Day 44 Bargara Beach

OK Paul, this one is for you!

This afternoon we drove into Bargara Beach and stopped at Salt at Bargara for a coffee.

Salt is pleasantly situated right on the Esplanade with an outlook that takes in the white horses and tumbling shore break of the Coral Sea.

We were shown to a table for two on the pavement under a wide awning and surrounded by a large number of other tables most of them occupied by a cheerful bunch of diners enjoying a chat out of the rather showery weather that has crept up on us.

Even though it was afternoon and not the right time for milk coffee, we ordered two cappacinos in mugs. After just the right amount of time to take in our surroundings, a helpful waitress brought us our coffees. We had ordered them extra hot and, temperature-wise, they were almost perfect. I'd say 76 degrees when 78 was called for.

I gave the frothy "lid" top marks.  It was full and creamy, not too deep and had just the right amount of cocoa sprinkled on top.  That's right, cocoa not chocolate or coffee powder.

The coffee itself, while not quite "to die for", was well up there.  It gave us a full-bodied, arabica experience in the mouth.  It left us with a restrained and refined bitterness on the edge of the tongue while the prolonged aftertase was one of roast almond and dark chocolate.

I had just one little quibble with Salt at Bargara.  Salt, like many, otherwise top-of-the-range, Australian cafes and restaurants has not yet learned the trick of serving coffee with a glass of water.  This European habit cleans the palate and tops off a most enjoyable coffee adventure.  A little gesture that is well worth the effort.

We give Salt at Bargara a rating of eight coffee pots out of ten.

There you go, Paul.  Do you reckon it will fill up that blank page.?