Classic Australian Iced Coffee

If you order an "iced coffee" in most countries, you'll get cold coffee over ice. Order one in Australia, and you'll get what's essentially a coffee milkshake crowned with ice cream and whipped cream. It's decadent, it's over-the-top, and it's been an Australian café staple since the 1950s. My Pop - who worked at a milk bar in Adelaide from 1957 to 1982 - made thousands of these, and he swore they were "the reason Australians survived summer before air conditioning."

The Australian iced coffee tradition started in the post-war era when milk bars and cafés wanted to create something special that would bring customers in during the hot months. Someone - and every state claims credit for this innovation - had the brilliant idea of putting ice cream in cold coffee. It transformed a simple drink into an event, something you'd order as a treat, not just refreshment.

Pop's milk bar in North Adelaide had a specific recipe that regulars swore by. "It's all about the ratios," he'd say, assembling each iced coffee with the precision of a scientist. "Too much ice cream and it's just a coffee milkshake. Not enough and you lose the magic. The coffee needs to be strong enough to taste through the cream and sweet enough to be a treat but not so sweet you can't finish it." He used a specific blend of coffee, always chilled overnight, never made fresh and then iced (which he said made it bitter).

The presentation was crucial. Pop served his iced coffees in tall glasses so you could see the layers: dark coffee at the bottom, creamy milk in the middle, ice cream floating on top, and a generous swirl of whipped cream crowned with a dusting of chocolate. Two straws - always two, one for drinking and one for backup when the first got too sweet and sticky. A long spoon for eating the ice cream at the end, which was the best part.

Different states had their own variations. South Australia went big on the ice cream. New South Wales preferred a more coffee-forward flavor. Victoria sometimes added chocolate syrup. Queensland served it with extra whipped cream because why not? But the basic formula remained: strong coffee, cold milk, vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, and enough sugar to make your dentist wince.

This drink represents Australian café culture - unpretentious, generous, and not afraid to make something ordinary into something special. When Pop retired in 1982, his regulars threw him a party at the milk bar. They served iced coffees, naturally. "Fifty thousand of these I made," Pop said, sipping one slowly. "And they never got boring. Because every one made someone smile on a hot day."