Europeans have been drinking coffee since about 1526, when the Ottoman Empire invaded Hungary and Austria. Within a couple of hundred years, the wealthy Viennese had developed a taste for layered coffee served in glassware. The kapuziner, a coffee generously topped with whipped cream, led to the modern cappuccino. It was also the precursor to a similar Viennese drink, the einspanner (“single span”), named after type of horse-drawn carriage.

Along with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Wiener schnitzel, the einspanner is one of Austria’s biggest cultural exports. A classic in the country’s coffee houses, the drink has, in recent years, been co-opted by South Korea’s booming coffee culture, which redefined it as an iced specialty with a silky cap of sweetened cream.

But two-tone drinks come in many guises. South Korea struck again with the dalgona coffee craze a few years ago. Meanwhile, Taiwanese cheese tea was getting international hype despite its origins almost a decade ago. Even big American chains have taken a swing at the two-tone genre: Starbucks introduced nitro-charged cold foam drinks in 2018, followed by similar offerings from Dunkin’ Donuts and others.

But the infiltration of these drinks into the Aussie cafe scene (and thus, our social media feeds) is a much more recent phenomenon. At the end of last year, Broadsheet called it one of the defining drink trends of 2024, pointing to a surge of photogenic colour-blocked bevs across Melbourne, featuring coffee and adjacent bases like matcha.

Carlton cafe-wine bar Good Measure may not have started the trend, but it was among the first to embrace it. Consider the Mont Blanc: an iced filter coffee with a head of cream showered in nutmeg and orange zest. So popular was Good Measure’s take on the einspanner when it hit the menu three years ago, it quickly sparked copycats and requests from interstate customers eager to get their hands on similar creations. (Good Measure’s Max Allison says the “Monty B” was inspired by South Korean coffee culture.)

Chian Ting of Melbourne dessert destinations Matcha Mate and Nimbo says growing awareness of Asian dessert culture is a driving force behind the trend at home. “Everyone knows what pandan is now, ube, matcha,” she tells Broadsheet. “Asian flavours have really come up [in the Australian cafe scene].”

At Matcha Mate, she “parodies” classic desserts and sweets using the eponymous Japanese ingredient, and serves everything from verdant cookies to slices of chequerboard yuzu cakes. But her signature iced drinks – made with a viscous layer of matcha over coconut water, lemonade or ube-infused milk – are killing it on the menu.

The trend isn’t just confined to cafes: the country’s best cocktail bars have long dabbled in two-tone territory. West Melboure’s Earth Angels tapped Matcha Mate for a Strawberry Matchatini collab, while Sydney Martini den Bar Planet recently teamed up with Marrickville cafe Superfreak on a spiked dupe of a concoction by cult LA grocer Erewhon. We’ve come a long way from the British Black and Tan, the American Tequila Sunrise the “ traffic light ” soft drinks that proliferated in Australian pubs in the ’80s. Here’s where to try the new generation of layered drinks.

MELBOURNE

Banh Mi Stand, CBD

Iced milk coffee with salted mascarpone, from this hole-in-the-wall spot is made with concentrated coffee and condensed milk, and topped with salted mascarpone. It’s inspired by the Vietnamese ca phe muoi, or salt coffee.

Matcha Mate, CBD

The signature drink comprises coconut water at the bottom and matcha coconut cream (whipped using a coffee press) suspended on the surface. The team’s sibling, Nimbo, is where to go for a matcha cold brew Mont Blanc with a touch of salt.

Moon Mart, South Melbourne

This Hot Listed -cafe is best known for excellent food, but its various two-tone drinks have been generating plenty of hype too. Try the photogenic strawberry iced matcha above; a frappucino-like iced latte with condensed milk and cream; or an espresso layered with orange juice.

Good Measure, Carlton

Good Measure’s Mont Blanc, essentially a dessert coffee, became a sensation on Tiktok at the beginning of 2022, and the team has been pumping it out ever since. There’d be riots if it came off the menu.

Tone Coffee, Prahran

If you’re after something similar south of the river, Tone’s Tiger Bomb (espresso, milk, cream and orange zest) is the one to order.

SYDNEY

Angus, Marrickville

Start with a pretty, deep-red rhubarb bottom, then add a verdant green matcha top. You have Angus’s tart, summer-ready take on the strawberry matcha.

Hendry’s, Darlinghurst

“We travel a lot, so we wanted to bring things from other cultures here,” says Rudson Machado, who co-owns Hendry’s with partner Bagus Putraa. Inspired by those travels, their creations include a triple-layered raspberry matcha with house-made jam, tea and white-chocolate foam.

Sabah, Silverwater

From mango iced matcha to tiramisu coffee topped with mascarpone and a whole savoiardi biscuit, Sabah is a one-stop shop for trending iced drinks. Specials riffing off the team’s Levantine roots include a pistachio iced matcha with house-made pistachio cream.

Tita Carinderia, Marrickville

Alongside longganisa breakfast sangas and pandan tiramisu, this Filipino bakery cafe is known for its drinks. A strawberry matcha float upgrades a standard matcha latte with matcha soft serve. The tri-toned Ube Island Float layers blue spirulina, caramel matcha and ube soft serve.

PERTH

Kith, Nedlands

Kith co-owner Jess Chisari noticed the trend overseas at spots like Alphabet Cafe in Montreal and Momos Coffee in South Korea. She and head barista Dan Martin created a Mont Blanc using vegan coconut cream and lime zest. Rotating specials include matcha layered with mango and passionfruit.

Moment Patisserie, CBD

Moment Patisserie’s drinks are doing the most. Its cute creations draw on Chinese and Japanese flavours, including an osmanthus matcha latte, taro cream latte, and coconut water topped with coconut foam.

BRISBANE

Lola’s Coffee Bar, Tarragindi

Lola’s menu is a “choose your own adventure” situation. Order everything from strawberry and mango to pandan and ube with your matcha or espresso.

Little Florence Coffee, Teneriffe

The main draw at Little Florence is the strawberry matcha and mermaid matcha (a blue variation made with butterfly pea flower). For something sans caffeine, try the marbled smoothies inspired by Erewhon.

ADELAIDE

Seven Grounds, Brompton

Yes, Seven Grounds serves strawberry matcha and a classic Mont Blanc, but the cafe’s real drawcards are its signature drinks. Think coconut Vietnamese iced coffee topped with coconut cream, or a purple layer of ube whipped cream.

Bobby’s Coffee Store, Warradale and Glenelg North

To try a classic Mont Blanc in Adelaide, Bobby’s is the go-to for this iconic bev.

Altura Coffee, Findon

Over in the western suburbs, Altura Coffee is also scaling Mont Blanc with perfect form.

CANBERRA

Society Coffee, Belconnen

Ratnika Rastogi introduced strawberry matcha at her Belconnen cafe to attract a younger crowd and “the word spread like wildfire”. Now, Society Coffee is known for its seasonal two-toned drinks, which range from mango matcha to the Iced Bumblebee (citrus, caramel and espresso).

Midnight Bar, Braddon

This handsome cocktail bar does a boozy spin on the viral strawberry matcha latte by combining strawberry jam and matcha with horchata (Mexican rice milk), citrus and vodka. Served tall over ice.

HOBART

Audrey Coffee, Rosny Park and Rokeby

Audrey is leading the two-toned movement in Tassie. It offers three summer drinks: the White Mountain (a take on the Mont Blanc), the Sunset (apple syrup, Earl Grey and Tasmanian citrus juice) and the Audrey Fizz (Brazilian espresso, soda water, fennel ginger syrup and lemon).