Australia’s Morning Ritual — Surry Hills

After spending time in Bondi talking to locals about their morning rituals, we decided to head somewhere that felt completely different.

Just six kilometres down the road, but a whole different energy.

Surry Hills.

If Bondi mornings are built around the ocean, sunrise swims and surf checks, Surry Hills mornings feel a little more urban. The streets wake up differently. There are people heading into the city for work, cafés opening their doors onto narrow streets, dogs being walked before the day begins.

We were curious to see how people’s morning rituals might change in a place like this.

Would they be similar? Completely different?

So we wandered the streets and asked people the same two questions we asked in Bondi:

1. What do you eat for breakfast?

2. What makes a good morning great?

The answers were interesting.

In Bondi we heard about eggs, beach walks and café breakfasts. But in Surry Hills things felt a little lighter and faster.

Quite a few people told us they were fasting.

Others said they just have a coffee and get moving. Protein yoghurt came up a few times too. Quick, simple, practical breakfasts that fit into busy city mornings.

We didn’t actually speak to many people who said they cook themselves a warm breakfast before leaving the house.

It felt like the rhythm of the place shapes the ritual.

People here are often heading somewhere — work, meetings, studios, offices — and the morning routine reflects that.

While we were filming, I decided to make one of our coffee drip bags right there on the street.

I pulled out a little camp stove and started brewing in the middle of Surry Hills.

It definitely got a few strange looks.

I guess it’s not every day you see someone casually making coffee on the side of the street with a tiny stove and a drip bag. A few people stopped and watched for a minute, probably wondering what on earth I was doing.

But that moment actually captured something we really love about coffee.

There is no right or wrong way to have it.

You can drink it sitting in a beautiful café.
You can have it at the beach after a surf.
You can drink it at your kitchen bench before the kids wake up.
Or apparently… in the middle of a Surry Hills street with a camp stove.

Coffee fits into people’s rituals in all sorts of ways.

And that’s really what this whole Australia’s Morning Ritual project is about for us.

We’re not trying to define the “perfect” morning. We’re just curious about how people actually start their day.

Because everyone does it a little differently.

So if you’ve got a minute, we’d love to hear yours too.

#1 What do you have for breakfast?
#2 What makes a good morning great?

We’re on a bit of a mission to learn more about Australia’s morning rituals, and every answer helps us build the picture. 

However you start your day — that’s the ritual.

Check out our TikTok to see where we head next.