Melbourne Through the Coffee Cup

From WWII migrants who introduced espresso machines to the city, to the thriving cafe culture of today, coffee has become Melbourne's cultural glue. It is more than a drink: it is a ritual, a marker of identity, and a way of bringing people together across generations and cultures.

Part of the Head On Photo Festival, Melbourne Through the Coffee Cup is a free exhibition that captures this obsession through striking photography by Peter Casamento and words by Sandra Makris.

It’s all about the coffee, cafe culture and characters. Portraits and documentary images pay tribute to Carlton’s early coffee trailblazers while also portraying contemporary cafe and street scenes. The exhibition reflects how Melbourne grew from a local scene in Carlton, satisfying the needs of newly arrived migrants craving espresso-style coffee, to becoming a city recognised as the coffee capital of the world.