Olivia's Garden
Olivia's Garden is a bespoke flower shop and multi-roaster coffee bar in one, offering up bouquets of beautiful blooms beside caffeinated beverages.
Customers who walk through the door are instantly uplifted by the bright and immaculate space. Clean white walls make the colourful flowers pop, with beautiful dried bouquets situated right near the front entrance.
Further to the back, larger house plants ranging from tropicals and low light plants and fresh flowers can be found.
You're likely to discover new buds each time you visit as the owner, florist and wedding event planner, Elly Zhang heads to local flower markets each week to handpick only the freshest and brightest for the store.
You can pick and choose between the flowers to create your own bouquet that's set to your personal taste. Or leave it to the experts and have the helpful staff customize one for you.
Double-shot espresso drinks are made with a sleek Slayer Steam EP and served at the coffee bar that acts as the centrepiece of the space.
They offer a rotating selection of coffee beans. On the day of our visit, the origin of the beans includes Brazil, Colombian and Peru from the local Pop Coffee Works.
The single-origin Brazil bean is used for espresso-based beverages unless customers request otherwise. The chocolatey, nutty notes make for a fulfilling cup.
Their Mocha ($5.75) is made with 100 per cent organic Dutch cocoa as well as some added vanilla. The espresso machine also uses dry, superheated steam to prepare more of a creamy and silky finish when it comes to milk-based drinks.
All of the syrups are housemade in small batches, including the micro-ground butterfly-pea flower that's made from the little blue flower native to Southeast Asia. The caffeine-free syrup can be added to steamed milk and enjoyed as a Latte ($4.80)
Alternatively, order it as an Iced Tea ($6.25). The pea flower results in a gradient-like purple beverage once added to the housemade Sakura syrup and rose water and offers an incredibly subtle, yet refreshing taste.
If you're looking for something to pair with your coffee, a selection of baked goods are available ranging from salted chocolate chip cookies, pain au chocolate and butter croissants and savoury marmite green onion swirl pastries.
They're delivered fresh every morning courtesy of the Drake Commissary, with a few lunch deli sandwiches also coming from Black Camel (Ham & Cheese Sandwich: $11.99).
The assorted roll cakes ($7.75) are prepared by dearDeer Baking & Pastry Lab. They tend to switch up the flavours offered every so often, with White Sesame, Chestnut and Pistachio as the current features.
A light and fluffy chiffon cake is the base, providing a balance to the sweet cream found on the top and inside.
Another sweet option is the lighter-than-air Japanese-style cheesecakes from Love Me Sweet ($18.95 - $19.95) that are offered in six different flavours.
The ground, edible roses sprinkled on top are a nice touch and they're grown in-store to add to a few of the desserts. Zhang has been baking with edible flowers from her own garden for years.
As a lover of all things beautiful, Zhang also offers a carefully-curated selection of antique China and glass vases from around Japan, the U.K. and Canada, as well as a few of her daughter, Olivia's favourite storybooks.
The store that sits on the corner of Harbord and Crawford Street is great for just drinks, but it's equally as must a destination for some flowers or home decor along with an idyllic atmosphere.
Hector Vasquez