Are Wagga residents drinking more coffee, or becoming particular about the brew?
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The question follows a boom in baristas across the city, according to a 2016 census reveal.
Red Door Chai Cafe’s Sheila Reynolds, one of an estimated 60 baristas across the city, said it was a bit of both.
“There are certainly more coffee snobs,” Ms Reynolds said. “People are wanting good coffee and they can tell the difference.”
With more than 16.3 million cups of coffee consumed every day, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, Jardine’s Cafe barista Damon Schmetzer said Wagga had not escaped a brewing trend.
It became so popular in 2006, the census recognised the job of a barista for the first time, with about 20 Wagga residents claiming the title.
Ten years later, the 2016 census revealed the number of baristas had risen to more than 37,000 nationwide.
Sharni Cook, from Baylis Grind, said the habit was like the new-age smoking, with cardboard cups replacing cigarettes.
“Everyone’s got a cup of coffee in their hand now,” Ms Cook said.
