Brother Baba Budan
What:
Brother Baba Budan
Where:
359 Little Bourke St, Melbourne
When:
Mon-Sat, 7am-5pm
How much:
$3 for coffee
Contact:
9606 0449
Just as the crack and freebase we all know and love emerged from the Peruvian coca-paste smoking tradition of the '70s, so the caffeine that runs our lives was brought to us by the ingenuity of travelling drug dealers. By one smuggler, in fact, known reverently as Brother Baba Budan – a 17th Century Sufi who swifted seven beans from the port of Mocha in Yemen and introduced them to India (and, by extension, the rest of us, once word reached the call centres).
The reincarnation of Budan is, obviously, Mark Dundon (who started Ray in Brunswick and St Ali in South Melbourne). His acolytes already know this, but a week ago, Mark opened a new espresso bar in Little Bourke Street between Elizabeth and Queen. The beans come from St Ali, where several origins and blends are roasted. There’s a three-group Synesso machine, with variable control of temperature on the heads (so they’re using beans from more than one grinder because they can calibrate temperature to the varietal nuances). There’s also a Clover machine from Seattle, which they use to make brewed coffee (very Twin Peaks). Even the door handle is a coffee bean scoop. No more needs to be said, this place will draw the addicts quicker than the waft of residual bicarbonate from a goodly batch of cookback.
Venue: Café
Meal: Coffee
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