Coffee

Not many cities take their coffee as seriously as Melbourne does. Here, the bean and beverage are almost as sacred as footy, which is good news if you're in the mood for the perfect caffeine hit.

At the city's best cafes, professional baristas (whose coffee know-how has elevated to minor celebrity status) will happily talk beans and machines while carefully tending to your brew. And, not content to simply perfect the cafe creme, these caffeine gurus are riding the 'third wave' of coffee, at the crest of which are pourovers, syphons and clovers and cold-drip coffees. Next to an old-school Gaggia these new coffee machines look more like Beaker's lab equipment but promise a perfect drop.

Need your special single origin at home? Specialty roasters are springing up faster than ever and most of the best cafes sell their supplier's coffee, so it's easy to bag locally roasted beans to take home. Look out for local favourites Padre, Seven Seeds, St Ali, Five Senses and Di Bella.

Learn the lingo and find the best brews here:

Syphon: Water goes up contraption; coffee comes down thanks to vacuum wonderment. Clean coffee that highlights subtle characteristics.

Clover: Expensive machine gives spot-on, customised plunger-style coffee, preserving the characteristics.

Cold drip: A 12–24-hour drip-by-drip brewing process reduces bitterness. Drink cold.

Pourover: Finely ground coffee infused through a cone, giving you a clean drink.