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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”.