Melbourne: Discovering Australia’s coffee capital

Melbourne is one of the trendiest cities in Australia – so much so that many people gave it the nickname of the “New York Down Under”. This city is home to a buzzing cultural scene and it is known for its amazing museums, street art, and food culture. Australian cuisine is particularly interesting because it is a unique blend of fusion. When English immigrants first settled in Australia, they brought their beloved traditions with them, half the world away. However, they also picked up a lot of amazing things along the way to the land down under. Modern Australian cuisine is an interesting crossroads where earthy English-style food combines with flavors from South East Asia, the Far East and The Mediterranean (by way of a huge flux of immigrants from Italy, Greece and North Africa from the 50s to the 70s).

Although Australians love their tea, just as much as their English “cousins”, they developed a particular fondness for coffee, and they managed to outpace the United Kingdom with their love for coffee innovation.

Australia is home to two of the most popular coffee drinks out there, including long blacks, short blacks, and flat whites, just to mention a few.

With its buzzing coffee scene, booming food culture and interesting settings, Melbourne is certainly one Australia’s trendiest destinations for foodies. Locals even love to brew coffee at home with coffee makers such as Tassimo, which also has some amazing pods offers!

Melbourne exemplifies the excellent of Australia’s coffee scene. The city’s growing coffee culture is driven by young, passionate and dedicated coffee shop owners and independent roasters that bring lots of variety and innovation while remaining true to the Australian coffee culture.

Single-origin coffee blends are often the choice of gourmet coffee aficionados. The “Long Black” remains one of the most popular choices and many local connoisseurs actually judge the skill of baristas and the quality of coffee by how good a long black can be at a coffee shop! Essentially, a long black is just like an Americano, but the main difference lies in the process.

Americanos are normally made by adding hot water to a shot of espresso, while long blacks are made by pouring a shot of espresso slowly on top of hot water. This allows for a richer, smoother flavor that supposedly preserves the strength of the coffee a little better.

Melbourne coffee fans are also known for their particular love for dirty chai lattes. In Australia, they take their tea as seriously as their coffee, and Dirty Chai embodies the perfect combination of the two. The best Melbourne dirty chai is often made with real chai leaves and spices (as opposed to chai-flavored concentrates, often popular in the US) and served with high-quality espresso shots and milk.