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n
OT LONG AGO,
when someone offered you a ‘cuppa’, you
could be sure they meant tea. No more – it’s now official,
New Zealander’s official caffeine fix now comes from
coffee. And we aren’t talkin’ instant, but pulled. Welcome to the
new Kiwi Coffee Culture: Espresso all the way.
When did the tide turn from tea to coffee? In the 1980s, coffee and
tea ran neck and neck, even at 2kg per person. Since then coffee has
charged to the lead, but not particularly because of the taste – some
growth is due to embracing our Kiwi café culture.
Our self-reliant spirit wants to grow-our-own, but we are too far south
for commercial farms. Our beans are imported, raw and unroasted,
but we have developed roasting to a fine art, as we have glorified the
baristas who pull our drinks with that extra special care.
The ever hopeful do give coffee plants a go, however.
Coffea arabica
plants can be grown here, given the right conditions. But extra prayers
will be needed to harvest a decent bean. (See page 23 for details.)
KIWI COFFEE’S BEGINNINGS
It wasn’t just gold being discovered in the 1860s. W Gregg & Co,
founded by Irish emigrant William Gregg, started
roasting and distributing coffee beans at its Dunedin
location in 1861.
In 1889, ‘instant’ coffee arrived on the scene. David
Strang, based in Invercargill, invented and patented
“Strang’s Patent Soluble Dry Coffee-powder”. His ‘tin’
coffee (see image) was on the shelves in 1889, 12 years
before Chicago chemist Satori Kato, who had long been
credited with the invention, turned in his patent.
Described at the time in the Otago
Daily Times
as “an
economical and flavoursome solution for coffee drinkers”, Strang’s
coffee was ‘instantly’ a hit in NZ because of its ease of preparation. The
addition of chicory powder may not appeal to today’s coffee drinkers,
but Strang’s process of drying the instant is similar to methods used
today: It was “roasted by a current of hot air which develops the flavour
more thoroughly”.
Gregg’s started making their instant brand in 1925, although had
previously made a popular liquid coffee/chickory extract. Still a strong
player in the instant coffee, herb, and dessert market, Gregg’s is now
the only facility currently manufacturing instant in the country. Nestle’s
Nescafé (they developed their own instant process in 1938) brand
claims to be the top seller of instant in NZ.
For a hit of nostalgia, visit YouTube’s GreggsNewZealand channel to view
both vintage and recent commercials (featuring the hilarious Topp Twins).
I put instant coffee in a
microwave oven and
almost went back in time.
Steven Wright
American Comedian
Below, two companies led the
early coffee scene, Strang’s
and Gregg’s.
NEW ZEALANDERS
EMBRACE
the
BREW
Top, a sign from
Auckland’s
D. Stephenson & Co.
Coffee and Spice Mills.
Above, Tairua artist
Paula McNeill’s painting
“Over Coffee”.