Ora

I've long considered excellent coffee an essential element in a good life, ranked alongside proper butter and phone chargers that come when you whistle.

But I haven't leapt on the so-called coffee third wave, with its farm-to-cup journeys, multiplicitous brewing methods and obsession with the perfect pour. There's as much science in it as in the synchrotron and its proponents are as ardent as young lovers. For someone who sees coffee as a pleasant morning medicine, it's been a little too much.

But Ora turned me on as it dosed me up. This small, bright six-month-old cafe is so winningly passionate about coffee, I'm happy to hop on the bandwagon (as long as it's OK to hop off for a boring old cafe latte whenever I like).

Ora does great espresso. There's also filter, siphon, pour over, French press, aeropress and cold drip coffee. The counter is a hipster lab with grinders, thermometers, beakers and filters that burble, flame, drip and flow in an aromatic tableau. It's good theatre, with results you can taste. My latte was creamy, toasty and rich; my single-origin Brazilian aeropress (a pressurised filter coffee) was gently silky, served in a glass teacup to better appreciate its perfume and dusky tones.

There's also classy food that pushes past cafe cliches without abandoning those who think scrambled eggs and bacon doth a fine weekend make.

The pea-and-bacon hash is a nice spin on the brunchodoxy - loose, lightly egged and golden brown with deep, funky flavours from the bacon and manchego sheep's milk cheese.

Smashed broad beans with soft-boiled egg and lovely sweet milky ricotta is a gorgeous vegetarian alternative but I reckon the pert salad leaves with these brunches should have been dressed. The fruit salad was slightly underwhelmed by its lack of glamour fruits and tooth-tingling chill, but the cinnamon yoghurt atop was creamy and delicious.

Looking at lunch, soft panini stuffed with torn duck meat, cucumber, coriander and sweet mayonnaise was so juicy and swanky, I have banned boring buns from my life forever.

The service was cheerful and efficient, boosting my theory that coffee geeks are particularly good at hospitality. They love it when you order a lesser-known brew and are ecstatic when you like it. It's a joyful feedback loop that makes a caffeinated day even more rewarding.

Ora
156 Pakington Street, Kew, 9855 2002
Unlicensed MC V eftpos
Tues-Fri 7am-4pm; Sat-Sun 8am-4pm
Breakfast $7-$17; lunch $10-$15; sweets $3-$5