"Welcome to Five Senses Coffee"

Walking through the door of Penny Farthing is like stepping back in time: rustic salvaged furniture, a turntable playing all the best hits from yesteryear, and of course, the brothers in arms behind the Synesso Hydra, Trevor and Steve.

Taking the name Penny Farthing from a late great uncle who raced penny farthing bicycles in England, both Steve and Trevor, with their suspenders, side burns and a handle bar moustache, would look at home on the high perched seat of one of the big wheeled bicycles.

Penny Farthing offers everything coffee from the simple but amazing Clever Coffee Dripper to the most modern of espresso technology in the Synesso Hydra. The café’s main Mazzer grinder is home to Penny Farthing’s house blend which consists of Brazil Ipanema, PNG Nambayufa and PNG Purosa, creating a sweet chocolate, nutty, milk-based coffee. Every coffee is made as a double ristretto (unless otherwise stated) with the shots poured from naked portafilter handles.

There is always something new to try on the bean side of things. Steve and Trevor utilize a single origin program offered by Five Senses Coffee where they get the freshest of unique seasonal offerings. Penny Farthing’s other single origin coffees of the week come with full details of the farm where it was grown, the altitude of the crop and the all-important varietal.

Steve and Trevor both come from a hospitality background so they want to give their customers as much information as possible on all products that they use, especially the coffee. The food menu is updated frequently and based on the freshest of produce available. It was hard for the Five Senses staff to let go of one of their favorite menu items, the poached rhubarb with ricotta and locally made almond bread, but when it’s replaced with a dish like the medium rare kangaroo fillet on pan fried semolina gnocchi and served with parsnip purée and house made mango chutney – who cares!

So next time you’re freewheeling down High St on your fixie, pull in to where the big wheelers would get their caffeine fix if it were still 1822.

Penny Farthing Espresso
206 High Street
Northcote, VIC 3070

Hours of Operation
Weekdays: 7:30am – 4:00pm
Weekends: 8:30am – 5:00pm

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