As promised more tales from around the coffee globe – courtesy of our Managing Director David Williamson’s recent world trip.

In Australia, one thing that struck David was the ability to get a decent coffee in the strangest places. For instance, when David checked in for a trim at Toni & Guy in Melbourne, he was expecting a watery instant at the very best. While we couldn’t possibly comment on the haircut, the coffee was actually top rate – prepared using a traditional two-group espresso machine.

The same shock awaited David at a 24 hour convenience store in Sydney. Ordering a latte, David was amazed to see a decent tamp, a 20 second extraction, silent milk steaming and a perfectly clean wand. You’d be lucky to get that in many cafés in the UK – let alone a corner shop.

Even the ferry from Sydney to Manly Beach has a two-group machine – as does the McCafe in Melbourne’s McDonald’s.

Which brings a whole new layer of confusion to the phrase, ‘I’ll have a big mac please’.

This article originally appeared in Fresh 14