Fifteenth-century Arabs were the first to cultivate coffee and a Frenchman was behind the 1843 debut of the world 's first commercial espresso machine . There have been a few leaps forward since then . `` People are more and more interested in where the beans come from , and how they 're harvested and roasted , '' says New Zealand barista champion Nick Clark of Wellington 's Flight Coffee . `` There are so many variables involved in producing a great cup of coffee these days , and the industry has had to evolve to meet growing consumer expectations . '' The world 's best coffee cities are those where the coffee is n't just good -- it 's great . Have you got a favorite coffee city ? Top coffee shop ? Share your coffee love in the comments below . London . Aussies and Kiwis opened the city 's first espresso-focused coffee shops ( such as Flat White and Kaffeine ) a decade ago and they 've been popping up across the city ever since . `` London still has a long way to go with café service , but in the past five years there 's been so much growth , which is a great thing to be part of , '' says Estelle Bright , head barista at London 's Caravan . Local order : Flat white or cappuccino . `` London is still in the grip of the flat white craze , but cappuccinos are similarly popular , '' says Bright . Top shops : East London boasts the highest concentration of quality coffee shops and cafes . Allpress , Climpson & Sons and Caravan are standouts . Melbourne . `` The coffee culture in Melbourne is just incredible , '' says reigning World Barista Champion Pete Licata , from the United States . Coffee is such an integral part of the Melbourne lifestyle that the city even hosts an annual coffee expo . Local order : Piccolo latte . While lattes , cappuccinos and flat whites remain popular , piccolo lattes ( made with less milk so the espresso tastes stronger ) are the drink du jour . Top shops : `` It 's nearly impossible to find a bad cup of coffee in Melbourne , '' says Licata . For real coffee purists , there 's Axil Coffeehouse Roasters in Hawthorn ( 322 Burwood Road ) , Auction Rooms in North Melbourne and Dead Man Espresso in South Melbourne . Hidden Secrets Tours runs café culture walks . Reykjavik , Iceland . After the Dutch , Scandinavians have the highest coffee consumption per capita in the world . While Finns drink the most among Scandinavians , Icelanders are also coffee crazy . `` Not too long ago , cafés in Reykjavík were more about the food , '' says Kristin Thora , a barista at Icelandic institution Kaffitar and reigning National Cupping Champion . `` You 'd have coffee and cake and did n't mind how the coffee was as long as the cake was good . `` Then , about 25 years ago , people started to care about how their coffee was served . '' With Iceland 's lack of commercial coffee behemoths , smaller businesses have had a chance to flourish . Now you can hardly walk a city block without passing a coffee shop . Local order : Latte or cappuccino . `` Drip coffee is popular in the home , but Icelanders tend go to coffeehouses for espresso-based drinks , '' says Thora . Top shops : With seven coffee shops and a roaster to its name , Kaffitar is the closest thing Iceland has to a coffee chain . Stofan and Kaffismidja are hipster faves . Rome . Coffee is so much a part of Italian culture that you 'll rarely encounter a local who does n't drink it . But believe it or not , it 's not always that easy to find a decent espresso in Italy , with critics whispering that Italians have been resistant to adopt modern barista techniques . But with the best of the nation 's baristas calling it home , Rome is your best bet for a quality cup . Local order : Espresso . Custom dictates that milky coffees can only be consumed at breakfast , anyway . Top shops : Rosati in Piazza del Popolo , Sant ' Eustachi by the Pantheon or Giolitti , a few blocks west of the Trevi Fountain , are crowd favorites . Singapore . `` Coffee has always been an integral part of Singaporean life , but we 've only recently embraced modern espresso technology , '' says Jovena Loon of Café Hopping Singapore . `` Locals have become so obsessed with latte art that it has become a basic criteria for a good café . '' Local order : Latte , mocha or cappuccino . Top shops : Jovena recommends Strangers ' Reunion in Chinatown , Dutch Colony in Pasar Bella marketplace , and Bukit Timah and Chye Seng Huat Hardware in Little India . Seattle . If there 's one American city that 's consistently ahead of the game , it 's Seattle . The green mermaid is only a small part of the hometown coffee scene . `` Coffee is our liquid sunshine in Seattle , '' says Joshua Boyt from Victrola Coffee Roasters , one of the city 's best cafes for coffee geeks . `` Passion for the product , coupled with the sheer number of coffee shops across the city , has created a culture of constant improvement through competition and camaraderie . '' Local order : Espresso , cappuccino or a single-origin pour . Top shops : Victrola Coffee Roasters in Capitol Hill , Empire Espresso in Columbia City and Seattle Coffee Works downtown are all solid picks . Vienna , Austria . They 're such an important part of Viennese culture that the city 's coffee houses were listed by UNESCO in 2011 as an Intangible Heritage . But modern coffee connoisseurs such as Vienna coffee blogger Lameen Abdul-Malik of From Coffee With Love admit that the standard of coffee in these beloved institutions , which act as public living rooms where people come to chat , read newspapers and eat strudel , are lagging in terms of coffee technology and service expectations . Perhaps not for long . `` Since Vienna hosted the World Barista Championships in 2012 , and new-style independent coffee shops began to open up , the quality of espresso drinks is steadily improving , '' says Abdul-Malik . Local order : Espresso or cappuccino in a new style cafe . Or a Vienner melange ( similar to a cappuccino , but usually topped with cream ) in a traditional coffeehouse . Top shops : Abdul-Maliuk recommends Caffe Couture , Essenti or Coffee Pirates . Demel serves traditional coffee and marvelous cakes . Wellington , New Zealand . While the ubiquitous flat white was purportedly invented in Sydney , the drink was perfected in Wellington , where it 's become the nation 's unofficial national beverage . `` Wellington-ites really know their coffee , and there is a very high standard being served around the city , '' says Clark . `` Wellington is also a small city ; there 's a lot of interaction between consumers and professionals , which helps our industry to improve and grow . '' Local order : Flat white . It 's a religion . Top shops : It 's tough to find a bad coffee in New Zealand . Some of Wellington 's best coffee shops include Flight Coffee Hangar , Memphis Belle and Lamason Brew Bar . Have you got a favorite coffee city ? Coffee shop ? Share the coffee love in the comments below .
After the Dutch , Scandinavians have the highest coffee consumption per capita in the world . Coffee culture in Melbourne `` just incredible '' says reigning World Barista Champion . Singapore is Asia 's coffee capital . Seattle ? Well it has a lot of cafes and restaurants that serve up some great coffees