Magic and piccolo coffees will be more popular in Melbourne this year

We’re known for having some of the best-tasting coffee in the world, but there’s one new trend emerging that’ll change the way we drink coffee in Melbourne.

Melbourne loves its coffee — but this year we’ll be drinking smaller sizes, thanks to a new trend sweeping the city.

Melbourne loves its coffee — but this year we’ll be drinking smaller sizes, thanks to a new trend sweeping the city.

Off the back of the Australian International Coffee Awards, head judge Melissa Caia said milk coffee would continue to be popular, but we’d see more people leaning toward smaller cup sizes.

“Milk is still the biggest category and product, we love our lattes,” Ms Caia said.

MELBOURNE COFFEE ORDERS YOU DIDN’T KNOW EXISTED

HOW TO TASTE COFFEE IN MELBOURNE

CHEEKY HIGHETT CAFE HAS NAUGHTY, BUT NICE OFFERINGS

Frank’s head barista, Elise GuitŽ-Caissy pouring a tiny Piccolo. Picture: Sarah Matray

“But we are going to see small beverages and see a trend with small cup sizes.”

Ms Caia said regular or standard coffee serving sizes in cafes and restaurants were about 7 ounces, while takeaway cups had 8 ounces.

But in time we may see some cafes serving our standard coffee sizes at 6 ounces, in response to people wanting less milk and more flavour in their cup.

The 2018 trend of the piccolo and magic styles of milk coffee would also continue in Melbourne — both of which are traditionally served with less milk.

A piccolo is a single ristretto shot topped with warm, silky milk and served in a 100ml glass and a magic is a double ristretto, flat white, filled to three quarters of the cup.

This year the AICA saw a rise in the number of single origin espresso entries.

“Single origin coffee comes from people wanting to try something different and those who look for the quality in the coffee, the growing region,” she says.

Have you tried a magic or piccolo? Melburnians will continue to enjoy shorter-style coffees in 2019, according to AICA judge Melissa Caia.

“We also find more and more people willing to try a filtered coffee.”

When asked whether she thought Melbourne coffee was overpriced, Ms Caia said:

“I don’t believe it’s overpriced, not at all.”

“There’s also labour costs, surcharges. It’s a lot of work (to make a nice cup) and they deserve the share of the pie.”

Ms Caia said Australia was lucky to source quality coffee beans, compared to other countries across the globe, which also impacted the cost of our cup.

[e-mail]
@kara_irving