Specialty coffee for Southport.
Specialty coffee for Southport.
The Southern suburbs have certainly seen their fair share of fancy coffee haunts of late and now our Northern neighbours are getting the goods.
Zi Espresso opened recently to tickle the tastebuds of those of you who spend your working days in Southport and have been in dire need of some quality caffeine.
The space, on Scarborough St, is long, skinny and quite Melbourne-esque with fresh white walls and natural wood accents. Fresh flowers and pops of colour ensure plenty of feel good vibes and a nice little escape from the crazy that is our bustling business district.
Coffee is the heart of the business (and all of our lives) and the crew use the crème de la crème of machines – the San Remo Opera v2 – which has never been used before in Australia. It’s very pretty and has many fancy gadgets.
There are definitely some technical words to explain the things it does, but because we don’t know them, here are some other words: each shot is digitally dispersed then balanced out (not compressed) and weighed to ensure the perfect coffee consistency. It’s like a little coffee puzzle but the epic end product is all your coffee dreams come true. Especially when the beans are by local legends Silipo.
Owners Daphne Zi and Scott Lo are the husband and wife team (previously of Expressions in Bureigh Waters fame) offering a menu designed to encourage diners to make healthier choices – there’s no soft drink, fried foods, ice cream or super sugary treats available in keeping with the couples’ personal food philosophy.
There’s salads, smoothies and cold pressed juices as well as immune booster shots and your favourite and ours, acai bowls (there’s cacao flavour).
OH and, if you don’t mind a chai, get involved in the Prana Chai Masala Blend because it is all the fresh, spicy flavours of India in a cup and if you could bathe in it, you would.
Now is Zi time to try it out.
LOCATION: Shop 2, 149 Scarborough St, Southport
HOURS: 6.30am to 2.30pm Monday to Friday
Words and photos by Kirra Smith