It is widely believed that Australia has the best coffee in the world, being Melbourne the biggest coffee hub in Australia. But what makes Australian Coffee so special?

Enjoying coffee is part of the Australian culture and lifestyle. Australians do care about the quality and the taste of the coffee and are willing to pay more for it. The specialty coffee movement, through home-grown productions and espresso machines, has consolidated across the country and the industry has become sophisticated. Every step of the coffee-making process, from the farmer (roasting) to a coffee shop is valuable.

Australian Coffee Market in numbers

● There are more than 20.000 cafes and coffee shops employing 140.000 people.
● 1.3 million coffees are sold every day in Australia.
● Australians consume around 2 kilograms each year.

6 facts about Australian Coffee Culture

1- Brief History and Segmentation

The Australian coffee history began during World War II when Italian and Greek immigrants started to bring coffee machines to Australia (and particularly to Melbourne) and introduced the espresso coffee. It changed the way coffee was consumed and its popularity in the inner-city overtime helped fuel coffee culture.
Today the Australian coffee market is segmented either by product type: whole bean, ground coffee, instant coffee or coffee pods and capsules, as well by distribution channels: specialist retailers, online retailers, supermarkets, convenience stores.

2- Australia x US: Main differences

Australian coffee is defined as espresso-style, in opposition to the drip-style filter coffee that is normally consumed in the US. Besides that, the roasts used by Australian coffee-shops are much smoother, lighter and more caramel taste compared to many US coffee which is much darker and bitter. Americans generally love sugary extravagant coffee beverages such as Frappés, Australians keep it simple and prefer coffees such as flat white.

3 - Independently owned

95% of all cafes are independent. The Australian coffee market is fragmented and very competitive without dominant players. Australians usually prefer independent, personal and unique cafes rather than chains like Starbucks. Besides well-established cafes, coffee carts can also be found in each Suburb offering good coffee quality. Align to it initiatives like bring-your-own (BYO) cups (and gain some discount) have increased in the last few years.

4- Barista Career

Barista is a genuine and well-respected career path, many schools offer barista courses and some venues hold latte-art championships. Baristas make each drink individually, being creative on their latte-arts, knowing their customers’ names and their preferences. It's all part of the daily Australian routine and customer services excellency.

5- Coffee Style and Prices

The most consumed coffees in Australia are Latte (33%) and Flat White (22%). Australian coffee preferences vary by state though. The average cup of coffee in Australia costs $4.12, which also depends on the city you are located and your order (size, milks options and extras like vanilla syrups). In general, Australians are more likely to drink milky coffees than black ones. Milk substitutes like Oat, Soy, Almond and even Coconut are on the rise.

6- Have here or take away?

23% of all coffees ordered at cafes are takeaways. It means breakfast experience is very important in their routine. They really like having it either in family or catching up with friends and colleagues. On a global scale, Australia is fourth as the country with the highest percentage of coffee-to-go orders, after Japan, the United States and Canada.