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A few years in the past, once I was planning a visit to the USA, a number of pals joked that I needed to watch out for their horrible espresso.
As somebody who’d grown used to the requirements set by Melbourne cafes, I keep in mind pondering: It could actually’t that dangerous, proper? I imply positive, it is likely to be somewhat substandard, however you possibly can’t mess up a flat white an excessive amount of.
Then I acquired there, had a sip of the brewed brown swill they wish to drink and realized that it was actually that dangerous.
Australian espresso has turn into one thing of a world phenomenon, most lately evidenced by the flat whites our delegation gave out on the COP26 assembly and which reportedly had been a convincing success. (Not like the remainder of Australia’s efficiency on the local weather summit).
During the last decade or two, Aussie-run cafes have popped up world wide. Our espresso is slowly being embraced by Individuals. In 2015, Starbucks began promoting “Australian fashion” flat whites, reigniting a fierce debate about whether or not it originated in Australia or New Zealand.
Our espresso tradition, notably in locations like Melbourne, is world-class. The story of the way it developed speaks to each our immigrant previous and our willingness to go at issues our personal means as a substitute of following custom.
In accordance with historians, it began after World Struggle II, when Italian migrants introduced with them espresso machines and the European cafe tradition.
“The introduction of espresso espresso within the Nineteen Fifties is nostalgically remembered by many as a key watershed between a colorless previous and a cosmopolitan current,” Andrew Could, a historian on the College of Melbourne, mentioned by way of electronic mail.
But it surely wasn’t fast to take off, he added. “There was additionally nonetheless loads of racism towards Italian migrants. So it was a gradual burn actually, and the following wave of inner-city rejuvenation and gentrification from the early Nineteen Eighties — a brand new wave of Bohemian cafes — gave espresso one other vital increase.”
Our love for velvety, milky espresso got here from the wedding of Italian espresso and the prevailing British custom of ingesting tea and prompt espresso with milk. “We’ve perfected the milk aspect of espresso as a result of we’re a milk ingesting nation,” mentioned Bruno Maiolo, the president of the Australian Specialty Espresso Affiliation.
And the way did Australian espresso go to the following stage? It’s as a result of baristas and roasters have been keen to push the boundaries, all the time experimenting and refining, he mentioned. “We’re new and younger and hip and all the time asking questions on each piece of the puzzle.”
This willingness to mix-and-match and experiment is a working theme in Australian meals tradition, mentioned Emma Felton, a sociologist from the Queensland College of Know-how.
“You have a look at nations like France or any European nation they usually’re far more hidebound. Their tradition is far more inflexible, in order that they don’t have as a lot experimentation, with their meals specifically.”
“We don’t have to evolve a lot as a result of we’re a nation of immigrants,” she mentioned. “We actually pick-and-grab from everywhere in the world.”
At house, Australians don’t consider ourselves as a nation of espresso connoisseurs, she added, however we often are by default, due to the excessive commonplace we’re accustomed to.
Do you could have something you took with no consideration in Australia till you noticed how different nations did it? Write to us at nytaustralia@nytimes.com.
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