Six Sydney Cafe Drinks That Aren’t “The Usual, Thanks”

Sydney got the fun beverage memo. While flat whites and long blacks will forever be permanent fixtures, cafe drink menus are stepping into more experimental territory – and the funkier the drink, the better, we say.

From cocktail-inspired cold brews to “desserts in drinks form”, here are six Sydney venues to get your caffeine fix when you’re in the mood to mix things up.

No-groni from Jibbi Coffee Roasters, Surry Hills

Jibbi Littles is no stranger to coffee. When Broadsheet calls, she’s in Jakarta competing in the World Brewers Cup – hot on the heels of a streak of wins for her latte art and roastery.

Opening Jibbi Coffee Roasters in late 2024, Littles had just one intention: to “bring the coffee that we use in competitions to the bar.” The result is a drinks menu stacked with award-winning filter coffees and standout specialty drinks, including her no-groni.

Using a Geisha blend from Colombia to mimic the bitterness of Campari, Jibbi’s no-groni stars cold brew that’s been infused with orange zest and hibiscus for almost 24 hours before being poured over ice in an Old Fashioned glass. The best part? You can drink it at 9am. Shop 2, 216–224 Commonwealth Street, Surry Hills
@jibbi.coffeeroasters

Matcha Magic from Moon & Back, Rosebery

Known for its matcha, ceramics and Japanese desserts, Moon & Back has found a sweet spot in Sydney’s specialty drinks scene.

These are dessert-ified drinks. A black forest coffee – a floral cold brew infused with cacao and berries, topped with cranberry foam – is a standout, but the Matcha Magic, the newest addition to the signature drinks list, is what we went for at this minimalist cafe.

Unlike the rest of the menu, it’s a hot-and-cold drink. Uji matcha is whisked with hot milk for an intense matcha flavour, then crowned with a chilled, velvety matcha cream. This one’s served with dango (small, sweet rice flour dumplings served on a skewer), which is best enjoyed dipped into the matcha. “It’s not really a drink, it’s like a tiny dessert,” says owner Elvan Fan. Shop 7, 2 Crewe Place, Rosebery
@moonandback.syd

Black Sesame Cloud from Kahii, CBD

A cafe by day, cocktail bar by night, Kahii is the moody Japanese venue in the lobby of a heritage-listed building in the city.

On first impression, the space feels too grown up to be a coffee shop: all dark timbers, golden tables, low-lit lanterns and bar stools. But, although this cafe moonlights as a bar, the team’s just as serious about its specialty daytime drinks.

Go for the viral iced black sesame latte. A short glass is near-filled with cold milk, then a sweet, aerated mix of black sesame paste, condensed milk, vanilla syrup and brown sugar is poured over the top. Then a double ristretto is poured in, swirling with the milky layers below. A shower of the house black sesame crumb – cookies, powdered sesame seeds and salt – to finish. Lobby of Kelco House, 364 Kent Street, Sydney
@kahiisydney

Iced matcha latte with salted kinako cream from The Sneaker Laundry Lab, CBD

Not only does this drinks bar pump out especially good matcha and onigiri in flavours like buldak and nasi lemak, it’s inside a sneaker-cleaning store.

“[The owner] Eugene started this as a sneaker cleaning business, and then he thought, why not chuck a cafe on the side?” store manager Danny Du says. “Now we sell more matcha than we clean shoes.”

It’s been so popular the team has just opened its first store in Melbourne. The reason it’s so good? Ceremonial-grade matcha is blended and cold-shocked to prevent oxidation, to avoid any weak, grassy flavours.

An iced matcha latte with a topping of salted kinako cream – imparting the nutty flavour of the roasted soybean flour, piped with a metal whipping siphon – gives it extra oomph. Martin Place Metro Basement, Corner Hunter and Castlereagh streets, Sydney
@sneakerlaundrylabau

White Rabbit from Stitch Coffee, CBD

Stitch Coffee is a roastery responsible for some of Sydney’s best specialty coffee. And the bar seating in the QVB kiosk makes for a perfect people-watching spot.

The best – and most-ordered – of its drinks is the White Rabbit, where a fluffy “rabbit” of whipped cream sits atop cold brew, with a garnish of lemon zest. It’s a playful take on a Mont Blanc.

Order it alongside a shio pan (there’s a line-up of these Japanese bread rolls with sweet fillings), or the outstanding house-made garlic cheese bread. Ground floor QVB, 455 George Street, Sydney
@stitch.coffee

Coconut matcha foam from Chubby Cubby, Haymarket

Since it opened last year, Chubby Cubby has climbed its way up matcha lovers’ must-try lists. When Broadsheet visits, the minimalist cafe is maxed out with customers – and the crowds keep coming.

While it’s not the first Sydney cafe to dabble in coconut matcha foam, the two-toned beauty is one people keep coming back to. The team put it down to the secret ingredient in their matcha foam: thickened cream. “It’s refreshing, you get the taste of the coconut water and the rich matcha,” co-owner Apisith “Jan” Ouanekhamechanh says. “It’s not what you’d expect.”

The chilly coconut water cuts the richness of the matcha cream, without losing any of the depth of the matcha’s flavour.

This little venue’s the spot for more specialty drinks too: Biscoff varieties, Mont Blancs and ever-changing fruity matchas. 810 George Street, Haymarket
@chubbycubbycafe