Flipboard Cafe

It seems like there's no space in Melbourne these days thats not occupied by cafes. They tend to creep up on you when you least expect it, then BAM, you've consumed more than a weeks worth of long blacks in the time it took you to read Broadsheet cover to cover. Despite this, there are still a few coffee black spots on the East side of Melbourne CBD where tumbleweeds tumble at their own accord and finding a good long macchiato is harder than memorising the entire periodic table (which would also be incredibly pointless and dull), which is why I'm so excited about cafe newcomer, Flipboard.

Created by architect Martin Heide and interior designer Megg Evans, you can expect this place to deliver big in the looks department. Set in a three meter-wide gap on La Trobe Street and split between three levels the cafe is filled with clean lines, pale wood and large windows that can be folded back to let the Summer sun flood in. Grab one of the very few tables (and by very few I mean, err, one), settle yourself in the little window nook or else pull up at a bench with cleverly designed seats made from compacted old magazine collections. National Geographics have never looked so cool. Coffee is sourced from artisan roaster Josh bailey and put through its paces by the La Marzocco machine to create a sweet, creamy blend with just enough kick. The menu, much like the cafe itself, is pretty small-think ham and brie baguettes and egg-sandwhiches alongside a simple cake selection and daily juice.

Though small, Flipboard is the perfect example that size does not matter (gentlemen). It's a place to enjoy a little quirk with your coffee as you sit and watch the tumbleweeds of the Eastern CBD roll by. If you enjoy people watching, good coffee, impressing friends with your knowledge of great Melbourne cafes in random places, maliciously laughing at busy office-folk rushing to meetings, or even just hanging out with friends for a couple of hours in a beautifully designed space, then Flipboard is for you. And if none of these apply to you, then you obviously have no soul.