It’s the same across the ditch... whenever I return back to NZ from a trip to Europe or the US, I look forward to getting that first cup of good coffee again.
Sometimes it seems like everyone in my city (Sydney) has a coffee addiction.
It is possible to get a great coffee nearly anywhere at anytime of day. Places that used to sell drip-filtered (or worse) coffee have either disappeared or lifted their brewing game.
Even places like McDonalds and 7-Eleven have fresh-from-beans espresso machines in every single store, or else they wouldn't sell any coffee at all.
My local news-agent has installed a full-sized espresso machine and learned to become a barista in addition to selling newspapers and lottery tickets.
The McDonalds 'McCafe'[1] was developed in Australia for this reason (probably).
My personal belief is that large post-war immigration waves to Australia from southern Europe bought their own coffee cultures here (Greek, Italian, Turks) and it has combined in a unique way to become something special.
edit: Forgot to mention 'Flat-whites'[2].... They are my coffee of choice. I used to think they were a universal thing. After traveling overseas I sadly discovered that they are not.
