OUR STORY
Back in 2021, we got tired of paying $5 for average coffee. So we started reviewing every cafe we visited. Same order, every time. No exceptions.
THE PROBLEM
Brisbane has hundreds of cafes. Most of them serve average coffee. Back in 2021, you would walk in, pay $5 for a latte, take a sip, and think: "That was fine."
Fine is not good enough. Not when you are paying good money for something that should be excellent. The problem is there is no way to know which cafes are actually good before you walk in. Google reviews are unreliable. Instagram is curated. Word of mouth is inconsistent.
We wanted a system. One that is honest, consistent, and impossible to manipulate.
THE METHOD
We order one latte and one double shot espresso at every cafe. Same drinks. Same size. Every single time. No variations. No specials. No freebies.
"One latte. One double shot. Every time."
This is not negotiable. If a cafe offers us a free coffee, we decline. If a barista asks what we are reviewing for, we do not tell them. The score reflects what a regular customer would experience walking in off the street on any given day.
THE SCORES
Every cafe gets a score out of 10. Here is what each range means:
Cafes scoring 7.5 and above earn a Koffee Review sticker. That is our stamp of approval. It means the coffee is genuinely worth going out of your way for.
THE NUMBERS
We have reviewed cafes across Brisbane, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Moreton Bay, Ipswich, Logan, Redland, Melbourne, Sydney, and internationally in Barcelona. Brisbane remains our home base with the largest concentration of reviews.
Every single review is funded by us. No cafe has ever paid for a review, a higher score, or placement on our leaderboard. That number stays at $0. Permanently.
THE BRAND
Our Fair Dinkum Koffee Review. Fair dinkum is Australian slang meaning genuine, honest, the real deal. That is the foundation of everything we do.
The K in Koffee is intentional. It makes the brand distinctive and recognisable. When you see the gold stamp, the dark background, and the score ring, you know it is a Koffee Review.
We are on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube as @koffeereview. Our website at koffeereview.com.au has every review, an interactive heat map, a cafe comparison tool, suburb guides, city rankings, and a spin the wheel feature for when you cannot decide where to go.
THE MISSION
We want every person in Australia to know where to get great coffee before they walk in the door. No more gambling your money on mediocre espresso. No more trusting Google reviews written by the cafe owner's friends.
"Know before you go."
That is what Koffee Review gives you. An honest score from someone who ordered the same thing you are about to order, paid the same price you are about to pay, and has nothing to gain by lying about it.
We are not food critics. We are not influencers. We are just coffee people who believe you deserve to know if it is worth your money.