I was a bit of a coffee neophyte back then, so may be romanticising it. Where would you say is best for coffee, worldwide? I've found Spanish stuff amazing personally, and Mokarabia is wonderful in terms of brands.
I always liked Monmouth when I lived in London, but a cup of expertly-prepared Blue Mountain in Tokyo 5 years ago made me aware that there was a hell of a lot more to it.
Couple of years back a bunch of guys opened a roastery and a couple of cafes here in Helsinki with the attitude that there was as much complexity to coffee as there is to wine. That was an eye-opener too and forced me to up the game at home with Aeropress and hand-drip Hario goodies. And, it goes without saying, a grinder and scales.
We went back to London this year around May. Very impressed with the Australian and NZ influence and we spent a lot of time in places like Allpress and St Ali (which takes the prize if only for their breakfasts). Of course there are imitators galore and even the flat white I had in Ottolenghi was pretty average.
Just back from Italy. It was nice to see a fairly high standard of espresso virtually everywhere but the nu-geek details like cleaning the filter handle between shots weren't in place generally and you could taste it. Different culture, though. What can you say?
Of everywhere, though, I would recommend South Korea. There was a roastery on damned near every corner - even in a dead alley in some backwoods town you could get a hand drip coffee from freshly roasted beans. Insane.