Westside Rudimentary goes well beyond what its name might suggest. Based out of a converted trio of shipping containers on a long-disused lot in Footscray, Rudimentary is a hyper-sustainable community spot. It even has an on-site garden, watered from the cafe's own collected rainwater. Architectural impressiveness aside, head barista Emily Keats's team puts out a fine filter brew, particularly the V60.

Based out of a cavernous warehouse in northside Brunswick, Code Black has expanded to two other locations around the city, one on Collins Street for the office crowd, and another in North Melbourne, both of which vary slightly from the OG Brunswick location. The expansions were for good reason — their large operation allows for myriad different roasts, many of which can be spotted at other coffee shops around the city. Cold brew is still a relative novelty for Australian coffee, but Code Black's take is one of the best.

Founded by two brothers in a garage in 2010, Industry Beans has grown to be maybe the top café in the already coffee-saturated inner north Fitzroy area. To get the full flavor out of Industry's house blends, order a ristretto: shots of espresso are stopped after two-thirds of the pour is done, leaving only the most concentrated, flavor-packed extract.

The almost obscenely popular Proud Mary dishes up coffee and brunch to hectic crowds for hours on end each day. Founder Nolan Hirte works directly with coffee farmers overseas for reasons of ethics and quality, and the success of that program is why Proud Mary needs three baristas working the counter. If it's too crazy, you can head to Aunty Peg's (also owned by the same crew) just a block away, for espresso, AeroPress, or cold brew.

Opened by St. Ali's original founder Mark Dundon (who later sold the South Melbourne café), Seven Seeds focuses heavily on roasting and blending its own beans, an operation at the center of the wood-laced interior of the Carlton café. Black coffee is best for picking up the flavor notes, but the baristas do a neat iced latte that avoids the add-ons plaguing other coffee shops' versions. This one is a student favorite — primarily due to its proximity to the University of Melbourne.

With its most central location based out of a splendid colonial-era building on one of Melbourne's iconic downtown lanes, uber-environmentally minded Dukes guarantees quality coffee by not separating its baristas from the roasting process. That is, the people making the coffee are consistently consulted on which roasts work for which brewing methods. Not content with succeeding just in Melbourne, Dukes recently expanded to Sydney.

The ideal stop-off after a gluttonous visit to the South Melbourne Market, this original location of South Melbourne's self-described "temple to sublime coffee" has grown into more of an empire over the last decade, taking over or opening numerous other Melbourne cafés such as Liar Liar in Hawthorn and Sensory Lab downtown. Tucked away on a side street, the original St. Ali location boasts highly trained baristas with expertise in producing flavorful coffee across the spectrum — without syrupy bells and whistles.

With 15 years in Melbourne, Coffee Supreme predates the mass proliferation of roasters across the city in recent years. Originally from New Zealand, Supreme boasts that it dragged its early customers' tastes away from "ashtray"-like dark roasts to more nuanced lighter takes — now the default approach for any would-be successful roaster in Melbourne.

Hopefully you're not allergic to crunchy granola, because that's very much the vibe at this Balaclava spot, in Melbourne's south-east. That new-age, crystal-healing aesthetic plays out in the food menu and interior, but apparently it helps Monk Bodhi Dharma churn out excellent coffee. With a small roasting operation in its brick shack and a focus on single origins, espresso is the strong point here. The shop's also tantalizingly close to the large ring of beaches on Melbourne's Port Phillip Bay.