Moving on from 3 Little Birds Espresso, Airlie Beach and the Queensland Coast, Amanda and I headed south to Brisbane for a few days. This was mostly spent catching up with friends, but we did find time for one Coffee Spot. Foster & Black was a new name to me, a chance discovery when I spotted its kiosk in The Myer Centre in Brisbane’s Central Business District. Although we only had time for a quick flat white, the barista told us about the coffee shop/roastery in Fortitude Valley, so we made time to pay it a visit on Saturday morning.

A relatively new addition to Brisbane’s speciality coffee scene, the minimalist coffee bar only opened in 2021, fronting a large, open warehouse-like space. This is home to Foster & Black’s Loring coffee roaster, its green bean storage and its production area, all separated from the coffee bar by a wall of windows running the full width of the building. There’s a range of seating options, but the real draw is the coffee, with a house-blend on espresso, plus three single-origins available on espresso, batch brew and pour-over. Meanwhile, if you’re hungry, there’s a small selection of cakes and pastries.

You can read more of my thoughts after the gallery.

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Foster & Black is at the northeastern end of Wickham Street as you head along Fortitude Valley, away from Brisbane’s Central Business District. On the left-hand side of the street, it occupies an initially nondescript two-storey building at the end of a terrace, the front partially obscured by a large, mature tree. The central door is flanked by a pair of tall, wide, floor-to-ceiling windows, while a pair of plain, white benches stand either side of the door, filling the space between door and window.

Stepping inside, you’re greeted by an interesting space. The bulk of the building is occupied by the roastery, which is at the back, while at the front is Foster & Black’s coffee bar. A short wall immediately to the right of the door splits the space in two, the two sides linked by the counter which runs along the back of the coffee bar, separated from the roastery by a wall of windows. Order at the counter before finding yourself a seat.

If you want to sit on the left, there’s a central table, long and thin, with eight fixed stools. Alternatively, a short, three-person padded bench runs along the left-hand wall under a neat hidden-word puzzle, followed by a small retail section, featuring bags of beans and coffee equipment. Another three-person padded bench runs along the full length of the dividing wall, continuing on the other side, where it forms a U-shaped seating area along with the front and right-hand walls. Each of the benches features cylindrical, padded back rests and small, in-built round coffee tables.

The decor, meanwhile, is just as interesting, the whitewashed brick walls offering a contrast to the black of the counter, furniture, floor and ceiling. The last of these, the ceiling, is perhaps the most interesting of all since it appears to undulate in a wave-like pattern. It is perhaps best seen than described.

However, as neat and quirky as the space is, the real draw is the coffee. I started with an oat milk flat white, made with the house blend, a mix of beans from Brazil and Colombia. This went really well with the oat milk, Plant Projects’ No Ordinary Oat Milk (which is made in Sweden) to produce a rich, smooth and creamy flat white as good as any I’ve had made with dairy milk.

I paired this with an almond croissant, the rich, flaky pastry contrasting to sweet patisserie cream, an excellent accompaniment to my coffee. Amanda, meanwhile, tried one of the single-origins, the Finca Llano Bonito, a naturally-processed coffee from Costa Rica which was available on batch brew. Served at the perfect drinking temperature, this was very fruity with lots of berry flavours.

Before I left, I offered the barista the pick of the coffee I’d brought with me from Singapore, and while I remember that he selected one of the four single-origins from PPP Coffee, my note taking failed me and I can’t remember which one it was! In return, I was offered an espresso made, with the La Perla, a washed coffee from Ecuador, which turned out to be a rounded, well-balanced shot. With that, we were on our way, off to meet another friend for lunch.

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