Perhaps it’s something to do with the weather.

A survey of international travellers a few years ago found that the world’s best coffee was to found in Melbourne, beating Rome, Vienna and Lviv. A cafe owner quoted in the 2014 story said that Melbourne baristas took pride in their craft and this was appreciated by locals and tourists. Coffee and cafe culture was a part of our lives, he said, and was a unique thing to Melbourne.

Melburnians like to think the coffee ascendancy is a modern phenomenon. Not so. The Essendon Gazette, 8 October 1909: “The coffee palaces of Melbourne are said to be the best in the world.”