Assembly

I’m a huge fan of getting an espresso followed by a filter coffee, and wherever you’re seated you’re treated to the full range of styles, with excellent range of beans from Australia’s best roasters.
Takeaways are quick in the morning, with almond croissants among many great treats, but this is also a great place for a meeting or sit and read the paper and indulge in a filter or tea brewed with love, or whatever else you’re into.
If you’re anywhere from North CBD /​Carlton /​RMIT /​Uni Melb then this is worth the trip. Enjoy!

The coffee selection is excellent and setting is well designed. Unfortunately, I had my coffee here when they were about to close so it was poured in a paper cup, kind of an insult for an espresso. In any case, this is for sure the best coffeeshop in this touristy neighborhood.

This little place just off Lygon Street is a winner. In town on holiday and looking for somewhere to meet up with a family member I was after somewhere cool (but not ‘too cool’) with great coffee and I definitely found it in Assembly!

I’m not convinced that they serve coffee here… I think they actually brew a cleverly concealed form of incredibly flavoursome liquid crack, and just call it «coffee»!
Such is my addiction to the amazing cups served up by these guys, that I find myself going out of my way to get my long mac from this place, instead of from the otherwise highly accomplished cafes that are much closer to where I live. That’s how good I think their coffee is.
The baristas are very knowledgeable, and take meticulous care to adjust the grind according to not only the type of coffee, but also the time of day, ambient humidity etc. After my first visit, the barista had already memorised my name, job, and usual coffee order — so kudos there. After multiple visits, they are yet to serve a dud cup — which is more than I can say for the at times inconsistent and slightly over rated St Ali group of cafes.
Their Ethiopian brew is particularly brilliant. Light, bright and subtle but still extraordinarily complex, with a pleasant lingering finish and not a hint of bitterness. It is to my mind, the ultimate expression of everything a cup of coffee should be.
The «curated» store next to the café is also exemplary, and contains a collection of fantastic tea and coffee brewing accessories — many of which have done extensive damage to my bank account, but have been the best tea brewing items I’ve ever owned. I bought the very excellent «Espro» insulated stainless steel plunger from here. Like the adjoining café, it is thoroughly awesome, and very highly recommended.
A++

Assembly is getting my vote as best coffee shop in Carlton. Funnily enough, it sprung up on a street I used to work on about 4 years ago — when I would walk down into the CBD twice a day for my coffee hit.
Assembly checks all the boxes for me. To start, it’s a gorgeous café with lovely baristas. The café is split in two; espresso and seating on one side, filter and tea on the other with the take-​home beans offering. Tea fans will love that they offer a range of teas as well as take home leaves from Storm in a Teacup.
You’re always going to taste something interesting here — with a good range of beans from Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane roasters including Small Batch, Mecca, Reuben Hills and The Single Guys. The tins the beans come in are equally pretty and I plan on filling my cupboard with a couple of the mint green ones. There were more beans that I wanted on offer than I could drink within 2 weeks, so I will definitely be back for more.
From now on, I’ll be walking up from the CBD to make a dedicated pitstop to this Carlton café.

Assemble all your friends or even just yourself and get down/​across/​over here. Now.
Each time I’ve dropped in here with no plans and occasionally with a friend. On all random visits I’ve left super happy. The staff are friendly and knowledgeable. Not just about tea and coffee but also about things happening in the general area. As well as happy to chat with you about the coffee, the expos going on or just general stuff.
My last two visits saw me devour a home made kingston biscuit and unintentionally interrupt a staff members lunch break to grab freshly ground beans.

