MILK, OATS, OR BLACK: HOW SYDNEY DRINKS ITS COFFEE IN 2024
Coffee Culture — 1 September 2024
Oat milk now accounts for 38% of all milk orders across Chambers venues. We look at how Sydney's coffee habits have shifted over the past decade — and what it means for how we train our baristas.
The flat white used to be simple.
Whole milk, double espresso, a thin layer of microfoam. That was the Sydney flat white for most of the 2000s. The milk came from a dairy, the espresso came from a blend, and the barista's job was to make it consistent.
In 2024, the flat white is anything but simple. Across Chambers venues, we now pour six different milk alternatives alongside whole and skim dairy. Oat milk accounts for 38% of all milk orders — up from less than 5% in 2018. Almond milk has plateaued at around 12%. Soy, once the dominant alternative, has fallen to 8%. Macadamia and coconut milks together account for another 6%.
This shift has profound implications for how we train our baristas. Each milk alternative has different fat content, different protein structure, and different behaviour under heat. Oat milk, in particular, requires a different steaming technique than dairy — it scalds more easily, produces a different texture, and interacts differently with espresso's acidity.
We have updated our training programme to address this. Every Chambers barista now trains on all six alternatives before they are certified to work the bar. The standard is the same regardless of what is in the jug: the texture must be right, the temperature must be right, and the pour must be right.
The coffee has changed. The standard has not.