my coffee confession

Like almost every other person around the world, I love a good coffee. The only thing better than a mid-afternoon latte as a pick-me-up would be the lively conversation among the company of friends that usually goes with it. Then again, maybe it's just the fact I've just had my daily caffeine hit which makes the conversation seem livelier and less cranky.

But I have a confession to make. Well, two actually. I find myself in stuck in the middle of two opposing sides, trying to appease them all, trying to avoid all the hurt feelings of betrayal that may arise when I finally come clean. 

So here's the thing: While I've been known to enjoy my usual vanilla latte (or four) at my local Japanese Starbucks, since I've been back in Melbourne, I haven't found myself visiting coffee chains at all. And therein lies the predicament. As a Melbournian who doesn't hate Starbucks, I find other Melbourne coffee aficionados asking me "Why Starbucks?" and those I met in Japan wondering "Why not?"

I know there are heaps of people out there against the the giant Seattle-based coffee corporation, which I can understand to some extent. And sure, I have never felt the urge to drink a 600ml venti-sized coffee, nor do I think it is necessary. But I think it's easy to lose sight of what Starbucks does offer: consistency. Go to almost any Starbucks around the world, and you'll find they pretty much offer the same things. I know this is one reason why people hate chains so much, and people look to embrace foreign cultures and tastes, but no matter how much you try to immerse yourself in a new environment, you'll always find yourself craving a sense of familiarity. Of course, you can probably find coffee available in other places, but I'm still not convinced that  hot, canned coffee from a vending machine qualifies as 'coffee'. Plus, in cities where most people live in shoebox-sized apartments, it's easy to see the appeal of a place where you can study, check email, or just meet up with friends at a leisurely pace. 

Now I'm back in Melbourne however, I don't really need to hunt down a coffee chain just for a latte. In fact, it was only after talking to a Canadian friend over a coffee did I realise, well, coffee meant different things to us. For her, and I guess a majority of the world, coffee means 'filtered coffee'. Being a Melbournian, I never realised that finding good cappucinos and lattes was a difficult thing in the US or Canada. I can get one from any of the cafés that litter the streets, practically every restaurant, and even get a pretty good latte while getting my hair cut. I guess that's why Starbucks has been so successful in America while it has languished here in Australia. 

So now I've got that off my chest and hopefully appeased both parties, I have something else to confess. I'm still not sure where to find the best coffee in Melbourne. I apparently have a much easier time identifying bad coffees, but the line becomes blurred once I try to work out if a coffee is just 'good' or 'awesome'. Hopefully this will be remedied by having coffee with friends more often.