Meet May’s, James Street’s tiny new spot for Vietnamese coffee and cold foam
It’s not often you hear the rattle of a cocktail shaker at 7:00 am in Burleigh. Follow the sound along James Street and, rather than a suspiciously early cocktail, you’ll find something far more suited to the hour being shaken and poured over ice – Vietnamese iced coffee. It’s all part of the morning ritual at May’s Vietnamese Coffee, a tiny hole-in-the-wall bringing a different kind of caffeine hit to Burleigh Heads.
The face behind May’s is Lizzie Fines, head chef at neighbouring restaurant Maman, who knows her way around a kitchen – and a coffee. With experience spanning cooking, baking and brewing, Lizzie spotted a gap on the Gold Coast for cafes specialising in Vietnamese coffee.
While traditional Vietnamese coffee provided the inspiration, Lizzie wanted to put her own spin on it and create something May’s could really make its own.
That spin comes in the form of concentrated cold brew and a line-up of fluffy, house-made cold foams. There are four coffee bases to start with, including the signature Vietnamese Iced Coffee – cold brew and condensed milk shaken over ice for a sweet, punchy caffeine hit. Classic iced long blacks and lattes are also in the mix, alongside Coco Love, which pairs cold brew with coconut water for a lighter sip.
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Then, pick your cold-foam topper. May’s signature foam is an egg-based creation made with cream and condensed milk, while Nutella, house-made salted caramel and citrusy Mont Blanc round out the line-up. All four are made fresh on-site daily and finished with a fine layer of chocolate shavings to sip through.
A rotating line-up of grab-and-go treats gives you something sweet to pair with your coffee, including salted-caramel chocolate cookies and slices of Basque cheesecake with a Biscoff base. The team is already experimenting with new cold-foam flavours, too.
May’s may be small on square footage, but this sweet little James Street addition has plenty of caffeinated ideas up its sleeve.
Head over to The Directory for May’s opening hours.
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