Coffee

Australians are very particular about coffee. They'll often come back to Australia saying they couldn't find a good coffee in the US (accompanying the finding with an expression of surprise because, after all, we know that Americans ditched the alternative, tea, in Boston Harbor back in 1773).

Call me obsessive but I've actually made a list of the best coffee I've found so far in the States. It would be odd if this turned out to be my most useful post!

California
The Blue Bottle, 300 Webster St Oakland, CA 94607 (It's in an industrial area, but also supplies various places over in the San Francisco city itself)
Philz Coffee, 3101 24th St (at Folsom St), San Francisco, CA 94110 (Mission District)
Lucky Llama, 5100 Carpinteria Ave., Carpinteria, CA 93013
Primo Passo Coffee, 702 Montana Ave, Santa Monica, CA 90403
Bru-Coffee, Vermont Ave, Los Feliz 90027 

New York              
Indian Road Cafe, 600 @ 218th Street, Manhattan (http://indianroadcafe.com/)
Gregory's Cafe, 327 Park Avenue South, New York, near 24th and 25th Street

North Carolina
Beyu Caffe, 355 West Main Street, Durham NC 27001

Charleston, South Carolina
Hope and Union, 199 St. Philip Street, Charleston, but I think that is closing and there's no word where it's going!
Kudu, 4 Vanderhorst Street, Charleston, SC,

Savannah, Georgia
Gallery Espresso, 234 Bull Street, Savannah, GA
The Sentient Bean, 13 East Park Avenue, Savannah, GA

And of course there are my favourite Starbucks - Reseda (cnr Vanowen & Reseda Blvds), Westwood CA and Bull Street, Savannah.

Some pictures:

Outside Indian Road Cafe, New York

Gallery Espresso, Savannah