I’m a coffee snob, as many Melbournians are and happy to admit it. So naturally when this place opened up a few doors from my old house I thought I had found my new local. How wrong I was. Sure the coffee is nice but it feels like your sitting in a shop — no ambience at all. The design is lovely with a big neon sign, fancy coffee equipment and staff that know their product.
Having said that why make the place feel like the café side is number 2 in importance while the retail side is obviously the main goal. It’s nice that they now have a little bit of seating to enjoy your coffee. There is no espresso here which I’m fine with, what’s not ok though is coffee ranging from a minimum $ 5 – 6 for a cup. It’s good sure but when you can go to 7 seeds around the corner and have two amazing coffees for the same price AND great ambience AND the option of food (this place has only a small range of cake) then I just don’t think it can compete.
They need to focus more on their staff making it an experience. Let us know what the coffee is and why it’s so good. If the coffee is the main focus then make us the customer feel like it’s something special. I want to like this place but don’t think I’ll ever love it.

This place made my day mid-​week when I dropped in, I left with a smile on my face and the cutest, most practical, re-​useable take home coffee container I’ve seen.
Multiple coffees from multiple roasters is always a bonus, I tried two Sydney-​side roasters Ehtiopian yirgs back to back (Mecca and Reuben Hills) and walked out with the later.
There’s a focus on filter coffee and a complete room dedicated to the biggest collective slew of brew gear I’ve seen but there’s still espresso/​milk options to suit everyone.
The music is chilled, you’re just far away enough from the CBD for it to be calm outside and the two guys I talked to couldn’t have been more friendly. We discussed a few other coffee haunts, a fellow Adelaideian who’d dropped some coffee he’d roasted off earlier in the week, and some general banter. Each customer that came in who wasn’t rushing off with a paper cup got the same warm treatment.
The peeps here really want this to be about great specialty coffee and making it accessible and simple. I especially admire the fact that they’ve positioned coffee at the forefront of their business without trying to offer 73 different brunch options out of a limited kitchen which could have been an easy way to mitigate some of the startup risk in this brunch crazy town.
The interiors warm and simple, nothings overdone, every thing is neat and orderly. It’s a great chill out zone. Couple that with the coffee on offer, the retail take-​home options, and the awesome service…
Highly Recommended.

Assembly Espresso is one of the many little gems you can find spread throughout Carlton. Just of the main strip of Lygon Street, it’s very easy to miss but definitely worth finding.
Opened earlier this year, it is the little brother to its namesake café that is situated next door. The original Assembly focuses on selling amazing tea and filter coffee, and so you can imagine the focus for the this one. A lot of care has clearly been taken setting it up, and the barista’s follow that on.
For those who are interested, they serve beans from Mecca in Sydney, and upon further inquires found out they use the filter variety, which comes to amazing effect. It produces a soft but intriguing taste, similar to that of my favourite bean from Seven Seeds.
For all the student out there, it’s a great place too for studying whilst being able to enjoy a great coffee. There are cakes and tarts sold too, and as mentioned in previous reviews they are amazing, and in my opinion can almost be considered works of art!

Assembly has got the Melbourne coffee vibe spot on with this little twin room shoebox café. They are ahead of most of the competition when it comes to quality and they put such a large emphasis on their filters. I love it.
I grabbed the Ethiopia Bokasso when I made a quick stop by today. $ 4 Pourovers make me especially happy. It was served in a small stone-​like cup, I’ll chuck a picture up for you to see. The coffee was ripe with red cherry deliciousness as it cooled to a bit warmer than room temperature. Delicious.
I think I could give these guys a 5 star rating based purely on design. Light wooden white-​washed, you know the feel. Actually, come to think of it, I could probably give them a 5 star rating based purely on their business card. That thing is cray. Come it and grab one. Have a coffee while you’re at it. Have two. Or three.
I’m honestly surprised this little café hasn’t received more attention from Unilocal.Seriously everyone, get here now. You’re missing out!

Why have one café when you can have two side by side? This was clearly the reasoning behind Assembly and their recent opening of Assembly Espresso right next door to the original that just served filtered coffee and tea.
The new café serves espresso based coffee and a simple selection of cakes. Those tarts with the black pastry? They’re made by NORA and have edible charcoal inside the pastry to give that striking effect. They’re delicious too.