Melbourne ruined me! Before I lived there I could drink any old sugary nonsense that passed itself off as a coffee or variation thereof. Now I am quite particular about my favorite caffeinated brew. I’m no coffee snob, but there are times when I’ve ordered a cappuccino and found myself looking at some froth filled caffeine catastrophe made by someone who clearly has no idea what a cappuccino should look like, let alone taste like.

Across Asia I’ve struggled to feed my addiction to the bean, and I’ve sometimes had little choice but to visit a Starbucks, or worse yet, buy some awful freeze-dried packet of horror to which I just add water, as if making a good coffee were that simple.

In Taipei I was delighted to find cafe’s like Yabboo and Xiaomijo where cappuccinos looked and tasted like a cappuccino should, and where the ambience reminded me of my favorite Melbourne haunts. Here in Singapore there are also a few places where a coffee drinker can find retreat, and while here I’ve visited my two favorite cafes in Tanjong Pagar, Group Therapy and the relentlessly air-conditioned Pigeon Hole.

There are many good reasons to head back to Melbourne, the coffee would be somewhere near the top of that list.