Have no doubt; Canberra’s coffee obsession sees no sign of abating in the near future. While many venues are heavily investing in their own roasters to carefully develop and control their signature flavour, there are a number of whole-in-the-wall venues where convenience is the key selling point.
First we had Bean in the City café on Ainslie Avenue to the South of the Canberra Centre. Following that, the same crew opened Loading Zone, which, although significantly larger and broader in the scope of its menu, is still a comparatively small space.
Then we found the cleverly named ‘Sup attached to the side of Sizzle Bento. Launched in at the beginning of winter, the lone barista put up a brave front against the cold, serving the collected smokers and coffee addicts their shot of joe.
Now we have Tuckshop – no bigger than ‘Sup and no more than 100 metres away. It’s an offshoot of Shorty’s and aims to capture a coffee crowd during the times Shorty’s isn’t open for business.
Once you approach tuckshop, two things become evident. Firstly, the theme, although simple, has been followed through the design of the shop with chalkboards, the decorative cans of baked beans and simple loyalty cards.
If you feel like something more substantial, there are paninis that can easily turn in to melts to provide the delicious taste of melted cheese. It’s a tempting offer on a brisk Canberra morning.
The most fun aspect of Tuckshop is the high counter, where the attendants saw over even the tallest of customers, very much providing the feeling of being in primary school and queuing up for a hot chocolate to warm small and cold fingers.
Whether this sudden swell of competition in the takeaway coffee market can all survive within such a small area remains to be seen. In the meantime, it’s nice to be spoiled for choice, with the quality of takeaway coffee only increasing with the number of venues serving it.
