria, and Queensland’s own Talo and Super Roast) via espresso and specialty coffee techniques such as pour-over and batch brew.
In 2022, it moved two blocks over to the 700-square metre, heritage-facade digs of Midtown Centre on Charlotte Street, where it became part of a constellation of venues in-part overseen by Wang that includes his Fika cafe and a CBD outlet for cult Upper Mount Gravatt patisserie The Whisk, as well as a guest roaster bar.
Wang’s approach of presenting third-party roasters fell out of favour for a time, as coffee drinkers began to flock to cafes that presented and roasted their own beans. But the model came back into fashion during the pandemic, when locked-down coffee drinkers turned to subscriptions to experience roasters from other parts of the country.
Wang is known for his efforts at fostering a community spirit in the Brisbane industry.
“It’s really tough around the globe, especially in the hospitality industry,” he said. “So people who are doing their best deserve to be recognised.
“Everyone is hardworking in Brisbane … places like John Mills Himself, The Hideout – they’re all doing an excellent job.
“We did the city proud, which I’m really happy about.”
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Matt Shea is Food and Culture Editor at Brisbane Times. He is a former editor and editor-at-large at Broadsheet Brisbane, and has written for Escape, Qantas Magazine, the Guardian, Jetstar Magazine and SilverKris, among many others.
