Head over the Harbour Bridge into Sydney's moneyed north and you'll find the neighborhood of Artarmon, home to Salvage. The crew doesn't have their own roasting operation, but they channel that energy into the coffee producing side — the slow drip is a revelation.

It's perhaps a little lofty to imply that one's café is the central point of worship for a religion, but Mecca does a solid cup of coffee. It's so good that their beans can be found in countless cafés across Sydney — but Mecca's own locations are the highlight. There are two others near downtown, and the roastery in Alexandria, to the south.

Arguably the best coffee in Sydney's CBD (the downtown core), Gumption's fastidious approach to coffee comes from the top. Owner Hazel de los Reyes has claimed multiple cupping, roasting, and barista titles, and that wisdom has evidently been passed down to her team, who offer a myriad of brewing approaches. Tucked in the Strand Arcade, Gumption is actually the second location to fall under Reyes's Coffee Alchemy brand — but the original spot (just named Coffee Alchemy) in Marrickvllle, to the west, closes almost unreasonably early.

A photo posted by @tomsdailygrind on Nov 3, 2016 at 12:15am PDT

In an almost literal hole in the wall to the east of the city, Room 10 is intimate, cozy, and it offers some excellent espresso drinks with Mecca's meticulously roasted beans.

You never know what you're going to get at Paramount Coffee Project — but that's not a bad thing. Beans and roasters change every month or so, and coffee is dispersed to local coffee scene bigwigs for them to try new things, report back, and get it brewed for the masses at this inner Sydney location. The concept seems to work — it's been successful enough to open a Los Angeles location.

A photo posted by Paramount Coffee Project (@paramountcoffeesydney) on Oct 31, 2016 at 2:02pm PDT

Reuben Hills owner Russell Beard travels the world with his head roaster to form long-term relationships with coffee growers. The end result (well, after some roasting) is refined coffee with neatly demarcated flavors. The pour-overs and filters are pricey but good, or you can do the flavored coffee thing with a ginger-turmeric latte. They also do public cuppings every Saturday morning.

The name might be sinister, but the coffee here isn't. Courtesy of his childhood on a coffee farm, owner Simon Jaramillo deliberately roasts, mixes, and brews to create some of the wildest coffee flavors in Sydney: Don't be surprised if you encounter something like beans with chocolate notes mixed up with tropical fruit hints. He's also excited to give customers as much information as possible about that process, too. The cold brew is the best way for optimize your Reformatory taste sensations.

Founded by a duo involved with Australian coffee OG Toby's Estate, this side-street cafe in Newtown draws endless crowds. They come not just for the espresso, but also for the on-site bakery and retail store upstairs.

"I'd rather be at Grind" — it's both this café's slogan, and something many Sydneysiders might think to themselves, as Grind is a long way from the inner city. Down south, near the beach in Cronulla, Grind started doing Italian coffee a decade back, and have since branched out to to great siphon and cold brew, all in a homey space decorated with kitsch to spare.

A photo posted by Michelle Moore (@mishoutofwater) on Mar 7, 2015 at 9:46pm PST