Australia is a nation that loves its coffee and the brewing cafe culture has truly taken this country by storm. Coffee aficionados can easily get their daily fix at anywhere and anytime during the day especially with so many coffee stands available at every street corner.
It’s unsurprising that out-of-home consumption has tremendously grown over the last five years and today, the coffee shop industry is worth at least $2.2 billion. In 2010, a report released by Datamonitor estimated that sales of coffee in Australia would be approximately $1437m in 2013, and it’s clear that the latest figures have surpassed earlier predictions.
The Aussie coffee culture isn’t just a fad and it’s definitely here to stay. As consumers get more educated and informed about coffee, they are also demanding for more sophisticated brews that derive from exclusive beans from around the world. One of the most in-demand rare coffee beans in the world, €Kopi Luwak€, costs about $15 per cup and consumers are willingly paying to get a taste of this exquisite cuppa.
In their never-ending pursuit of a perfect brew, more and more coffee drinkers are beginning to drift towards boutique cafes that offer some of the fanciest beans and brewing methods available in Australia.
However, the demand for boutique coffee doesn’t stop there. People want exclusive coffee at home as well and that is the reason why the at-home coffee category is still at an all-time high. Instead of buying typical powdered coffee, consumers are now looking for natural coffee beans or ground coffee simply because they know that these products will create better brews.
Australian suppliers like Les Schirato ‘s Vittoria Coffee are meeting consumer demands by offering sophisticated coffee drinkers pure blends that are very similar to barista made coffee. Rather than selling the typical coffee powder that was so popular during the 90s, Aussie coffee companies are beginning to realise that low-quality blends just won’t cut it, hence the creation of pre-packed ground coffee and pure beans.
Perhaps the prominence of the coffee and caf© culture in Australia can be attributed to innovators like Les Schirato and his peers, but more importantly, it is the consumers’ love of coffee that has truly driven the local industry to greater heights.
Coffee lovers around the world are beginning to recognise Australia as a coffee mecca. Even cafes in the United States are beginning to adopt our nation’s proudest coffee invention, the flat white. So, it seems that we are headed towards exciting times in the future and it’s nothing but bright lights for the Australian coffee industry!
Michelle Williames is a highly regarded coffee critic whose thoughts and opinions have been widely featured in local and international F&B publications. As a former award-winning barista, Michelle understands the essentials that are needed to create the finest coffee possible. She currently runs her own coffee art classes in Melbourne.