Iced Coffee in Australia

When you order an iced coffee in Australia, don’t expect the typical over-sweet Dunkin’ Donuts material.

When you step through the inviting door of an air-conditioned cafe and ask for an iced coffee, they’ll ask you if you’d like “whipped cream and ice cream with that” to which you reply, “sure!” because you didn’t fully understand the question.

Then you wait, usually not for too long, and they’ll bring you a drink resembling a parfait of some sort.

You take it, not entirely sure how to tackle the beast. Then, you notice the spoon.

Encouraged, you tentatively sip the iced coffee, and much to your surprise, the coffee itself is not sweet. More often than not, the whipped cream will also be left unsweetened. The ice cream is what brings it all together, as it makes you extra grateful for its sweetness after it’s steeped in coffee and cream.

Ice cream is greedy in that way.

As you finish the drink, you find yourself surprised at how quickly it disappeared. Grudgingly, you exit the cafe, promising to return again to its not-too-sweet splendour.