It's no coincidence that many cities with a booming café culture also rate highly with the tech industry. Simply put, the ready availability of a decent cup of coffee in an environment that offers free WiFi as well as space to work in, is a good barometer of a city’s functioning as a tech hub.

But it's not just any type of coffee: the beverage of choice for the would-be tech entrepreneur is a flat white. For the uninitiated, this means microfoam (steamed milk with small, fine bubbles and a glossy or velvety consistency) poured over a single or double shot of espresso.

In an industry where human interaction and creativity matter as much as fibre optic technology and hardware, who is in your street and how you meet them can make the difference between a place that merely houses tech business and one that makes it work – and buzz.

Thus, for an indication of how a location ranks as a tech city, it's useful to consider the availability, quality and popularity of its cafés, and, crucially, the cost of a flat white. Our Flat White Index, below, looks at 12 cities and rates them accordingly.

Further information

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