Morges, Switzerland
As any Australian can tell you, the quality of coffee in France and some other European countries is abominable — in sharp contrast to Australia where coffee is usually very good.
So it was a pleasant surprise to be able to drink some Aussie coffee on a recent visit to Morges, Switzerland.
On Wednesday morning, I was walking through the local market, and noticed a coffee truck. Its list of coffees included “flat white”, an Australian invention, to which New Zealand also lays a false claim.
A flat white is a coffee drink consisting of espresso and steamed milk. It generally has a higher proportion of espresso to milk than a caffè latte, and lacks the thick layer of foam in a cappuccino.
This was amazing because Morges is a sleepy small town, though very beautiful, on Lake Geneva. So I started quizzing the barista without revealing my identity.
Walter, the barista, had an interesting tale to tell. Some years ago he moved to Sydney with his Australian girlfriend. Due to Australia’s draconian migration laws, he was unable to work. So he took up the study of coffee.
As he writes, Kooka Coffee (https://www.kooka-coffee.com/), his business, was born after a stay in Australia, where he discovered coffee in a different way, a new wave of so-called “specialty” coffee. Without further ado, he stopped everything and threw himself into this new passion by taking numerous courses with roasters in Australia, followed by the Espresso Academy in Italy where he obtained my barista certificate.
In 2016, he created his first coffee truck and since then, he has only offered specialty coffees of different origins, sourced and roasted by himself in his workshop in Denges.
So do yourself a favour and pay Walter a visit. You can find him at Morges morning market on Wednesday and Saturday, and at Riponne Square Lausanne on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. He also has a cafe, KO-LAB, at Rue Louis de Savoie 23, Morges, Switzerland.
Drinking Walter’s excellent coffee is not, however, the only reason to visit Morges. Indeed, Morges is a beautiful little town located on Lake Geneva, west of Lausanne, with a very rich history which is waiting to be explored, . If you are of a sporty inclination, you can cycle or walk, eat or west from Morges to Lausanne or Geneva.
Wine walkers will not be disappointed to learn that Morges is one of the many wine towns overlooking Lake Geneva, and making excellent white wines in particular from the Chasselas grape variety.
The purpose of my visit to Morges was to parfticipate in the board meeting of the Magic Libraries Foundation, and meet my good friends, Yuko and Bob, Benedicte and John, and Katherine and Patricia.