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| acupofcoffeeandamuse.blogspot.com |
C has to be about coffee because unless you love percolated (drip) coffee, it may be difficult to find decent coffee in the States. When I lived in Australia, social occasions usually involved coffee. Basically every time I left the house I would buy a latte but I never realized this until I couldn't anymore. Many of my Aussie friends that visit America have this same problem. I can't speak for the Northern States because I had very nice coffee in both New York and Chicago but in the South, you're really hard pressed to get a decent cup of coffee!
Hotels, restaurants, even most cafe's only serve the drip variety that I don't like the taste of and which is prone to inducing my heartburn in about 20secs. The only place you're guaranteed to get real coffee (by Australian standards) is Starbucks! You might be lucky to find a European style cafe or a restaurant with an espresso machine but generally speaking: no way Jose'.
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| teecino.com |
Other coffee related tid-bits:
- In America a cappuccino don't have chocolate powder on top, therefore are basically (what Aussies call) a flat white
- Lattes have a lot of foam on top so essentially are flat whites as well
- A long black is called a 'cafe Americano'
- Percolated coffee is called 'drip coffee' (as mentioned above) but the term percolated is rarely used. In fact, percolators themselves are simply called 'coffee pots' - got a few puzzled looks when I called it a percolator!)
- Instant coffee is very frowned upon and non-existent for the most part. Every American has a peculator coffee pot in their kitchen and most have never heard of the instant variety.
- The skim milk Aussies call 'skinny' is very logically called 'no/ low fat' here (more puzzled looks)
- and milk used for coffee is not plain milk as back in Aus. It's usually 'half and half' (which is 1/2 cream, 1/2 milk) and very fatty. Asking for 'milk' in your coffee = puzzled looks
Asking for a white coffee = even more puzzled looks!
- and milk used for coffee is not plain milk as back in Aus. It's usually 'half and half' (which is 1/2 cream, 1/2 milk) and very fatty. Asking for 'milk' in your coffee = puzzled looks
Asking for a white coffee = even more puzzled looks!
This was my only complaint about our vacation in the US....the horrible coffee. When we arrived in Atlanta my niece in law(?) made me a cappuccino with her Nespresso machine and it was blissful. I guess when/if my dream to have a home in Roswell comes true, I will be purchasing a Nespresso because I sure as shooting can't stand the awful stuff they have in the restaurants and coffee shops. :)
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness I want a Nespresso so bad too!
DeleteOh, to learn about the way others drink coffee! Now I want to go to Australia even more!
ReplyDeleteThe percolator confusion may be that here, percolator usually means the old style coffeepot (metal or enamel) that sat on a burner or plugged in, with the little glass knob where the heated water bubbled through the filter.
My friends a state away have one, and I love it.
We call the drip kind "automatic drip" or just "coffeepot".
As for milk, I always ask for skim (thereby assuring myself that it's just milk, and balancing the whipped cream on the top).
So happy I stopped by to see this post! =)
Thanks for reading! I agree that it's so interesting to compare lifestyles. We speak the same or a very similar) language yet there are so many differences :) Thanks for taking the time to comment.
DeletePS: you should TOTALLY visit Australia :)
I am an avid coffee drinker and would probably shrivel up and die without a good cup. Thankfully, we do not have the same problem in the Pacific NW of the US as those in the South suffer from...abhorrent coffee! If you want some great coffee in the States, come to Oregon or Washington :)
ReplyDeleteGreat! Thanks for the advise - both of those States have been on my bucket list for a while so this is added incentive :)
DeleteI love coffee. That is all.
ReplyDelete