Higher Octave

NEW PLACE. SO NEW I CAN STILL SMELL PAINT! Or is that the place getting rebuilt next door haha. This little gem is found in the other end of Boundary Street in West End, you know the end with the veterinary clinic, the Coffee Club, Nandos and the West End public library. It has several positive reviews on Urbanspoon as well as a very frequently updated Facebook page full of cute coffee art pictures and menu items. They were cited as having good Japanese style cafe drinks with an European influence on their foods.

Off to another Jubiventure! She was back in Brisbane so we decided to go here after our disastrous Atomica visit for cake and coffee. We got a bit lost because Jubi was convinced that it was at very end of Boundary Street near the pier and the cafe doesn't have a large name sign up either. We were wandering around until she spotted its teeny tiny board.

Oh yep.

The savoury menu is quite limited so we decided against breakfast/lunch here and came back for coffee and cake only. Here is their menu, there's lots of little offers combining both food and drink for discounted price. There was a good deal on at the time for a panini, cake and drink for $15 when we were there.

The whole pretty board

Top bit

Bottom bit

Their confusing chalkboard

The cafe is very cute if a bit eclectic in taste. There are lots of lovely framed photographs, interesting books and little wooden pieces to catch your eye everywhere. Its air conditioned but gently so, you can definitely feel the coolness when you walk inside.

Japanese bookshelf

A table with lots of books

Pretty long tables

People watching spot

More photos

Jubi ordered their piccolo and she was delighted to see a rabbit etched into the foam of her drink. She was so impressed that for several minutes she couldn't bring herself to drink it. When she finally did, she drank from the bottom of the cup and made the bunny blur so that it had a sad frown and she offered me a sip of her sad bunny. They serve Cafe Silipo blend here, a Gold Coast blend I've not tried before until today. They favour the Nero brand from this group, which is a blended Italian style blend. Jubi was very happy with her piccolo and also remarked that it was quite a large serving for a piccolo, so much so that I thought she had gotten a latte for once.

See the bunny?

I had eyes only for the Higher Octave latte made out of iced matcha and vanilla latte. The colour is not as bright in this photograph compared to its gentle pale greenish hue when seen in real life. You can see in the photo that it seems more brownish than green but after a few stirs, it evened out a bit, to the jade coloured shade at the bottom of the glass. The flavour is a very mild and not too bitter matcha green tea, with a milky vanilla base to round out the flavours. I was a bit hesitant in the beginning but after more and more sips of my drink the flavour became perfectly balanced. I'm normally a drink guzzler, but this was one of those best savoured slowly while having a chat with friends.

The colour got better after a stir

Lastly, I also got a bittersweet coffee jelly. The flavour reminded me of one of those Indonesian kopiko candies, a smooth, slightly bitter but mellow coffee flavour. It was absolutely amazing with the sweetened cream blob on top. I think if you like Asian jellies in general and appreciate the flavour of coffee, you will enjoy this dessert. I really enjoyed it and found myself quickly scraping the sides clean after Jubi had a taste.

Jubi likes the spoon

Higher Octave:
Atmosphere: 8, a physically cool, bright little cafe with lazily swinging ceiling fans. You can imagine coming here for a lazy coffee and having a book that you come back to to read every time you go here. Some of the pictures are a bit odd that they have on display, like a headless anime figure next to their glass name? But otherwise quite inviting.
Service: 9, super attentive. The two guys here came out to give us menus when we were perusing, and were keen to clear tables as well as chat to people in the cafe. Very enthusiastic and they thanked us when we left too haha.
Food: 10, gorgeous food and drink. Definitely go here again if I was in West End and wanted a coffee and cake with friends after a meal.