Australian coffee lovers are facing the daily grind full of beans

GINA RU​SHTON
APRIL 16, 2015
THE AUSTRALIAN
As more and more Australians choose artisan over instant, it’s ­official — Melburnians take the nation’s coffee crown.
A greater proportion of the southerners (63.3 per cent of Melbourne residents in an average three months) frequent a laneway barista for their flat whites than residents of any other capital city, a report into the nation’s love of coffee by researchers Roy Morgan found.
But while Sydneysiders (61 per cent) rank behind Melbourne and Hobart residents (62.7 per cent) in cafe visits, they are most likely to grind their own beans and play ­barista at home, meaning that title of coffee supremo city is disputed.
After that trio, it is a big step down to Brisbane (55.4 per cent), which just pips Perth (55.3 per cent), while Adelaide trails far ­behind (49.4 per cent).
But, overall, we love the stuff. Between 2010 and last year, the ­proportion of Australians aged over 14 visiting cafes in an average three months rose from 53.7 per cent to 56.8 per cent.
Meanwhile, ownership of ­coffee makers ­increased from 28.2 per cent of households to 36.9 per cent.
But barista John Kaye, of ­Sample Coffee, cautions that the ­results of a home espresso “almost never live up to that of a good ­espresso bar” and thus many opt for the French press or Aeropress brewers if they choose to dine in.
“Aeropress seems to be the favourite of most baristas I know who choose to brew at home,” Kaye says.
“Manual brew drip filters like the Hario v60 or Kalita Wave probably involve the most ­technique to achieve repeatable results but when done correctly extract the most accurate and delicious representation of good quality ­coffee.”
Nestled in the heart of the ­harbour city’s coffee centre sits Sample Coffee, a 20sq m caffeine administrator in Surry Hills. Along its red timber bench sits all the relevant apparatus, from hand grinders to aluminium stove-top percolators, plus a range of beans from Bolivia to Kenya and roasted ­in-house.
“The professionalism of the speciality industry has increased massively in the last six years that I’ve been in it,” Kaye says. “Many of the micro-roasters are trying to improve their product and really understand the science behind their art.”
But the biggest trend in brewing techniques is one that has spilled out of American diners and filtered into Australian cafes. Paper coffee filters were invented in Germany by Melita Bentz in 1908.
“It requires better quality coffee to be used as it’s predominantly drunk black, and as a result there is no milk to hide deficiencies in the brew,” Kaye says. It’s often recommended to those who are considering giving up their flat whites in favour of black coffee, as it is a lighter ­alternative to traditional milk-free mixes. “It is almost tea-like and doesn’t have the heavy intense oils and crema of a long black or ­espresso,” Kaye says.
In Sydney, capital of the home- brewers, roasters such as Sample offer “coffee subscriptions”, home delivering batches of coffee from different sources. Last month, subscribers received beans from a Colombian farm named Buenos Aires (after Argentina’s capital). They were harvested in November last year at an altitude of 1700m and have tasting notes of “apple, white peach and brown sugar”.
In cafes around the country, “single origin” is in, meaning the coffee can be sourced back to a ­single farm or mill. “Traceability is the name of the game,” says Kaye.
Those in the know are weary of blends that can often mask poor quality coffee. “Thus the result you achieve isn’t a real reflection on the quality of the beans you’re using,” Kaye says.