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Squiz Shortcuts: Why is Oz coffee so good?

October 22, 2026 · 21 min

Show notes

Coffee is a bit of an Aussie obsession - and it's no secret that we think we do it pretty well. Each year, 6 billion cups of it are consumed here, we’re the home of the flat white, and this weekend Australia will be defending its crown at the World Barista Championships in Panama. So we thought we’d have a look at how the competition works, why and how Australian coffee got so good, and why it can be so hard to find a decent cup overseas.


Squiz Recommends: 

Reading/listening: Here’s that The Age opinion piece we mentioned that argues airport coffee in Italy is better than most of Melbourne. And here’s the podcast episode that discusses it…

Reading: This CNBC piece explains why Starbucks didn’t do as well as perhaps it would have liked here when it first launched in the noughties.

Following: Gabrel Tan’s time at the World Barista Championship on his Instagram feed.



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Hosted by Anna Pykett and Larissa Huntington

Researched by Anna Pykett


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