American Coffee Lovers, Meet the 'Flat White'

— -- Australians have a well-deserved reputation as the most laid back people in the world. No wonder, what with the endless beaches and perfect weather, the national slogan should be, “No worries mate!”

But there is one thing that they are very particular about: Coffee. Sydneysiders take their morning java very, very seriously.

Americans may not know about Australia’s obsessive coffee culture, but they’re about to get a taste. Starbucks announced that it is bring one of Australia’s most popular drinks to the United States -- the “flat white.”

Considered an unflamboyant café au lait, the “flat white” is an espresso and steamed milk drink that was invented in Australia in the 1980s.

We traveled to Australia to meet some of the locals who have helped build the local coffee culture.

“I dream about coffee, it’s the first thing I think of and the last thing I think of every single day,” said Sean McManus, the bearded and tattooed head coffee brewer at Single Origin Roasters in Sydney.

Australia’s unlikely obsession with coffee is thanks to the influx of Italian immigrants who arrived there after World War II, bringing with them a passion for coffee.

“I wouldn’t use the word picky or snobby,” said Myffy Rigby, chief food & drink critic at Time Out Sydney. “I just think we have a very clear idea of what we like to drink. You might come to some cafés to drink a slightly roasted South American blend, you’ll go to others to drink something that’s ballsy and deeply roasted and heavily extracted.”

Since then, coffee-mad Aussies have even developed a secret local language that might baffle outsiders. To understand this foreign coffee language, we asked McManus for a crash course on the ins-and-outs of an Australian coffee menu.

First, there’s the piccolo, which is a romantic sounding Italian term that just means small. In Australian coffee terms, it refers to a small latte.

Then there is the short black, which is not Italian or romantic, but provides insight into the Australian’s straightforward approach to names.

“Australia has a tendency to name everything as it is so a short black is literally a short black coffee,” said McManus.

The machiatto and ristretto are both espresso drinks, the first is served with a small amount of milk, and the ristretto -- meaning limited in Italian -- is an espresso extracted with about half the water of a normal cup.

Now go on and order with confidence, but please, unlike us, order one drink at a time. You don’t want to feel high strung amongst the relaxed locals.