Listen along to "Everytime" by Butterfingers...download for a laugh!!Traveling to Australia (or New Zealand) soon? Let me spare you 3 agonizing weeks of confusion and frustration and break down the coffee culture for you...It's all espresso down under!
I'll never forget walking in to my first coffee shop after touching down in Sydney last April. It was Gloria Jeans, the primo coffee chain I was told.
I am a proud coffee enthusiast and I've never once walked into a coffee shop, not knowing how to order...and yet, here I was, for the first time a coffee-ignorante!
...Flat White, or a Long Black, or how about a Short Black instead... what?!
I walked up to the barista and asked for a 'regular coffee'...
Barista--"White coffee?"
Me--"What does that mean?"
Barista--"...White...Milk...You're American, right?"
Shite! After only a few hours I had already been called out as a dumb tourist!
It took me ages to find someone with enough time to sit down and explain the coffees to me...After the 10th time asking for a 'traditional American coffee', the owner of a mom and pop's coffee shop tilted his head and asked me to take a seat. I was so pissed off! I thought he was dismissing me, but instead he just winked and handed me a menu and promised to come sit with me.
15 minutes later he showed up with 3 different coffees and gave me a personal 'coffee tasting session.' It was brilliant! After 6 months traveling through America he completely understood why I was so confused in the first place.
We're used to drip brew, or percolated coffee which means slow pouring of boiling hot water onto ground beans...The Aussies first developed their coffee culture from the Italian immigrants in the 19th century, so it's all espresso culture. Every thing on a menu will be some variation of an espresso, which means quick brew under high pressures.
Read more about the difference between Espresso and Drip Coffee here...
So here you go, the perfect guide to spare you the same embarrassment next time you find yourself in a coffee shop 'Down Under!'
Here are your options off a menu in a typical Australian coffee shop:
- Flat White: the most basic/popular drink of choice = espresso with steamed milk.
- Long Black: espresso & hot water makes a steaming mug of 'black coffee' (stronger than a flat white, but ask for milk on the side if you need a little 'white.')
- Short Black: espresso only in a small glass
- Macchiato: espresso & a spoon of milk froth
- Latte: espresso & steamed milk & froth
- Mocha: basically a latte with a sprinkle of chocolate powder
- Cappuccino: 1/3rd espresso, 1/3rd steamed milk, 1/3rd froth
Americans everywhere on the road, go forth and prosper!
