THERE'S no two ways about it; Tamworth is evolving.

It's still got its country charm and tight-knit feel, but the past few years has seen the introduction of new-age businesses and subcultures that are more in line with major coastal cities.

Heck, it's even developing a hipster community, which while sharing the locals' love of RM Williams, would have been laughed out of town 10 years ago.

And make no mistake, this evolution is a good thing. Good for the city, good for the economy, and perhaps most of all good for the cafe culture.

Not only are there so many different places to choose from, they now offer so many different choices. From Mediterranean, to Asian, to American-style and good-old-fashioned Aussie classics, there is literally something for everyone.

One of the biggest examples of the newly developed culture is Hissy Fits Cafe. Owner, Claire Rice, said the attitude change in recent years and influx of people moving for a tree-change, has been clear to see.

"Part of the reason my business partner Jordan Kachel and I decided to open a cafe in Tamworth to begin with, because we knew it was starting to emerge more into the scene," she said.

"It was still in its early days so we knew we'd kind of be able to jump on and help its formation, we wanted to be a part of bringing that one step further and helping cultivate the change and the culture."

Ms Rice said with each passing year the community buys into that new culture more and more, and Hissy Fits' non-traditional menu, which has everything from chicken with waffles to teriyaki tofu bao, has been beneficial to them.

Another option recently made available to Tamworthians is acai bowls. The successor to avocado on toast, acai bowls have become a popular option for millennials and are particularly in demand over summer.

Until recently they were hard to come by in Tamworth, but new Ruby's Cafe owner Kelly O'Callaghan has put a spotlight on them, and said the move has been well received.

"I did notice there was a very bacon-heavy menu at Ruby's, which people love, but there are people that don't love bacon, so I really wanted to add fresh, seasonal produce as well," she said.

"With acai, we noticed there was almost no one in Tamworth doing acai, and it's so yum and so good for you, and we thought it's a treat.

"I thought it was a great idea because it's very popular and it's great to bring that sort of thing here."

The reaction has been huge, and part of that is down to not only providing new options, but promoting it in a new way.

Ms O'Callaghan has leaned heavily on Instagram to reach a new audience, and she said it has worked wonders.

"That's where I'd say all the acai customers have come from, and they do comment and say 'we need to try this' or 'I've tried it and it was great' and lots of great feedback," she said.

"The social media thing is really a full time job in itself, I think it's really important and I see a lot of results with social media."

But new food and great vibes can only get you so far, because in the end, a cafe's success is often reliant on one thing - its coffee.

Much has been made of Australia's coffee culture in recent years, and the feeling is that we're actually quite spoilt. High standards have led to high quality.

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Cafe Vivaldi's Dinesh Goyal, who took over the business recently, said the market in Tamworth is extremely competitive, and he had to think long and hard about who he went with after taking charge.

"My coffee is from Armidale so it's locally roasted. I believe they're the best I've tasted after working in the industry over the last 20 years," he said.

Mr Goyal also backed up the point made by Ms Price, about the increase in city-siders moving in recent times.

"Tamworth is growing, lots of people are coming from other big cities or towns because they think either we have more stuff, or it's too busy in the cities," he said.

"Migrants are also coming to regional areas because of the visas, because the government is pushing people from the metro areas because they're too packed, that's why I thought Tamworth was a very good opportunity."

Despite all the new arrivals and emerging trends, there's still room for the traditional, homely cafes which serve up the classics - like a good bacon and egg roll.

Jamaica Blue owner Sharon Artlett said while she does make sure the menu changes several times a year, there is still a big market for the type of food that a lot of the community grew up with.

"We find that people in the country still go back to their scones and cream, their ham, cheese and tomato sandwiches," she said.

"At cafes, sometimes they still want that wholesome food and they buy something simple."

She welcomes the new additions around the city though, and believes that stronger competition brings more people, which ultimately helps all the businesses.

Jamaica Blue hasn't been immune to new trends either, with Ms Artlett stating the sudden popularity of going out for breakfast has caught her by surprise a little.

"In the nine and a half years I've been here I've seen the growth of cafes get stronger and stronger," she said.

"People sometimes worry about all these new cafes and that it'll take business away from the old ones, but if anything it actually grows the whole community and the more cafes we have the more people that come to town.

"Breakfast is huge, I can't believe it, on the weekends here you just can't get a seat. When I grew up you never went out for breakfast, but now people do it all the time."

So there you have it, the evolution is not so much a case of out with the old and in with the new, but more about creating a well-rounded coffee and cafe scene that has something for everyone.

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