The Austrians can probably lay claim to more local coffee preparations than anyone else. In Vienna there are at least 20 different ways to drink coffee: as a “verlängerter Brauner” (café crème), as a “Schale Braun” (café au lait with a dash of milk) or as a “Schale Gold” (café au lait with a lot of milk). There is also the "Fiaker" (strong coffee with a dash of alcohol, served in a glass), the "Einspänner" (espresso in a glass with a cream topping and icing sugar), the “kleiner Schwarzer” or “kleiner Mokka” (strong espresso) and the “grosser Schwarzer” or “grosser Mokka” (double espresso).

The "Kaiser-Melange" is the more refined version of the mélange with milk and milk foam: the cream is blended with an egg yolk. This type of coffee preparation dates back to the First World War, when cream was scarcer than eggs.