Central Sydney and coffee independent

I measure the coffee culture in the cream from my very short ristretto. This is almost impossible to do in Indonesia, where an espresso can come in cups as large as cappuccino cups. Often, Indonesian coffees make the mistake of changing traditional beverage preparations to accommodate the perception of coffee drinkers in the country, rather than educating them on what is a short variety, a piccolo or a doppio. There is a story that may or may not be true about the opening of the first Starbucks in Jakarta, Indonesia. A woman entered the first week of negotiations, looking at the menu table for a few minutes. Finally ordered an espresso. When he drank his coffee, he complained "Pelit banget lho !!" (You're very mean) he said, looking startled at the 30 mls that barely covered the bottom of his cup. It's Indonesia ...

Sitting here, in the humid and humid surroundings of the illy cafe on Victoria Street, Kings Cross, the owner explains that this lack of understanding was also the problem in Australia in the 1950s and 1960s. "They wanted milk drinks, too big. It wasn't like we did in the old country, so we taught Australians about good coffee." Clearly, Australia and New Zealand benefited from the wave of migration from Italy, Yugoslavia and Greece after World War II. Especially the Italians arrived under the force and brought with them the culture of espresso-based coffee. They arrived to find that tea dominated the inn, the second place consumed by instant coffee and essence-based coffee syrups like the Bushells.

In June, Starbucks Australia announced the closure of 2/3 of its Australian stores. Was this the result of economic circumstances in Australia or a testimony that Australians like the culture of freshly roasted coffee that independents have brought to this country for years?

The Surry Hills area of ​​Sydney is surrounded by the red district of Oxford Street to the west and the railway line to the south. The suburb is in vogue, with old houses with terraces being renovated, and apartments appearing in old warehouses and office blocks. This is the heartbeat of Sydney's specialty coffee culture, with quality coffees literally found every 200 meters. The best part is that there are no Starbucks, coffee beans or Gloria Jeans in sight. Perhaps more revealing; There is hardly a coffee selling to the unconditional Italians: Illy or Lavazza. This is a homemade coffee roasted locally. There are single origin, Genovese, Campos in these streets, which are served from large cafes to holes in the wall collections. Across Oxford Street, facing Kings Cross, lies everyone's grandfather: Hernandez's coffee.
Juan Hernández started his coffee and coffee roaster in the 1970s. At that time, good coffee, fried locally, was really hard to find. He had arrived from Spain and initially worked as a salesman for Nestlé. When he decided to do it alone, everyone told him he would fail as there was no market for locally roasted coffee. On the contrary, he pioneered and created the market in Sydney with clients that include actors, models, business people and even one or two prime ministers. Today, his coffee is still an epicenter of coffee for the city. At any time of the day, the small shop is packed with customers after their dose of caffeine.

On the other side of Surry Hills, the Single Origin Café is full. The clientele here is generally younger than the one seen in Hernandez. Young Sydney professionals who enjoy high quality espresso are produced in Natascha, the espresso machine. The espresso is sweet and chocolate, with a hint of pepper and pine nuts. The place always seems crowded, even if it's only open 5 days a week. The interior space is limited, but there seems to be an endless supply of tables that can be removed and placed along the sidewalk. The hip here is what is reflected in independents throughout the metropolitan area of ​​Australia and New Zealand, the surroundings are not important what counts is the cup. The owners, the barista, the staff are passionate and knowledgeable. This passion is seen in the faces of customers.

No doubt the education provided to Australians by the wave of European immigrants will be difficult to reproduce in Southeast Asia. Coffee is also not necessarily part of the national cultures of countries north of Australia's coasts. For this, the big chains will be happy. The markets in China, Indonesia and India are potential gold mines for coffee. However, chains must lose confidence in independents. L'affare, the headquarters of Wellington NZ