If you thought capital cities had captured Australia’s coffee scene, think again. Cairns has plenty of excellent coffee shops with many using beans from local roasters. There’s no shortage of coffee spots worthy of your attention, provided you know where to look.

Blackbird Espresso

Cairns is serious about coffee but Blackbird take it one step further, offering superb house baked treats to go with your caffeinated beverage of choice. Affordable and delicious brownies and muffins make this a great spot for morning tea.

Caffiend

The guys at Caffiend roast their own beans under the Tattooed Sailor label and it’s a smooth, delicious blend. Go any time but make it early if you want a table. As a couple of cyclists said when they saw me debating about going in, “Best coffee in Cairns, mate. Brekkies are awesome too.’

Cruze Coffee

This is the place the Rusty’s Market crowd venture too and, with the promise of a smile and great coffee, who wouldn’t. Cruze Coffee has more coffee blends then you can poke a stick of sugarcane at. Try the Godfather for a bigger than Ben Hur flavour. With around eleven blends to choose from, you will need to stay in Cairns for a while to try them all.

Sing Sing Espresso

No one who is a hipster likes being known as a hipster, but if you enjoy a hip coffee experience, you will certainly find it at Sing Sing Espresso. Enjoy the cool tunes and laid-back North Queensland vibe with your favourite brew.

The Chamber Room

‘No milkshakes. No syrups. No babycinos’ is the mantra at The Chamber Room. As I said before, the guys in Queensland’s Far North are serious about coffee. This spot specialises in cold brew and filter coffee and – surprise, surprise – decaf which was a welcome surprise for me after four lattes. But you know what they say, ‘If you’re not shaking, you haven’t had enough coffee’.

Disclosure: The writer drank way too many cups of coffee. All of them were paid for.

If you are heading to Cairns, don’t miss spending a day (or longer) at beautiful Fitzroy Island.