Dudley Street Espresso & Collectables: the best caramel latte ever?

Dudley St Espresso and Collectables
494 Ipswich Rd, Annerley QLD 4103
Opening hours: 8am - 3pm weekdays

I have a bit of a weakness for caramel. Especially when it's paired with chocolate or coffee. If you've been reading my blog regularly, you'd know that I'm a relatively recent coffee convert. But even 4 years ago, I was positively addicted to the Creamy Caramel Crunch Chiller (minus the 'crunch' part) at Gloria Jean's Coffees. It didn't help that there was a shop in the food court (edit: of the shopping centre -) where I worked full-time for a year, and that there was the added incentive of a 10% centre staff discount. I would get one almost every lunch break, topped with whipped cream and drizzled with extra caramel sauce. I couldn't even keep track of the number of free ones I scored with the loyalty card, after buying x number of drinks. I'm not sure if it's the sugar or the caffeine I was addicted to, but there is no doubt that it is a dangerous combination. It's amazing I didn't, and still haven't (touch wood), developed diabetes. I've since learned the unhealthy evil of my ways and have slowly cut this beverage out of my diet.

Crème Brûlée Chiller @ Gloria Jean's Coffees

(Okay, maybe not completely. I'll admit that sometimes I am a bit naughty and still get the very occasional one; although they have since discontinued the Creamy Caramel Crunch Chiller. The closest thing to it is the Crème Brûlée one, but this has a marginally stronger coffee taste.)

I have since curbed my sugar intake, and have developed a habit of not adding any sugar, or adding very little sugar, to my tea and coffee. (Yes, it is do-able, people. No matter how sweet you like your food, if you try to abstain from it for a while, you will eventually become accustomed to the less-sweet taste, and may even prefer it. Try snacking on something healthy, like grapes or carrot sticks, to put your mind off the cravings/withdrawal effects.) It is not easy to cut out sugar entirely from our diet, and I do believe that the key to healthy, happy living is eating everything in moderation; that is to say, I think it is perfectly okay to give in to not-so-healthy indulgences every now and then. After all, we do have to look after our emotional health as well as our physical health.

Even superheroes have their weaknesses, and I think I have met my new match in the Caramel Latte at Dudley St Espresso & Collectables. The other coffee variations they make are not bad, but this is by far my favourite, and the one I keep going back for. The latte is wonderfully smooth on the palate and the caramel adds the perfect amount of sweetness to this dreamy elixir. On a reality note though, they do add a whole shot of caramel syrup to the small size, so if you're going to order a large, you may want to kindly ask the barista not to add any more than this amount (as I'm not sure if they do or not).

(Edit: 24/09/13: Of late, after having ordered the large with half a shot, I have decided that it tastes better with the full lot - and no, they don't add anymore than 1 shot of caramel syrup, and hence, the large actually tastes slightly less sweet than the small. On another note, the guys who currently own the place (one of them being the barista) have sold it and will officially stop working there at the end of this month. As such, I don't know if the caramel lattes there will ever be the same again :( But I will keep you posted.)

Caramel latte

The coffee that they use at Dudley is Grinder's Giancarlo coffee blend. While I'm not a huge fan of Grinder's coffee (I'm usually more of a Campos girl), it just seems to work so well for this caramel latte. Or maybe the barista there is just great at producing the perfect cup. I went around to a few different coffee shops to try their caramel lattes recently to see how they compare, but, thus far, I've been unable to find one almost as good. So, I guess I'll be regularly haunting Dudley for a while.

Luckily for me, and everyone who lives/works in this under-developed suburb of Annerley, where the café is located and which usually brings to mind unattractive strip malls filled with second-hand and bric-a-brac stores, rather than a place to head for lunch with friends, this funky little corner café offers good food as well as good coffee. They don't make food to order, but there is a glass cabinet filled daily with freshly-made sandwiches with delicious fillings, and a mouth-watering selection of sweet offerings (mini Baci chocolate mousse cake, anyone?). The ready-made options make it extremely convenient for those wanting to quickly buy food takeaway on the way to work, or during short lunch-breaks. Most of the sandwiches use herbed bread, which makes the sandwich all the more aromatic and scrumptious, and the sandwiches are lightly toasted, at time of ordering, to crispy-crusted perfection. My favourite is the turkey with cranberry sauce and Maleny Brie - who, indeed, could ever resist warmed, oozing, soft white cheese? No, not I. In fact, I could do with one right now.

A delicious sandwich with dill mayo in it

Quiche of the day with basil pesto
(I love the addition of the pesto, as it provides another flavour dimension)

Various sandwiches (+ caramel latte)

Besides sandwiches, hot soup is also currently available, and comes with a ciabatta roll and butter. Last week, I had their soup of the day, which happened to be mushroom soup. The seasoning was spot on, and the soup was nothing short of delicious. I love the nubbly texture of the soup, which assures one that it is full of the natural goodness of real mushrooms.

Mushroom soup with a ciabatta roll + butter
(and yes, that is a caramel latte in the background!)

Prices are quite standard at around $9 for the sandwiches and $10.50 for the soup. A small caramel latte is $4.

As its name suggests, the café also sells collectables, which form part of the shop's décor, adding a quirky charm to it, and helping it to 'fit in' with the theme of its surroundings. There are a few small tables and a bench, but these usually fill up fast at lunchtime. As such, the food in the cabinet also goes pretty quickly, so I would advise dropping in earlier rather than later for lunch, to avoid disappointment. I have read some reviews, in which there are complaints about the busy, noisy street that the café faces, but I personally haven't found the street noise to be a problem at all, in terms of affecting my dining experience or appetite. There is always the takeaway option for those who might prefer to eat in the perfect silence of their car or home. The staff at the café also seem to be lovely people.

I'm not sure how I have only just started going there in recent months, as it first opened its doors back in 2008. I would hate for others to have to wait 5 years to discover this place. In truth, I do have an ever-so-slight ulterior motive for posting this review: as much as I'd like to keep this little niche to myself, and reduce competition for sandwiches (the selfish little thing that I am), I know that the only way to ensure the never-ending availability of said sandwiches and the best caramel latte in town, in the years to come, is to promote (even) more foot traffic.

With the new, expensive housing units and property developments in the area, as well as the popping up of a few quality cafés, like Dudley St Espresso, I am sure that this long-neglected suburb will get a total facelift some time in the future, in order to meet the demands of a more becoming locale.