Same Poppy's spirit, but better coffee: PM

A newly named cafe at the Australian War Memorial has better coffee than its namesake in Afghanistan, Tony Abbott reckons.

But Poppy's will maintain the spirit of the old recreation room at the Tarin Kowt military base in Oruzgan province.

The prime minister officially opened the refurbished cafe on Thursday. It has been named in honour of what became an institution for diggers serving in Afghanistan.

"I've got to say it is a far better cafe than Poppy's Cafe back in Tarin Kowt," Mr Abbott said of the modern establishment, all gleaming glass and concrete.

The best you could get at the Afghan version was "a crappy Nescafe".

Poppy's sprang to life in the Afghan desert in honour of Trooper David "Poppy" Pearce, one of the first Australian casualties from the long-running mission.

Naming the war memorial's cafe Poppy's would not only honour Trooper Pearce, but all 26,500 of those who had served in Afghanistan, Mr Abbott said.

"In honouring Poppy, we honour everyone he served with."