Sydney has gone caffé loco!

This post is dedicated to Java Junkie, natch.

Darlings! Did you know that La Diva only became a true coffee drinker since moving to Miami three years ago? Since I am already a hyper and highly energetic person, DJ Nevah L8 frowned upon La Diva partaking in any sort of concentrated caffeine blast, it made me edgy and easily agitated.

However, that changed when I learned to only take coffee with breakfast and NEVER in the afternoon. (though Nevah L8 still disapproves!) Now, I truly enjoy a good hot cup of java and was happy to partake in the delightful drink when returning to Sydney, Australia recently.

Typical La Diva look after drinking too much caffeine

It wasn't too long ago when a weary Sydney-sider would go to a café and order a coffee called a long black and get a fairly decent cup of joe. ("Long black" meaning a double espresso coffee without milk while a "short black" would mean an espresso.)

If you wanted something as fancy as a caffelatte or a macchiato, you would have to go to inner west suburb of Leichhardt, Sydney's "Little Italy," to get a "real" coffee. (Drip coffee was, and still is, virtually non-existent in restaurants and establishments outside of domestic use in Sydney, thank God.)

La Diva got this lovely cappuccino at Bacio at the Queen Victoria Building in Sydney central business district

As little as 15 years ago if one traveled too far out of Sydney (or Melbourne,) the choices for a decent cup of coffee would be limited to non-existent. Seriously, darlings, if you ordered a cappuccino in the Queensland town of Brisbane, most likely the vendor would stare at you with vacant cow eyes and say: "Sorry, love, we don't serve foreign coffee here. Bloody Sydney-siders, always asking for something to be different."

THANK GOODNESS THOSE DAYS ARE LONG GONE!

After being away from my beloved Sydney for almost seven years, I can honestly say:

SYDNEY-SIDERS ARE ADDICTED TO THEIR JAVA! (more than ever!)

And, they are a picky lot too. Starbucks is sadly lagging in the local market share as REAL coffee served in REAL cafés, freshly roasted and made properly by a barista with MILK, NOT "half and bloody half", is the stuff that Aussie urbanites crave daily. Whipped cream and caramel topping is left to dessert (as it should be) and coffee houses are bursting out of every nook, cranny, corner and kiosk of Sydney! La Diva was very impressed and eager to indulge!

Over in the northern Sydney suburb of Manly Vale, once a no-man's land for anything "trendy," is the thriving and ever-popular Belaroma Coffee Centre: "We are passionate about providing the freshest coffee!" Indeed, they certainly DO take coffee seriously.

Off the parking lot, one sees a small warehouse stocked and stacked with bags of coffee beans from Costa Rica, Papua New Guinea, Kenya and any other part of the world that produces high-quality coffee.

So, WHAT EXACTLY makes Belaroma so darn special? A LOT. Besides the huge variety of quality and freshly roasted coffees from all over the world, a customer may choose their own bean blend and have it roasted right then and there on the premises! The entire process take about 30 minutes, just enough time to leisurely read the paper, have a nosh and enjoy a steaming cup of joe.

Click to read, darlings! Wouldn't it be nice to see this kind of coffee service in Miami? Or anywhere outside of Seattle?!

Freshly baked pastry, biscotti, sandwiches and wraps are available to eat there or take away and great to imbibe in while you wait for your coffee to roast.

The retail section with tables to the side as well as outdoor seating, naturally. You can even compare different Belaroma blends with a tasting flight!

The back wall is mounted with dispensers for the coffee bar for creating unique and special blends. The window behind is the classroom where coffee academy courses are offered for professional and domestic barista training.

The "domestic" classes are for the home barista as well as a "coffee appreciation" course to learn about how coffee is grown, growing regions, types of coffee as well as blending and learning the subtleties about coffees from Africa, Asia and South America.

Click on this, darling, you can almost TASTE the deliciousness and SMELL the aroma!

The "professional" courses are hardcore and include a barista and advanced barista course covering basic machine operation to "milk texturing" to coffee art and even cafe operations! La Diva SO WISHES she had more time to partake in one of these courses.

When I worked as a bartender at an upscale restaurant in the trendy Sydney suburb of Balmain on Saturday nights, I used to make myriad coffees and made a mean cappuccino. The night would start off with La Diva making cocktails, then onto serving copious bottles of Australian wine and then everyone would go mad for coffees at the end of their meal.

If you make enough coffee continuously, you can get pretty good. I did get some informal training on the art of coffee making, but La Diva would LOVE to take a professional course to know all the barista secrets to making the perfect cup of coffee, crema and all!

Click to see the baristas working hard! Notice the coffee cups on top of the coffee makers, keeping them warm and ready!

Mossimo, owner and barista extraodinaire!

Of course, La Diva can't go anywhere without asking curious questions and my Yankee accent initiated some smart alec comments from the barista boys and some witty repartee ensued! The boys weren't sure what exactly "hit" them after a dose of La Diva!

In the end, Mossimo, the owner, ended up chatting with us about a recent visit to Miami, pressed his business card and some pistachio biscotti into our hands with promises of a stateside visit! We were only in the joint for 15 minutes and La Diva left with a coffee education, sweets and another friend!

The Belaroma website is chock full of fascinating coffee facts, you can click here to read more!

What's YOUR coffee story? Do you have a local café that roasts their own beans or offers any thing truly special? Tell Diva your story here!

Ciao, darlings!