Bingo. The big reason why coffee sucks in the US is that the Italian immigration wave hit before the espresso machine was invented. It hit Oz afterward.

And, leading from that, coffee in Oz has been pretty damned good for a long time. I've never been anywhere that takes it as seriously as we do save for a couple pockets in the pacific northwest of the US, and even in those places it's nowhere near the consistent good quality you'll find in any Aussie Capitol city.

And it's definitely not specific to Melbourne. Sydney has great coffee.

I left Melbourne in 2002, and finally visited again in 2009. The effect of seven years of sustained prosperity was palpable in many ways, but none more so than the number of new cafés. I guess it's the sort of change you don't notice so much when you see something every day.

(I'm subscribed to a Melbourne photo blog, and it nearly brings a tear to the eye at least once a week. Melbourne's easily my favorite city in the world.)