As promised in an earlier blog, I said I would say more about coffee in my home town. Five years ago I left behind the joys of the vibrant Melbourne coffee scene, where I had spent my entire adult life in caffe latte bliss, and in a search for warmer climes moved to Lismore in Northern NSW. Now one may ask what a latte purist like myself was thinking - and not even Byron Bay! Well let me tell you I did my research carefully before taking such a drastic plunge.
I made a quick surveillance trip first and discovered to my delight that even back then Lismore had at least two cafes who knew how to make a decent caffe latte. Satisfied, I bought the cheapest house on the market, returned to Melbourne to pack up my life and then headed back to Lismore - after a road trip for a few months around the Western half of the country (many other caffe latte stories there).
Lismore, unlike its nearby, trendier, seaside cousin, Byron Bay, is a town of 50,000 with a lot of heart and a thriving arts community. It embraces diversity - it has a large and visible gay and lesbian population and it welcomes and supports refugees from several African countries. It has a university, a conservatorium of music and has first class theatre and music productions, both local and imported. I have seen more Bell Shakespeare productions since living here than I did in my 20 years living in Melbourne.
Now don't get me wrong. I still yearn for, and make frequent return visits to, the coffee scene of Melbourne. But Lismore also has its own thriving cafe scene which has grown even more in my time here. Now that I've convinced you that Lismore is a town worth visiting (alas not on a Sunday as the CBD unfortunately closes down) try the following cafes for a reliable caffe latte/coffee. First choice, Dragonfly who serve a good, rich and smooth Merlo coffee with a good vibe. Second, for a more sedate scene. but reliable coffee, try La Baracca. This cafe was established by a couple of urbane Italian boys who understood coffee. It has since changed hands but the coffee is still good.
My Melbourne friends said I'd never last moving to the country but as long as Lismore continues to serve me up a decent caffe latte and the weather remains warm and balmy for most of the year, I will continue to relish this more laid back latte life style.
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