Australia may just have started to get serious about coffee, but the guys at Mecca Espresso don’t think we’ve discovered the ideal just yet, which is why they keep experimenting. We asked head roaster Tuli Keidar to explain.

Can you imagine Sydney without the Opera House? On its 40th birthday the historic sails have been honoured in a encyclopaedic, mixed-media website.

We recently learnt that a shoemaker is not a cobbler (he's the repair guy) but a cordwainer. In Australia, there are few finer cordwainers than Belmore. We paid a visit to their factory in Sydney's Inner West, which has been making shoes for over 40 years. 

Behind every good product, there is a great workshop. CDR (short for Craft, Design, Realisation) makes tables, bookshelves and chairs at a large space in Botany, Sydney. In a new section on the Smith site, we take a look at what goes on behind the scenes.

The Sydney Film Fest is back with 190 films. What to see? We recommend train robbers, serial killers, '80s chess champions, imploding bands, and the latest films from Michel Gondry and the director of Drive.

A new offshoot of Sydney's Bourke Street Bakery is helping communities in need by providing them with valuable skills – it's called The Bread and Butter Project.

Since its inaugural festival in 2009, VIVID Sydney has quickly established itself as the best reason to get out of the house as the city descends into its antipodean winter. 

You wouldn't expect to find talks about designer suburbs, presidential campaigns, conceptual art and the soft power of Tasmania at a writer's festival. But the 2013 Sydney Writers' Festival thwarts expectations. 

Decking out two whole storeys with their Latino snack café and roasting equipment, Reuben Hills is the second Sydney venue from Russell Beard and Nathan Borg, who've taken the skills they honed at Mosman's The Source south of the bridge to Surry Hills.

Damien Mander is using unmanned drones for good. Four years ago the ex Australian soldier turned his training to stop rhino poachers. He had this to say before his talk at TEDxSydney tomorrow.