Photo by S A de Jager
Before I dive into my review of this Espresso Bar in Chermside I would like to get it out there that the name alone is a great reason to stop by. CPR Espresso Bar, located opposite the Prince Charles and Holy Spirit Hospitals in Chermside could not have picked a better name, I am a big fan and get a small chuckle every time that I go past.
I noticed today that they serve Breakfast Wraps, Muffins and some other small snacks in addition to serving coffee. I did not try anything to eat while I was there as I was far more interested in getting my caffeine fix sorted.
Take 1
Well it was a bit of a precarious start for my relationship with the CPR Espresso bar and that is unfortunate because they are located no more than three hundred meters from my front door and would have served as a great spot for my morning fix.
I went down there a few days ago with my buddy and we were shocked and dismayed to find that the Espresso Bar was closed, in direct contradiction to their hours of operation. A cruel jest at the expense of hopeless addicts, how terribly inhumane it is to make the caffeine junky go without their fix.
The most disappointing part is that there wasn't even a note, scribbled out and stuck to the door to say that they had be called away on urgent business. Leaving me to wonder whether they were still operating or had been the briefest flash in the pan.
Take 2
Photo courtesy of CPR Espresso Bar
I wandered down to CPR Espresso bar this morning and to my delight, I found that they were open and serving Bellissimo coffee, something that is not well advertised when they are closed. There is some seating available but that is not really the idea, it is more of the 'Hole in the Wall' kind of place where you grab your coffee and then head back to the hospital for work or visiting.
The coffee was made quite well with all of the requisite flavours and aromas and I understand that when you are located across from a hospital that you may be pricing your coffee for the doctors who pop over and grab a cup. I don't necessarily hold that against the proprietors of CPR but all in all I don't think I'll be heading back to CPR. Primarily because I have found that there is better coffee, at a much better price available elsewhere in Chermside.
