What is it? A city hangout that’s popular for its unusual caffeine blends and diverse menu.
Why we love it: Remember the legends at Ona? Another one of their flagships is The Cupping Room, or The Cuppo, as it’s affectionately known by Canberrans. You can swing by their University Avenue outpost seven days a week, and on public holidays too, for when you need that caffeine hit the most. Ona’s complex roasts hail from all around the world, and this Ona branch is inspired by the age-old practice of ‘cupping’, where little cups of coffee are judged and compared to get their flavour profile. The Cuppo demands your adventurous side to lurk out of the shadows and go all out with the Christmas Trifle reserve milk-based coffee, which hints at vanilla custard, brandy and baked stone fruit. Yes please. With a coffee in hand, pull up a chair next to the sun-drenched windows and dig into chorizo benedict with caramelised hollandaise, duck noodle salad with Shantung-style glaze, or perhaps cinnamon-soaked French toast doused in house-made custard, white chocolate ganache, strawberry syrup, salted Biscoff caramel sauce and crumble.
Time Out tip: Just when you thought you’d seen it all (in terms of coffee shops), The Cupping Room has come out with a new initiative in collaboration with Ikigai Film Lab – photography nerds, we’re looking at you. In one fell swoop, you can order your morning brew and put your film into be developed at the cafés dropbox. How’s that for two birds, one stone?
Address: 1/1-13 University Avenue, Canberra
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 7.30am-2.30pm; Sat-Sun 8am-3pm
Expect to pay: More than $18 for a proper meal