“The coffee in Europe just doesn’t compare to back home.”
- aaronphilips
- Jul 23
- 3 min read
Why Coffee in Europe Doesn’t Compare to Sydney or Melbourne: A Barista’s Perspective
From the team at Captainandco - home of Sydney and Melbourne’s cutest coffee carts and the best specialty coffee in a can.
When Aussies travel to Europe, they expect to be wowed by history, culture, architecture—and maybe even the coffee. But ask any specialty coffee lover from Sydney or Melbourne, and you’ll likely hear the same thing:
“The coffee in Europe just doesn’t compare to back home.”
As a team that serves at premium Sydney events and Melbourne events with the best coffee carts, we’ve noticed some key differences between European coffee culture and what we’ve proudly built here in Australia.
Here’s what sets us apart-and why Aussie coffee reigns supreme.
The Average Café Experience Is Better in Australia
In Sydney or Melbourne, even your local corner café will likely serve excellent espresso, pour-over, or iced coffee made with carefully sourced beans. In Europe? Not so much.
While cities like Milan or Paris boast a strong café culture, the focus is rarely on coffee quality. It’s more about the ritual-standing at the bar, ordering an espresso, and moving on. For true specialty coffee, you’ll often need to hunt.
Smaller Basket Size = Weaker Flavour
European espresso machines often use smaller portafilter baskets, holding as little as 6–8 grams of coffee. In contrast, most Aussie baristas-especially those on a Captainandco coffee cart-use 20–22g baskets to extract rich, full-bodied shots.
This seemingly small detail has a big impact. It’s part of why Australian coffee has more depth, complexity, and crema.
Specialty Coffee? Europe Isn’t Willing to Pay
Europeans love coffee. But are they willing to pay $5+ for a carefully dialled-in, single-origin flat white? Not always.
That’s one of the reasons mass-produced, low-grade coffee still dominates the European market. Most cafés are focused on speed and price over quality and origin. Meanwhile, in Australia, customers actively seek out the best coffee, understand flavour notes, and will pay for the good stuff.
Mass-Produced Coffee Still Dominates in Europe
Let’s face it-most European cafés are pushing dark-roasted, commercial-grade beans through automatic machines. The result? Bitter, burnt espresso lacking nuance.
At Captainandco, whether it’s through our cutest coffee cart setups or our iced coffees in a clear can, we only serve high-grade beans, often roasted locally in Sydney or Melbourne. That’s the standard our customers expect—and it’s leagues ahead of what you’ll find in the average European café.
Australia Leads the Way in Coffee Innovation
Whether it’s clear canned drinks, cold brews in transparent packaging, or custom event coffee carts, Australia isn’t just following trends-it’s setting them.
European cafés often rely on tradition. That’s beautiful for ambience, but less exciting when it comes to innovation. Here, we’re all about improving flavour, presentation, and service—especially at corporate functions, weddings, and branded activations.
Final Sip
While we did find some amazing cafes that served fantastic brews...Australia’s coffee scene-especially in Sydney and Melbourne-is in a league of its own. From carefully calibrated specialty brews to beautifully designed coffee cart hire experiences, we’re redefining what it means to enjoy a cup of coffee.
So next time you’re sipping a burnt espresso in Rome or a watery cappuccino in Paris, just remember: Captainandco is waiting for you back in Australia with a drinks cart full of flavour, flair, and freshly pulled perfection.
Need a coffee cart for your next Sydney or Melbourne event?
From iced coffees in a clear can to the best specialty beans on tap, Captainandco brings café-quality coffee directly to your event space.
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