SYDNEY - In cafes in London, Los Angeles and New York, ordering a "flat white" - a favourite type of coffee in Australia - is no longer greeted with quizzical looks.

This is mainly because Australians travelling overseas often discovered they could not find a coffee up to their standards - so they started opening cafes abroad. Today, Australia's coffee obsession is evident not only across the country, but also in the coffee culture it is brewing around the world.