With winter looming upon us, there has never been a better time to charge up on a pre surf award winning coffee.

The month of May has seen some frosty mornings with offshore winds and bluebird skies. What better way to get motivated to push the levels of high performance?

Today I will share with you my top five picks around the Margaret River region to help you get out of the car, pull on your wetsuit and plunge into the icy depths.

Best coffees with an ocean view

#1: Gracie’s General comes in at number one.

Gracies General – Gracetown WA: Directions

Just 20 minutes north of Prevelly we find the jewel that is Cowaramup Bay. With breaks on offer such as; South Point, North Point, Huzzas, Left-handers Stretch, Big Rock and Cobblestones, The Gracies General puts you within five minutes striking distance of all of the above-mentioned heavy water surfing locations.

Convenient location aside, the love that Mike and Kate put into their food and coffee as well as their friendly helpful staff and small town country vibe, you will feel right at home and keep coming back for more!

Good news too, wet and sandy feet are welcome! So don’t be scared to rock in with your wetsuit on in between surfs. For best winter comfort food, the Burger Boy pie is a lunchtime winner. For non-coffee drinkers their chai latte or lemongrass ginger tea comes highly recommended.

#2: White Elephant Cafe

White Elephant Cafe – Gnarabup WA: Directions

The list of Indian Ocean waves at your fingertips are; River mouth, Main Break, Bommie Boat Ramps, Grunters, Sewers, Gas point, and Boodgie.

With a million-dollar view out to boat ramps it’s with great pleasure you will sip on that hot beverage and do your morning swell check. Proprietors Alex and AJ pride themselves on producing healthy food and great coffee for the local Western Australia surfing community.

All of their staff are super friendly and will usually ask you where you surfed that day or if you’re heading for a wave. With a kiosk style counter and alfresco dining area your wet sandy feet are once again welcome. They also have a lovely couch and warm fire combo around the side for a cosy ambience.

If your pantry is bare and you need some breakfast, the smashed pumpkin on sourdough with avocado and pepita seeds is a huge hit. Non-caffeine advocates should have a crack at their banana caramello smoothie. Happy hunting!!

Best Surf Town Coffees

#3: The Black Sheep Deli

The Black Sheep Deli – Cowaramup WA: Directions

Margaret River High-Performance Centre and Surf school are based in Cowaramup, and let’s face it, sometimes we need our caffeine hit fast to get us going in the morning.

When I’m too lazy to make my coffee and too impatient to wait until I get to the beach, the best Cowie based coffee stop is the Black Sheep Deli. Specialising in gluten-free, sugar-free and dairy-free meal options the Black Sheep Deli is a great place to fuel up nutrition wise. And believe me, everything tastes great in there! Insiders reckon their Nasi Goreng with a fillet of Barramundi is the yummiest lunch on the menu.

With that, as well as amazing coffee and great friendly staff headed up by owners Dan and Nicola, you will leave there with a full belly and a smile from ear to ear.  And if coffee gives you too much of a buzz, rip in to one of their turmeric lattes. Yeeewwww

#4: Urban Bean

Urban Bean – Margaret River Town WA: Directions

If your based in the town of Margaret River, or just visiting to check out the Margaret River Pro later this month, you can’t go past the Urban Bean. Situated at the top of the main drag, owner Atlanta has been there for a whopping nineteen years and has been serving up caffeinated concoctions to pro surfers, surf fans and local board riding enthusiasts for many moons.

Suffice to say their team of baristas have it down to a fine art.  With the large out door chilling area, beach sand encrusted feet are more than welcome too.

If you’ve already had your morning surf and are hungry enough to chew your own arm off, rip in to a plate of their kimchi fried rice. Supervisor Gill reckons it’s super yummy and not to be over looked. Yum!! If caffeine blows your hair back a little too hard their massive range of loose leaf and herbal teas have got you covered for a liquid hot warm fuzzy.

#5: SideKick Cafe

SideKick Cafe – Margaret River Town WA: Directions

Situated right next to IGA in the centre of the Margaret River town is the Sidekick Café… and the name matches their coffee! When I want a really strong caffeine kickstart I head there directly.

Not only is their coffee strong but also never disappoints in flavour, which is testament to the effort made by their team of awesome staff! If you want to fire right up and paddle around and increase your wave count, this is the coffee for you!

Owners Rob and Karen have manager Phil taking care of business down there and he sights their smoked salmon and cream cheese gluten free bagel as their hottest menu item. Their savoury muffins are pretty damn good too if you need to grab something quick on your way to the surf. If your not looking for the buzz that coffee provides have a crack at their Soul Vegan chai latte. Booyah!

So with the imminent arrival of the World Surf League (WSL) championship tour circus coming to town and a cold winter of backed up swells ahead, your piping hot pre surf pump up potion is never too far away.

With that and our wetsuit guide blog (coming soon) there are no excuses to get off the couch and start frothing harder than the fluff on your cappuccino.

AND if you are really serious about your craft and want to accelerate your progression curve faster than a Ferrari on the auto barn, get yourself a session at the Margaret River High Performance Centre. If you haven’t surfed before, why not grab a lesson at Margaret River Surf School. No excuses now… go surfing!!

Author – Matty B

PS. We know we cant mention all of the amazing coffee brewers in our awesome town so we would love to hear all about your coffee favs in the comments below!

Have your say below: