Just as the café name suggests, everything about this Darwin-based café is done to the extreme. “We take our food and coffee to the extreme, our staff are extreme, and so is our service,” say Co-Owner Naveen Kumar.

Located in an apartment block in Darwin’s bustling business hub, Xtreme Caffeine serves Mocopan Coffee’s Profondo and Tre Campi Fairtrade blends.

“The Profondo blend is dark, rich, and full-bodied coffee to suit our customer’s preferences,” Naveen says.

The Tre Campi Fairtrade uses beans from Minas Gerais in Brazil, San Jorge of Costa Rica, and Chiapas of Mexico. This Fairtrade blend is a true all-rounder, packed with hazelnut fragrance and a spice-clove touch in aroma. It highlights chocolates and spice notes, and with milk it delivers a smooth caramel finish.

Xtreme Caffeine started four years ago and Naveen says Darwin’s coffee scene has been thriving ever since. “People are becoming more educated about good coffee and are drinking more and more,” says Naveen. “We have a strong following of regular customers who come down from nearby offices to enjoy our coffee.”

Those loyal customers got behind Xtreme Caffeine when the café was listed as a finalist in the Café of the Year competition. Competing cafés first had to register, then create a dish on their menu featuring ingredients from the Heinz and Don ranges. Twenty-one regional finalists were selected via public voting.

To match the caffeine options, a gluten-free breakfast and lunch menu is available. “We serve fresh, organic, healthy food that’s made on site,” says Naveen.

One of the cafés favourite menu items is the Extreme breakfast – for “extremely hungry customers”. It contains scrambled eggs, grilled mushrooms, tomatoes and baked beans. The breakfast granola is another stand-out with dried and house-roasted nuts. For lunch, try their famous chicken, meat or vegetarian burritos.