As mentioned in my previous blog, I arrived in my new home town of Lismore, northern NSW, after a 3 month road trip around the western half of Australia - a terrifying prospect for one so reliant on her daily shot of quality espresso. A coffee plunger that came with our rented camper van was not going to satisfy my yen for a real espresso, and so my journey involved the daily search, accompanied by my long suffering latte companion, for a decent caffe latte.
As we pulled out of Alice Springs, where I had indulged in many good lattes, my anxiety levels increased. However, to my delight, our first stop a couple of hours north of Alice at a road side cafe/gallery served up a reasonable Lavazza espresso coffee!! I often find it safer to go for a flat white when ordering in such dangerous territory as a latte here is surely going to be of the parfait glass variety. (see my earlier blog on the parfait latte) On our trip I discovered the odd decent latte in the most unlikely places such as a tiny mining town in the middle of the desert in WA.
The majority of my caffe latte experiences,however, were either disappointing or absolutely mind-blowing. One that will always stand out was in Kununurra in the Kimberley where I experienced the amazing Clothes-Peg Latte. This insipid and over-heated latte came served with a cloth serviette strapped around its middle and clamped together by a clothes-peg. It was an awkward operation to sip this latte with its wooden protrusion and, combined with the appalling taste of the milky substance within, this was a truly horrendous yet unforgettable WA latte experience.
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The clothes peg experience sounds bad. It's sad how desperation causes this kind of blind risk-taking in the bush. But I can relate to the rising anxiety you talk about, how it can get a head of steam then make you do silly things, like once when on the 3rd day of driving east from Adelaide and pulled into Tamworth & went to Gloria Jeans. I can't describe it. They don't even have real crockery.
ReplyDeleteHave you ever been to the CIBO cafes round Adelaide? I like the consistency from barristas, excellent quality standards, and have a rewards card when in Adelaide for my daily CIBO. Rarely less than 9.2 and sometimes 9.9 out of 10. Love it.
Hi Annie,
ReplyDeleteGlad you can relate to my anxiety when on the road and in search of an espresso. I now know why I never go to Gloria Jeans or Starbucks - I imagine it would be a very plastic experience.
Yes I have experienced CIBO cafes and I agree they are a safe choice for a good coffee in Adelaide. Glad you have found them to be consistently satisfying.