Australians Swear They Add An Unlikely Condiment To Their Morning Coffee

Anyone who lives in a desirable tourist destination has fantasies about keeping the slow walkers, aspiring TravelTok stars, and local social contract disrespects at bay. Those in beautiful climes might claim that the wonderful weather's a myth. Others in famed food destinations might insist that the culinary landscape's overrated. And some self-centered denizens of major metropolitan areas might even go so far as to exaggerate crime rates, if certain subreddits are any indication. An Instagram Reel out of Australia, the country renowned for coffee creations like flat whites, takes a more inventive tact by touting a Vegemite latte, which has garnered rather mixed reactions from foodies online.

Golden Brown, a Melbourne-based coffee company that aims to "entertain and educate people with food and beverage media content," per its press materials, does a lot of the former in the viral video that's racked up tens of thousands of likes. In a gentle bit of trolling, a barista opens with seemingly earnest bafflement that Americans, in particular, are ignorant to the purportedly ubiquitous potable. Extolling the Vegemite latte's virtues, they go so far as to assert that the combination of the famed, yeasty national spread (not to be confused with Marmite), espresso, and milk results in a nice miso caramel finish. Comments are predictably divided. Some seem gleefully in on the joke, others appear to be genuinely incredulous; a few are disproportionately angry and plenty are game for a taste. And, if any of this seems familiar, the company pulled a similar stunt on TikTok back in 2021.

Oh, boy. The Vegemite latte begs the question: What is "real"? Is a notion, a spark of an idea breathed into existence even for but a moment, "real"? Sure, why not. So, even if the obviously very fake Vegemite latte was created just the one time, simply to stir the ol' pot online, it's still technically real. It has been forever etched in the hallowed halls of internet recipes. And plenty of folks on other platforms have recreated the dubious drink, going so far as to share photographic evidence and say they enjoyed it.

If you are in the United States, the intended target for this frankly friendly trolling, it is unlikely that your nearest cafe will carry Vegemite. Do not bring your own Vegemite and ask them to add it in, but, if you're so inclined, go ahead and stir in a dash of the Squeezy variety of the spread depicted in the video once you're off the premises. Or, to make a Vegemite latte at home, mix a shot of espresso with a teaspoon of Vegemite, then add about 6 ounces of steamed milk. Serve with toasts for dunking alongside your traditional Australian breakfast. And, being that this is mostly all made up, we're going to go ahead and say that some swaps like espresso concentrate or microwaved dairy (or plant-based milks) will be just fine.