Coffee in Oz

Instant coffee - a true Aussie favorite

More instant coffee (did I mention that they have more isle space devoted to instant coffee than they do Mexican food)

The beloved cappuccino -
(This one was our first cup at McCafe, McDonald's attempt to rival Starbucks)

As many of you know, I am a lover of coffee. I always have a hard time answering the question "what is your favorite drink?" because it changes constantly. I am not just a tall nonfat vanilla latte kind of girl (although I do love tall nonfat vanilla lattes). I go through phases. Mostly these phases have to do more with spending $$ on coffee than they do with my actual tastes. When I worked at Starbucks and coffee was free, I drank everything: frappuccinos, cappuccinos, americanos, lattes, mochas, caramel macchiatos. Everything! When I am at home with my Starbucks espresso machine (thank you, wonderful husband), I make all kinds of concoctions. When I'm feeling guilty about spending money, I usually order americanos or basic drip coffee. Although there are times when I have loaded gift cards and still order drip coffee because I love it too. My brother's drip coffee obsession recently produced in me a renewed love of the stuff (since he drank a few gallons a day during Christmas break). The bottom line is that I just love coffee -- pretty much all/any of it (except maybe the breve)!

Okay, that was the longest introduction EVER to get to the point (you guys know I am the queen of prefaces. sorry). What I want to say is that coffee is weird in Australia. I know it's different everywhere, but it seems especially so here. Case in point: drip coffee. It does not exist in Australia. I am not joking. No one has ever even heard of it here. I have gotten the funniest looks when just trying to describe it at a coffee shop. "Oh you mean tall black" the barista said at our first ever breakfast here. I was then given about a quad-shot in a cup. She look confused when I then asked for half & half. They just don't have it here. "Oh, the pot I've seen in movies before," said our housemate when I described it to him. It is nonexistent.

What they do have here in Australia, are two other options. The cappuchino & instant coffee. That's right, those are the choices. Jonathan's clinic, for example, has an espresso machine. For a coffee break, employees whip up a little fancy beverage (*Side note: there are three common drinks here in Oz that are all, in essence, the same. The flat white (no foam latte), the latte (same as US), and the cappuchino (most common drink here - basically it's the latte with about a scoop more foam and a little dusting of chocolate powder on top). More common, however, is this freeze-dried rubbish (to use an Australian term). It's EVERYWHERE. Instant coffee is the option, sadly, that I have been forced to choose. We can't afford an espresso machine. Jonathan gets his fill at the clinic of the good stuff. I splurge on it occasionally at a local cafe. For now, we wake up in the morning to two steaming cups of Woolworth brand's instant coffee. It's heartbreaking, really. Especially after you see read my introduction and respect me (right?) for my coffee flexibility. I am being stretched in new ways here, that's for sure:).

*I must add a disclaimer that the espresso here is great; really, it is. We just, of course, cannot afford it every day and my drip coffee love will just have to wait (er, I should say, except for one day a week when my longing is fulfilled - more to come later...)