A Sydney cafe has been named the world’s best coffee shop in a coveted list that has also recognised eight other Australian efforts.

Toby’s Estate’s flagship cafe and roastery in inner-Sydney took out top spot at the inaugural The World’s 100 Best Coffee Shops gala at CoffeeFest Madrid in Spain last week.

The event recognised and ranked some of the best coffee slingers on the globe, based on a comprehensive set of criteria judged by the public and experts.

Australia was well represented, with nine entries in the top 100. Two others made the top 10 – Proud Mary Coffee in Melbourne’s Collingwood at fourth, and Coffee Anthology in Brisbane at eighth – on a list that also included coffee spots in Singapore, Norway, France, Colombia, Venezuela and Japan.

Toby’s Estate celebrated its win by handing out free coffees on Thursday morning (February 27).

“At Toby’s Estate, coffee is at the heart of everything we do and I think that’s reflected in our customers’ experience,” brand general manager Jody Leslie said.

“Our whole team puts in an immense amount of effort to make the best coffee possible, so we’re absolutely delighted to be awarded this incredible recognition.”

While the award was for Toby’s Estate’s flagship cafe in Chippendale, there are offshoots in Brisbane and Melbourne, and even in New York.

In Melbourne, the Proud Mary Coffee team hailed its win on Instagram.

“This win is a huge testament to the work our team puts in every day,” they wrote.

The Melbourne brand was founded by husband and wife Nolan and now also has two outlets in the US.

“Massive shoutout to our Melbourne crew for bringing the heat, and to our teams in Portland and Austin – y’all serve up the same world-class standard that got us here,” the Instagram post said.

“We’re beyond proud and grateful for the love from our community and our incredible baristas who make the magic happen.”

But perhaps the excitement was greatest in Brisbane at Coffee Anthology – the cafe credited for kickstarting the Queensland capital’s specialty coffee wave.

Coffee Anthology opened in 2014 and is renowned for showcasing a rotating selection of Australia’s finest coffee producers.

“It felt like our hard work has been appreciated,” owner Adam Wang said.

“People recognise all the hard work that we’re putting in. I’m super proud of our team and, at the end of the day, everyone that’s involved in the business made this happen. It’s not a one person kind of effort – it’s everybody.”

The awards come at a watershed moment for the coffee industry. Amid cost-of-living pressures, consumers are keeping a closer eye on their spending (including on lattes). Coupled with a spike in the cost of coffee production due to supply shortages and regulations, operators are finding it harder to absorb the financial impacts.

“It’s actually a pretty tough time right now compared to like when we were named the best in Australia [by Beanhunter] in 2017,” Wang said.

“There are people still optimistic about the market itself, but for the majority of the us, we are actually just trying to stay above the water.”

That said, Wang said Australia’s strong showing was a testament to the country’s dedication to the coffee craft, even during an industry-wide crisis.

“I think everyone that does it, it’s not just about making money – there’s actually so much passion and love involved in this,” he said.

“We are definitely super competitive … but I think as an industry overall, I’m super proud of everybody that’s working hard together.”

Elements of this article are taken from one that first appeared in The Weekend Edition. Read the original here