There is no other place in the world with as many cafés per capita as Melbourne © maruyo - Adobe Stock 09.01.2023, 08:57 4 min. Whether Long Black, Flat White or the legendary "Magic": Melbourne is the Mecca par excellence for coffee connoisseurs. The love story began with European migrants in the 1950s - today even the world's best barista comes from the Australian metropolis.
A barista skilfully operates the various levers of the large espresso machine enthroned on a long wooden counter. People sit on wine-red bar stools, read the newspaper or chat. It smells of leather, coffee and a time long gone: Pellegrini's Espresso Bar in Melbourne is one of the oldest cafés in the city that is still in its original condition. In the metropolis celebrated worldwide for its coffee culture, the pub is probably the most traditional address par excellence.
The red and green neon sign with the words "Open 8AM" in the shop window, the chequered floor tiles and family photos from different decades on the walls - the café has hardly changed since it opened in Melbourne's inner city in 1954.
"Many people tell us they feel like they're coming home or to their grandmother's house," says current owner David Malaspina (42). Then his barista serves a "Flat White" in a brown cup - an Australian version of a small latte, but with a stronger coffee flavour. It is one of the best in town, the guests agree.
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An institution for decades: customers at Pellegrini's Espresso Bar in Melbourne. © picture alliance / ASSOCIATED PRESS | Asanka Brendon Ratnayake
No other place in the world has as many cafés per capita as Melbourne. That's why Australia's second-largest city is also considered the coffee capital of the world. The love of the roasted bean dates back to the 1950s. "After the war, many Europeans and many other nationalities came to this wonderful city," Malaspina says. "And everyone brought their culture with them. For us, that's the coffee."
Immigrants brought the coffee culture to Melbourne
It was mainly Italian and Greek immigrants who brought the first European espresso machines to the city. Pellegrini's Espresso Bar is said to have been the first café with such a completely revolutionary coffee machine at the time, according to legend - but this is not proven. In 1974, Sisto Malaspina, an Italian immigrant, took over the espresso bar together with Nino Pangrazio.
The duo not only manages to make the café even more popular, they both also become local heroes. When Sisto Malaspina is stabbed to death in a terrorist attack on the open street near his café in November 2018, the entire city mourns. "He was always here, six days a week," David Malaspina says of his father Sisto. "He loved people, was always telling stories and was exceptionally sociable." The coffee icon even gets a state funeral, with thousands of people gathering.
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Today, Melbourne's coffee scene combines tradition with innovation. Although classic "Long Blacks" (espresso extended with hot water) and "Flat Whites" (espresso with lightly frothed milk and very little milk foam) are still among the most popular coffee drinks, there are also new trends. These include the somewhat secretive "Magic", which is hard to find outside the city and is rarely on the drinks menu even in Melbourne. But initiated coffee aficionados can order the wake-up drink, which consists of a double ristretto (an espresso variant) with lightly frothed milk, from experienced baristas.
Melbourne residents are considered "coffee snobs".
Melbourne's residents are considered real "coffee snobs" and have correspondingly high standards for their beloved hot beverage. Chains like Starbucks can hardly compete with the more than 2000 cafés in the city.
Many bars and roasteries, for example, attach importance to "single origin coffees" - coffee beans whose cultivation can be precisely traced down to the smallest detail. Brewing techniques are also constantly being developed. The "pour over" method, in which hot water is poured through ground coffee in a filter directly into the cup, is popular. "Cold brews are also big: Here, the beans are ground a little coarser and placed in the refrigerator for twelve hours covered with cold water. This is supposed to produce a less acidic coffee.
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Meanwhile, the art of coffee preparation is being perfected by Melbourne's many baristas. One of them is reigning world barista champion Anthony Douglas. The 31-year-old beat off international competition at the World Barista Championships, fittingly held in his hometown of Melbourne in 2022. Among other things, he served the judges a "signature drink" of Colombian espresso with honey, lacto-fermented passion fruit and cold-brewed hibiscus tea.
"First I fell in love with the process of making coffee. Then I got to know some really great speciality coffees," Douglas says. "I realised how extraordinary coffee can be." The star barista expresses his love for the brown bean in refined creations, for which he combines precise techniques with completely new flavour combinations.
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© mauritius images / Astrakan Images Rank 20: Stockholm The "Fika" has a great tradition in Sweden, people take a lot of time for the coffee break. Swedes like to meet friends, family, colleagues or first dates in cafés over delicious pastries and cakes. This is also evident in Stockholm: in the Swedish capital, 145 coffee shops tempt you with all kinds of delicacies.
For Douglas, coffee is both theoretical knowledge and art: "I think you first have to understand the science behind making coffee," he says. "Once you do that, you have the freedom to express coffee in different ways, just like with any other art form." Despite his sophisticated creations, with which he spoils the palates of his clientele, he likes it rather simple himself: depending on his mood, Douglas drinks espresso, flat white or simply filter coffee.
Pellegrini's Espresso Bar also concentrates on the essentials: If you're looking for turmeric lattes and iced frappuccinos with soy milk, you're in the wrong place. But manager David Malaspina is not only concerned with good coffee, but also with the social component that has always been part of the cult drink: "Coffee offers a way to start conversations and is a good excuse to get together," he says. Even on the other side of the world.