Lowdown Espresso

Lowdown Espresso Checked

I’ve been meaning to write a post about Lowdown Espresso for a long time now. They’ve recently captured my “Must visit cafe’s when in the CBD” vote, and I think the coffee they are making is some of the best in the city.

Lowdown is run by Mark and Adam Lowes, and two nicer gents you couldn’t meet, who take the flannel clad / bearded look and make it their own.

They took over the diminutive cafe in Cloisters Arcade from the previous owners and set about making it their own. Their Dad got involved used his carpentry skills to put the benches together and help get the place fitted out, and it is perfect in it’s simplicity. The guys use a customised Fiori blend for their espresso, and often have a single original filter available to try out as well. They’ve graduated from a 2 group Wega to a 3 group La Marzocco in the relatively short time they’ve been open and are pumping out more coffee’s than ever before.

I like it because they’re both down to earth guys who are obviously loving what they do and really seem to enjoy giving you a great coffee. The little chocolate button handed out with each coffee may go some way to explaining the chocolate notes I find in their espresso, but other than that it’s a rich and intense brew with a lot of body that a discerning coffee lover will appreciate.

The cafe is really too small to do any serious cooking, but there’s a few tasty sandwiches on offer every day, and on a recent visit some extremely commendable macarons.

If you love your coffee without pretense or attitude then pay these guys a visit. Be warned, it does get very popular during the morning “need caffeine before I can face the office” rush hour, but it’s worth the wait.

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Lowdown Espresso
Inside Cloisters Arcade
16a/865 Hay St
Perth WA 6000
(08) 9226 3041

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Low Down Espresso Bar on Urbanspoon

10 thoughts on “Lowdown Espresso”

  1. These are such beautiful photos of my favourite coffee joint! You really know how to capture life beautifully. I’ve just been given a Canon EOS 400D and would love to learn to make full use of it. Depending on the light my photos are looking great or crap. A bit like your duck photo comparison in the previous post! ;) Are you 100% self-taught? Could you point me towards any courses (perth)/resources/lenses I need – I’d be so grateful. I’ve done a search through your site and haven’t been able to find any of your thoughts on photography… Understand if they’re just trade secrets to be kept. Thanks again. Eve

  2. The guys use a customised Fiori blend for their espresso, and often have a single original filter available to try out as well. They’ve graduated from a 2 group Wega to a 3 group La Marzocco ……..translation plse :D:D:D:D and a :P

  3. Hi Eve,

    Thanks for the nice comments, I always try to capture things the way I see them, so I’m glad you appreciate it.

    I started out with a Canon 350D and have since graduated to a 5D mk II. The camera makes some difference, but some of my favourite shots are ones I’ve taken with the old camera.

    I have put a few thoughts about my photography up in the past on this post:

    http://abstractgourmet.com/2010/03/eat-drink-blog/

    I might put a page up detailing it more sometime soon. As for resources, I learnt a lot from reading groups on Flickr, more from people I met on Flickr who were Perth based photographers.

    I also can’t stress how important good light and a quality lens is. I tend to prefer large aperture (low f stop) lenses like 1.8, 1.4, which means I can shoot in low light better, but there is no substitute for a beautifully lit scene with soft natural light around.

    Keep experimenting and you’ll be fine, and sign up for a Flickr account and upload your stuff, a little criticism can go a long way to improving your technique.

    If I had more secrets I’d be happy to share them :)

  4. Translation for Sharon: They know and care what goes into their coffee, and have changed their equipment to keep up with increasing demand without compromising quality.

    ie: The brown stuff in the cup tastes consistently good :)

    1. Happy New Year to you too Cynthia. Not being much of a soy drinker, I will admit that I didn’t actually check, but thanks for the info :)

      What is the top choice for soy milk drinkers these days ?

  5. I agree too. I used to walk though Cloisters on my way to and from work and the guys are consistently in their cafe after hours, perfecting their craft, long after the other businesses in the vicinity have closed up and left for the evening. Lovely guys – so refreshing from some of the attitude served up in other places.

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