The winters are talked up so much that anyone who makes the move here braces themselves for a sub-artic winter barrage from March through to October.

However this is not the case, the weather, especially the winter makes Ballarat city unique.

The weather builds atmosphere, it helps create a sense of community and it contributes to Ballarat's culture.

The weather has created a surprisingly good coffee scene. Yes, I did say coffee scene.

The cafés blend sophisticated coffee making prowess with an ability to be inclusive and not only warm you up but give you a feeling of belonging to the community.

Having moved here some 18 months ago from Melbourne, it was a tough gig not knowing anything about the coffee culture, gaining the courage to restart my connection to the local café.

However, once I stepped into a most unlikely looking coffee shop in the city centre, I took a giant step towards becoming a local.

The coffee was great –  exceptional –  the muffins delicious, and the service left most Melbourne cafés well behind.

It wasn't long before it became hard not going back regularly, almost daily.

There are no barriers between the staff and customers that you may see in Melbourne. In Ballarat you become involved in the café, it becomes part of your family.

You know the café and it starts to know you.

So much so that after a while it gives you that little feeling in the pit of your stomach that tells you that you have found out a local secret.  

Such an amazing secret, that to tell others about it was and still is terrifying.

You don't want anyone else to find out about it and you only want to let a select few in on the secret just so you can talk about how good it actually is.

It doesn't seem to matter to cafés, here in Ballarat, just how busy they are. The more people coming just adds to the feeling that your part of something.

Winter and Ballarat and cafés make you feel that we are all here together in one community.

 – Travis Bull