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We all have bad days…days when that sinking feeling just tells you that you should not get up; should not even attempt to start the day. They are most commonly referred to as bad hair days. And even bald people can suffer from them. Recently I wondered whether the same description could be applied to coffee. Is it possible to have a bad coffee day – these days?

In Melbourne and surrounds it seems that the most needed substance for people to consume must be coffee. There is really no other way to look at it, when you consider what goes on in our little city. Almost every week there are clear and present signs of new cafes coming soon. It starts off with an old, run down business who finally decides to close up. You notice because you’ve often passed by this shop, thinking to yourself how it could even be possible for them to pay the rent let alone afford to buy the products so obviously lacking from their shelves. The days comes when you walk past and suddenly the shelves aren’t just lacking- they are empty. A couple of weeks later you walk past again and the shop looks completely deserted, with old letters lying in the doorway that you can see as you peer through the glass door. And then it hits you…a café is coming here soon.

As sure as you can be about anything that you can be absolutely sure about, dilapidated and bankrupt businesses vacate so that new shiny cafes can move in. These days cafes look like anything from science labs to haunted houses, and they are all uber cool! The more hidden, inconspicuous and mysterious they appear the higher they climb on the ladder of where it’s cool to be seen. And as an onlooker it’s really hard to keep up!

So, back to my original pondering: is it actually possible to have a bad coffee day in a city like Melbourne? Is there really an excuse for it? Are people who complain about bad coffee in Melbourne simply lazy? Are they the kind of people who will always see the glass half empty anyway?

Coffee in Melbourne has become like running water in a first world country- taken for absolute granted! And just like our other first world problems, coffee is really not something we should be complaining about. We assume that our coffee will not only be great, but that it will come served just the way we like it. And if it isn’t – you don’t want to be on the receiving end of a Melbournian who hasn’t had her coffee served to perfection.

With the amount of boutique roasters, green bean specialists and cold pressed fanatics we have in our reach, I find it extremely hard to believe that you could have a bad coffee day on purpose in Melbourne. We simply do not have the right to criticise a product that has become essential but is truly a luxury. When I hear people sitting in cafes on a daily basis and turning their noses up at the coffee they are drinking I know two things. One, I’m in Melbourne and two – as caffeine consumers we are too damn lucky to realise just how lucky we are.