Melbourne is nutters over coffee. Nutters. More so than Vancouverites. There are cafes everywhere, and fortunately only a couple Starbucks. It’s a nice break from Starbucks I must say.
Now if you were to arrive in Melbourne from Canada and try to order a coffee you would probably be confused and so would the barista. You cannot ask for a coffee. Well you can, but that will be followed by “what coffee would you like?” They don’t even have drip coffee! It’s all espresso made. You can ask for a latte or cappuccino and those are the same. But here’s a mini lesson:
Latte = Latte
Cappuccino = Cappuccino
Flat White = Latte with less foam
Long Black = Americano (like a black coffee)
Short Black = Espresso shot
Macchiato = Espresso shot with a little milk
But here’s the kicker…coffees in Melbourne are better than any coffee I have ever had anywhere. It’s soooo good. I’m already dreading of what will happen when I go back to Canada and need to fuel my caffeine addiction. And it’s cheaper! A latte at Starbucks in Canada is going to be $4-$5. A latte here is going to be $2.50-$3.50. That makes a big difference if you buy a coffee (or three) a day. I’m lucky enough to work at a cafe and get coffees at work, otherwise I’d be poor. This is the plus 1.
The minus 1 is that no one uses travel mugs! I’ve hardly seen anyone go into a cafe with their own mug. A lot of people do have their coffees in the cafe, and get real cups and mugs, but there’s a lot of take-away coffee cups used in this city everyday. I’m trying to use mine every time I go and maybe it will catch on. Maybe.
Quite a few places will do it if you ask – it’s more that nobody asks! When I was working full-time, there were a couple of places that everybody took their own mugs to, and uni has a couple of places like that (Kere Kere comes to mind) but I guess it’s just not the done thing. If you could find a way or a cool hip mug (something like this comes to mind http://bit.ly/HToE3) then it might catch on. Who knows with those crazy hipsters.
Way to be a trend setter. Do you use a Tim Horton’s travel mug like on the commercial? (Remember? The one where the mom is reading the letter from her kid who wears it on his backpack while traveling Europe and meets all kinds of Canadians? HEARTWARMING)
Thanks for your kind words about Melbourne. I hope you enjoy your time here.
i brought you a pretty mug tehehe…but i agree…but does it really matter if we use to many coffee cups a work when we have the most mesyest barista around…lol who wastes every thing eles because drops things dosnt clean up after him self…xx
Thanks for a helpful posting. One question: what does “half-string” mean? I remember hearing this word in coffee shops when Aussies are ordering their coffee.
Thanks.
I’ve never actually heard to that term!