Mornings adds an extra shot of caffeine – and its own brand of almond milk – to Peel St

Barber first switched on the La Marzocco at Mornings Coffee Peel St early in 2018.  The laneway espresso bar operates within Malt and Juniper whisky and gin bar and serves coffee and snacks from 7am to 3pm weekdays. 

Grab an outside table and watch the Peel St passers-by or settle inside at a booth, at the bar or in a little nook upstairs. Brekkie snacks include loaded (and toasted croissants), sourdough fruit toast, Abbots and Kinney pastries or banana bread with chai butter.

The coffee is a double shot as standard and delivers a nice little kick. Barber sources a dark-roast blend from Sublime Coffee at Plympton and the brews are strong and bold with a smooth finish, minus the bitterness.  

The menu offers a bunch of plant-based milks for non-dairy loving coffee drinkers including Barber’s own Almond Friends –  which has developed a  cult following. It’s good stuff – made fresh every day with almonds from the Riverland, organic dates, salt and water –  and could well be the thing to sway alt-milk haters.

The milk is 10 per cent almond whereas most of the other commercial brands use around 2.5 per cent. The greater quantity of almonds makes the milk taste lighter (as it’s not compensated with thickeners)  and you can actually taste the almond flavour so it’s a smoother taste with no “gummy” texture. 

Barber has worked with Divide Design Co to turn the almond milk into a functioning brand with wholesale as the initial offering.

“I do doorstep drop offs down the line, like the old milk man. We replace the empty glass bottles with fresh, full ones, and clean then reuse the old bottles. Keeping everything as local and sustainable as possible,” he says.

Barber has been a busy boy. He opened Konbini in Adelaide Railway Station a year ago with powerhouse coffee and grab-and-go Japanese sandos and snacks.  During Covid,  he reinvented the shopfront,  upgraded the space and equipment and streamlined the menu.

“Konbini is great. The fresh onigiri are flying, sandos are selling and we’re constantly adding more to the menu and bridging the gap between traditional Japanese offerings and well-known local flavours,” Barber says.

The latest additions include Menchi Cheese Burger/ Menchi Katsu, a panko-crumbed, fried beef patty with pickles and smoked cheese on brioche.

“Everything is made fresh, in house which has been great fun with around nine square metres to work with for coffee, fryers, oven, fridges and storage. True Japanese efficiency, haha!” he says.

Barber says post-COVID, he’ll continue bringing reasonably-priced, freshly-made Japanese snacks to Adelaide city “in light of not being able to travel to Japan for a while, yet!”.

Mornings Coffee (at Malt and Juniper)
18 Peel St, Adelaide