Punters may line up around the block for a taste of Gelato Messina, but another Australian ice creamery has been hailed for producing the world's best gelato.
Cow and the Moon trumped ice cream artisans from all over the world on Sunday to take out the Gelato World Tour title in Rimini, Italy.
The family-run gelato and coffee bar, based in Enmore in Sydney's inner-west, won for its mouth-watering Mandorla affogato flavour, a recreation of the classic affogato.
The gelato combined caramelised almonds sourced from Italy with single origin-roasted coffee shots on a Madagascan vanilla base.
Owners Wendy and John Crowl held a special night at their bar for their regular coffee drinkers to help decide which specific blend to use in their winning flavour.
Ms Crowl, who had just heard the good news from husband John and son Sam in Italy, said she couldn't believe they had won.
"Beating the Italians at their own game is something we've been trying to do for such a long time," she told AAP.
"My husband has taught so many Italians how to make gelato - even the Messina boys, he taught them how to make gelato.
"We're just so excited."
After placing second in the Oceania category, which was taken out in Melbourne by Gelato Messina, Cow and the Moon went on to beat the 24 finalists from around the world after a combination of technical judging and public votes.
