Rumours have been slowly been drifting across the oceans that something is going on with food in Australia. For years I ignored them, Australia is so far away and the people so brash. What would they know about good food? Still these rumours persisted so I sent my little brother over and he came back with tales of fresh produce, incredible Vietnamese food and above all, extraordinary coffee. I couldn’t wait to go unfortunately I couldn’t afford the airfare. I was at a loss until I stumbled upon Lantana on Charlotte Place.

Inside Lantana

The coffee here made me do a Cary Grant-style double take. The girl behind the counter had suggested I have something called a Flat White. This is like a cross between a Latte and Macchiato. What hit me immediately was how fruity and chocolaty the drink tasted. What didn’t hit me was any of the bitterness or burnt watery taste that you get with high street offerings. So what are they doing so right? Owner Shelagh Ryan put it down to properly trained staff who take pride in their work.

Dedicated baristas at Flat White Photo: [177]

Making good coffee is not complicated but it is a process in which each step has to be done perfectly or you will not end up with that magical taste. This starts with very fresh beans from Monmouth Coffee Company in Covent Garden, good quality milk and goes on to making sure that your equipments is scrupulously clean.

You have to be an obsessive to make good coffee. Cameron McClure a New Zealander who runs two shops in Soho, Milk Bar and Flat White, said that it is a good occupation for someone with Attention Deficit Disorder.

A flat white from Flat White Photo: Lameen

In the Antipodes they don’t really have chain coffee shops so your drink will be made by one of these caffeine crazed-obsessives. Contrast this with the American-style coffee shops which dominate London staffed by students or itinerant workers where your Latte will taste like dirty dish water and your Espresso only palatable with a mountain of sugar.

Thanks heavens for Antipodeans and their restless need to travel. Shops either started by Antipodeans or by British people influenced by Melbourne and Wellington are springing up all over the capital. “London is an exciting place to be at the moment because people really are waking up to what coffee is meant to taste like.” Cameron enthused.