“Basically we are extremely passionate about coffee,” manager Jack Scheeran explains.

“We have a daily dedication to producing the best cup we possibly can. I don’t think we’ll stop until we have the perfect cup.”

The Cupping Room focuses on three main elements to achieve that perfect cup, starting at the very beginning with the farmer growing the beans. As a branch of Ona Coffee, the Cupping Room is heavily involved in the green bean sourcing program Project Origin, which strives to help farmers around the world grow the best beans possible.

Project Origin works with coffee farmers directly, ensuring that they have safe working conditions and are paid 20 per cent higher than fair trade prices for their product.

“We build a relationship with the farmers so we can constantly be trying to make the coffee better,” Scheeran says.

“We’re introducing a lot of technology into the farming processes, and we’re also doing a lot for their communities … We’re some of the world’s leaders in the way we work with our farmers.”

The second element that comes into play is the coffee roasting process, where roasters bring out the potential in those perfectly grown coffee beans.

The third and final element is how the expert baristas at the Cupping Room convert those beans into the perfect cup of coffee.

“We prepare all our coffees the very best they can be,” Scheeran says.

“We do all of our milk-based coffees in the one size cup, which gives a perfect balance of milk and espresso to get the balance of flavour. Then our mugs are exactly double the size so they have the same flavour.

“We use a different coffee for our black coffee to make sure it tastes the best, and we do a different coffee for our filter coffee that’s been roasted in a different way.”

All this effort results in coffee that is definitely some of the best in Canberra. And consumers can learn all about their coffee through the process of cupping (that’s the formal practice of tasting, judging and comparing coffee, to get the most out of the beans) which occurs in the cafe on a daily basis, instead of just being passive consumers.

“Because we’re not just doing flat whites, lattes, cappuccinos in the traditional sense, or the socially accepted way of doing it, it was a big risk for us. But we really wanted to give people the opportunity to get the most out of their coffee,” Scheeran says.

The Cupping Room has the added bonus of being a beautiful place to enjoy a cup of coffee – its sprawling location on the corner of University Avenue and London Circuit is decked out in gorgeous raw wood with tons of windows to let in the Canberra sunshine, and the friendly atmosphere is second to none.

A: 1/13 University Avenue, Canberra City

Despite being a relative newcomer to the Canberra scene, A. Baker has already cemented itself as a go-to destination for local and visiting foodies. It’s a bakery, a regional produce restaurant, a bar, and, of course, it serves up a mean cup of coffee.

“Our coffee is roasted by Two Before Ten, and they put together a blend for us that changes every week,” co-owner Chris Dennis explains.

Two Before Ten source and roast the beans with care, and A.Baker ensures that the well-trained baristas know how to treat them. But the cafe also puts a lot of effort into another important coffee factor that is often overlooked – the milk.

“The quality of the milk is a huge factor,” Dennis says.

“We’ve spent a long time sourcing the best milk we can find, which we get from Country Valley up at Picton.”

The final ingredient in the A. Baker coffee recipe is the location. Dennis and the A. Baker team have taken care not to underestimate the importance of atmosphere in a coffee shop.

“The last factor is also making sure people are drinking it in a really nice environment, so a place that’s got a good fit-out, comfortable seating, and staff that actually care about the coffee and get it out to people as fast as they can, so they’re getting it as the barista made it,” Dennis says.

The A.Baker interior is stylish but minimal with an industrial flair, and the open-plan design means you can relax in the sunshine and watch the comings and goings of the NewActon community while you sip your coffee.

A: Unit 2, NewActon Pavillion, Edinburgh Avenue, NewActon

Harvest has been the go-to coffee place for the students and workers of city west for four years now, and it shows no signs of slowing down.

Owner and manager Hannah Campbell loves that Harvest has so many regulars, and attributes the cafe’s popularity in part to the amazing location. Being prominently located on Marcus Clarke Street means that Harvest is only a short walk from lots of office buildings, and being just outside of ANU campus makes it perfect for students who need a little break from study.

Visitors to Harvest can grab a snack to go with their coffee, and no matter what time of day they swing past they can be assured that their beverage is being prepared to exacting standards.

“Something that we really strive for is consistency. We have a set style of making coffee that I really drum into every new barista,” Campbell says.

“We can be in the middle of our rush in the morning making thousands of coffees at a time, but still every cup tastes equally as good as the one before it.”

This attention to detail results in a seriously good cup of coffee – smooth, strong, and the perfect pick-me-up the prepare you to tackle a long day of work or school.

A: 40 Marcus Clarke Street, Canberra City

Yarralumla cafe Farmer’s Daughter has long been renowned for having some of Canberra’s best suburban coffee. In early 2014 they decided to expand the business and bring their signature brew to a whole new Canberra audience via a second location on the ground floor of the Canberra Centre.

The location is convenient, and makes this cafe the best place to recharge with a brew if you’re shopping in the centre or just passing through the North Quarter.

There are a range of baked goods and light snacks available, including macarons and muffins, so I recommend you grab one and take a seat on one of the delightful little tables made from vintage Singer sewing machines while you wait for your coffee.

The Campos coffee has great flavour and is prepared with care – it has everything you look for in a quality city coffee.

A: Canberra Centre, 125 Bunda Street, Canberra City

The Food Co-Op is not your average cafe – it’s a non-profit food cooperative that carries local, fresh, organic, fair trade, affordable products as well as making great coffee and hot lunches.

The co-op is a big, friendly warehouse space in the Lena Carmel Unilodge building on ANU campus – just look for the people lining up outside to get their morning coffee fix. Inside, there is a haphazard arrangement of crates and couches where you can catch up with a friend, get some study done, or just relax and savour your coffee.

Anyone can shop at the co-op, but if you plan on being a regular then it’s definitely worth becoming a member – members own the co-op, share the benefits of it, and have the opportunity to work in it.

A: 3 Kingsley Street, Canberra City

Proving that bigger isn’t always better, Sup Espresso is a tiny hole-in-the-wall cafe that forms an oasis of good coffee in the desolate wasteland of Garema Place.

The Sup concept is a no-frills approach to coffee, where the lack of counters and walls means that your friendly barista can chat to you while he makes your beverage, breaking down all of the barriers and pretention that sometimes come with bigger cafes.

The heated outdoor seating area is a cosy place to enjoy a coffee, and there is also hot soup and delicious homemade pastries on offer – perfect to warm up on a chilly winter’s day.

A: 4A/148 City Walk, Canberra City

Other great brews:

Mocan and Green Grout

Lonsdale Street Roasters

Autolyse

Two Before Ten

Oscars CBD

Cream

Hotel Hotel

Loading Zone