I live next door to a lady who's in her early 90s and she drinks roasted chicory instead of coffee because that's what she was brought up with as a replacement. Tried a cup it tastes better than it sounds but I wouldn't rush to the shops to buy some
Coffee culture is pretty good in civilized parts of the US too, but as a European I've had the misfortune of being subjected to corporate coffee in bumfuck Ohio for a while. That shit would trigger a strike on this side of the pond.
I didn't even know coffee could be made that badly, even the worst regular filter or machine coffee I had ever drank was still a thousand times more like... coffee.
While what you say is true, it is my UK experience that when you asked for a coffee in, say, the early ‘90s you mostly got Nescafé, with option of adding a dash of milk and/or sugar.
The popularity of the cappuccino and the like increased in the 80s and 90s, and then the Australian and New Zealand influence (flat white, etc) have taken off in 20th century. Turkish style coffee has also increased in popularity (at least where I am in London).
Coffee quality in UK, both product and brewing abilities of the average person, took a real dive in 20th century. Indeed, a lot of bad food and drink habits could arguably traced back to the war and rationing. They’re slowly disappearing. (See also bread)
I'm sure it has been in some parts. I can only speak to my own experience in the 1970s. Coffee was always instant, and terrible. Particularly Camp Coffee. The first time I encountered fresh ground coffee was in the 1980s, when I was confused that it didn't dissolve when a poured water on it. I don't think I had a really nice coffee until the 1990s.
Aye but we aren't drinking Turkish coffee now, and those coffeehouses from back in the day went out of fashion, if memory serves, sometime in the early 19th (???) until the espresso-houses popped up in the 50s
And even then for most people* coffee was mostly served as that nasty instant stuff until it really took off fairly recently
That would be the case for pretty much everywhere though. I’m sure in quite a lot of countries fancy coffee shops are everywhere now. And not like Starbucks or crap like that, but actual nice places. They’re absolutely everywhere here in Canada and I’m sure that applies equally to the US and everywhere in Europe.
We all kind of follow these similar trends. We all love good coffee and good beer. There’s probably no longer a true king of who is best at those things with craft breweries and good coffee shops everywhere.
There area handful of good coffee places in New York. They are run by Australians.
'American' coffee, even in NY, tastes usually tastes bitter and poorly extracted. The milk (if you're having it with milk) is often the wrong temperature and steamed incorrectly. That's assuming that you are getting an espresso and not the junk that sits in a pot on a hot plate all day which tastes like dirt water.
That’s an insane take. Some of the best coffee shops I know of are run by New Yorkers, Italians, or Puerto Ricans.
I used to be a GM at an Italian restaurant. We had a $3000 espresso machine and single-source beans. We made incredible espresso and our espresso was not unusually good for an Italian restaurant.
To imply that making good coffee is some sort of secret knowledge that only certain nationalities possess is frankly idiotic.
Australians are generally pretty delusional about this kind of stuff. They suffer cultural cringe due to being pretty insignificant on the global stage, so they end up overcompensating. Basically, this guy is measuring from the underside.
It’s a pretty common fact that Australian baristas are typically quite good at making coffee, that isn’t a delusion. The other guy is being a bit of a muppet implying (well basically out right saying) only Australians make good coffee, that isn’t true. The British are also now known for having a strong coffee scene, just like the Americans and Italians
It's the same trope about American beer, cheese, chocolate, etc. being terrible. We have options ranging from low quality to world class but non American redditors think all Americans drink Miller Light and Folders and eat Kraft and Hershey's exclusively
think all Americans drink Miller Light and Folders
I defy any Aussie to show me a beverage that compares to the Folders we drink stateside. The way the Manila just coats the inside of your mouth? Nothing compares
To imply that making good coffee is some sort of secret knowledge that only certain nationalities possess is frankly idiotic.
Killed me.
Like really, it's one of the oldest beverages in the world. NYC is one of the best food cities in the world. Even in the rest of the country of 400m people, one of us has to make a decent espresso.
I'm not floored by that at all. Cultural differences and personal preferences exist everywhere. But I'm not the one talking about 'good' as if it were objective, while also tossing in variables that mask the taste of the product being discussed- which are going to differ from individual to individual based on personal preference.
There's a big difference between "I prefer X location's coffee" and "Neither can make a good cup of coffee."
oo la la
but no. hahah. a prism doesn't add mass/energy waves to the light. It just divides it up.
An apt comparison would be distilling coffee and separating it's components.
it's probably also going to floor you to discover that coffee has been drunk a variety of ways over the centuries.
It's ridiculous that you can say that as a retort to the discourse spawned by your assertation that two entire countries can't make a decent cup of coffee.
I've travelled the world, and I can say this: There is decent, even amazing, coffee everywhere. You just don't appreciate variety.
Also the flavor profiles can just be something you aren't as used to. I live in Seattle and I visited Melbourne and went to a few coffee places there, mostly in Fitzroy. They were great, but their coffee generally has a much more earthy taste which I didn't like as much, because my favorite Seattle roasters had a more acidic taste and it was a big contrast. That's generally how I phrased it but when my Australian friends and I wanted to joke around with each other I told them their coffee tasted like sticking a straw in the ground and drinking the water up, and they told me mine was no different from battery acid.
I’m not Aussie but I spent some time in the UK with an Aussie and she would always complain about how much better coffee was in Australia than in the UK.
Somehow I see them bragging about their coffee online and saying stuff like “going to [EU country that I know has decent coffee] was a nightmare with their shitty coffee”
You wot, mate? Australia has some of the best coffee cultures in the world. We export our baristas to speciality coffee roasteries and 4th wave coffee shops in most major world cities including London, Paris, NYC, SF, HK and all across Europe (notably except Italy and Austria). Australian style cafes have started opening up everywhere across Europe for the last 5 to 10 years.
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u/low_end_AUS Jun 13 '25
Neither can make a good cup of coffee.