The Kookaburra

Reviews 5

MA

Martina Clements

OH. MY. GOSH. As a vegan, I am used to a small selection of coffee and usually falling back on my Starbucks latte because it is good and its trusted for me. I read a review by Jax Vegan saying that they had THE BEST Pumpkin Spice coffee in St. Augustine hands down. Now I am a picky picky person and PSL used to be my FAVORITE coffee before I became vegan. Needless to say, I havent found one I have liked since. My hubby was going on about how I should just give a "different" coffee a chance and so I used my trusty iPhone to look up local coffee near our B&B. This came up as 600ft away. So I viewed the menu and decided I would love to give the Princess Cristan a try. It lists it as "a fancy caramel latte for our fancy royal customers." Since I am pretty fancy I decided that would be my choice if the caramel was vegan (as Starbucks caramel isnt, and it is pretty hard to find a caramel latte that is.) A few short minutes later my husband arrived with a 16 oz cup with a cute Kookaburra wrap, and it smelled delightful. Now I will preface further by saying I am not only a Starbucks snob (if they made a Platinum card for # of purchases I would have it, as the gold card doesnt suffice for me) but I am also a vegan milk snob and usually dont like ANY sweetened vegan milks. I only use Trader Joes Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk or the 365 Brand (Whole Foods) Unsweetened Almond Milk as my drinks. I hate, and when I say hate, I returned the coffee to Starbucks for tasting disgusting when I tried the "new" coconut milk they introduced at some point in 2015. I told my hubby NOT to get me coffee if they used sweetened milks. He told me that the milk was sweetened, but ALL the vegan milks were so just to taste it and if I hated it obviously I could go to Starbucks. SO I took a sip. And I said HOLY CRAP, and took another. And I decided that Kookaburra coffee is my favorite!!!!!!!! This coffee was just sweet enough to be a nice treat, but creamy and rich and delicious! I absolutely love it. LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT. And I will be going back today (as I usually get a 20 oz coffee, so I clearly need a second one!) and trying the Mocha Nut (described as "smooth chocolate and creamy coconut bliss" YES PLEASE!!!) I also read that if you call ahead (I read via Jax Vegan) that you can get a vegan pie, full of coconut curry and veggies!! How awesome for a quaint small town to have such a great place and DELICIOUS offerings. It is NOT settling for this coffee, this is a treat that I will MISS when I go back to St. Petersburg. So think of opening one in the St. Pete/Tampa area PLEASE!!!!!!

---

MY

Mylon Pruett

Recommendations: The Aussie (hot or cold), Cortado Price: $5-7 (depending) Pros: Really good unique drinks that still taste like coffee and not a desert in a cup, killer cordato Cons: Super tiny shop, the latte’s are a tad bit weak Thoughts: There honestly isn’t a lot of great coffee in the Old City but Kookaburra is a shining star of coffee awesomeness. I’ve been coming here for years now, basically whenever we come to St Augustine, and I’ve never been disappointed. They use Bold Bean coffee beans for their drinks, so I know their beans are high quality and incredibly fresh. They also specialize in very unique drinks that maintain that distinct coffee flavor. The honey badger (honey and cinnamon) is one of my favorites, along with The Aussie. A lot of places sacrifice the quality of their espresso or the strength of their drink when they venture into “unique creations” but Kookaburra isn’t one of them. The Kookaburra also severs small food items; pastries, Aussie pies (these are sort of along the lines of a pot pie, but with different “filling”), and breads. While I haven’t personally tried any of them they do look good and I’ve never heard any complaints from customers while I’ve been hanging out there. Now for the downsides; the shop is insanely tiny. This is kind of understandable seeing as their shop is just 1 block south of St George street and everything around there is tiny. However, that doesn’t diminish the fact that it is still super small inside and so its not really a place that lends itself to hanging out with friends or trying to get any work done. Definitely more of a grab and go location. I also find their latte’s just a tad on the weaker side, which is odd because they make their coronado so strong 4 of them could kill you; not really but kinda :) . I really do love Kookaburra and make it a point to go out of my way to pick up a drink or two…or 4 whenever I’m in the area. It makes any trip to St Augustine so much better, but if you want to sit for a while you may want to visit their other location.

---

CA

Camille Mason

I would not pick a better place than The Kookaburra for my first Google review. One of their signature drinks, The Hot Aussie, describes it as a "velvety smooth latte with homemade vanilla and cream." Homemade vanilla...like as if theyre hand making pods in the back...and basic cream. Homemade vanilla cream sounds smoother. Almost as smooth as the Hot Aussie, and Im not talking about the owners either. The two guys who own the place are experts on making the PERFECT brew. Their espresso machine is state of the art, and the way he talks about coffee to you is like a chemistry lecture (they KNOW what theyre doing.) Dont be put off by the wait times (Ive never waited less than 5 minutes.) Every time I visit this quaint town The Kookaburra is a must on the agenda. They promote reusing the coffee cup slips you hold AND have vegemite out to sample if youre brave enough!

---

CO

Cory Malone

Im not a coffee snob, but I *really* enjoy third wave, single origin coffee (black). And when Im out of town, I try to find someplace along those lines. Im not an expert by any means, and I appreciate baristas who will engage me but not make me feel stupid. This place was great. It wasnt the best coffee Ive had (and I dont know enough to tell you why), but it was *much* better than what they were serving at our hotel and all the popular espresso coffee drink places. I liked their drip coffee best. (I did not try the pies and pastries, but they looked really good). Service was great, and the staff was gracious. These guys should be at the top of your list when visiting St. Augustine.

---

MA

Mark Villanueva

First time yesterday and I tried their Hawaiian latte and it was a little cup of awesome. Disappointed that I only got the 10 oz. but Im sure to get the larger size from now on because the flavor was divine.. Need to go earlier in the day tho to make sure we can try their mini cupcakes. Plus, I enjoyed how they laid their cafe out with their Aussie culture. The guy was a cool cat and detailed the environment a bit. And the lady was very homely and sweet. I really dig the vibe they have going on. Real friendly folks and atmosphere. Be sure to make a stop here if youre in the St. Auggie area to snag yourself some excellent coffee for the stroll around the area.

---

---