The Secret Traveller
8 Cities With The Best Coffee
By The Secret Traveller
It doesn’t have to be the young people. When you picture shocking things happening on tours, the first thing that comes to mind is probably the budget backpacker trips around Europe – but that’s not where the crazy stuff begins and ends.
On any tour you do around the world, no matter what the age of the passengers or the place it’s set, you’ll find some shocking things going on. Trust me, I’ve done these tours as a passenger, and I’ve run these tours as a guide. This is what goes on…
Portland, USA
While the bulk of the USA is filled with diners and cafes that get away with pouring stale percolated coffee or watery versions of espresso, there is hope, and it comes in the form of the Pacific North-West. Seattle – despite being the home of Starbucks – has great coffee, but the brew is even better in Portland, Oregon. There you’ll find a delicious cup treated with the respect it deserves.
What to order: Double Espresso
Melbourne, Australia
No list of cities with great coffee would be complete without a mention of Melbourne. Though Sydney has pretty much caught up, and Brisbane is nipping at its heels, the best place to get your java hit is still the Victorian capital. This is a city that takes coffee almost laughably seriously, where bearded baristas serve up organic single-origin caffeine hits to the discerning masses.
What to order: Piccolo Latte
Buenos Aires, Argentina
You can thank Argentina’s long history of Italian migration for the great coffee scene in the capital, where everyone heads to sidewalk cafes to sip some of the best brews around. Buenos Aires wouldn’t be able to function without the “café cortado”, an espresso that’s “cut” with a small amount of hot milk. Add a few small, sweet croissants called “medialunas” and you’re ready to start the day.
What to order: Café
Wellington, NZ
There’s an argument from the New Zealanders that they actually invented the flat white, although they try to claim pavlova as well, so you take these things with a grain of salt. Regardless of who came up with it though, New Zealanders have undoubtedly mastered this fine beverage, and there’s no better place to sample this mastery than in the cafes of Wellington.
What to order: Flat White
Hanoi, Vietnam
This may seem an unlikely entry, but they take coffee extremely seriously in Vietnam – including growing their own crop in parts of the country – and the result is amazingly good. Wander the streets of Hanoi and you see people everywhere sitting in front of coffee cups that each have a small metal percolator perched on top, with rich, black coffee dripping down into a glass of condensed milk below. It’s sweet, strong, and delicious.
What to order: “Ca
Fez, Morocco
There’s a lot to love about the crazy city of Fez, from the bustling streets of the ancient medina to the
What to order: “Nous-nous” – Arabic for “half-half”
Rome, Italy
What have the Romans ever done for us? Well for starters they’ve given us the world’s best coffee. This is the home of espresso, a city in which coffee is drunk often and with relish. There are rules to follow in Rome – no cappuccinos after
What to order: Cappuccino
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Did coffee originate in Ethiopia? There’s some argument to that, but this high-altitude African nation
What to order: A Coffee Ceremony
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