Aussies make an impact on local coffee scenes everywhere we go – New York, Los Angeles, Paris and many other cities big and small.
London is no exception. Our third-wave approach has percolated through the city since 2005, when Sydney businessman Peter Hall and Kiwi barista Cameron McClure opened the aptly named Flat White in Soho. Flat whites are now common in London, and it’s widely acknowledged that if you’re ordering from an Aussie- or Kiwi-owned business, the standard is likely to be higher.
Despite this 20-year history, another Down Under staple – the long black – has been conspicuous in its absence. Like most of the world, Brits are more familiar with the americano, a more diluted black coffee where hot water is poured over espresso. The long black is a product of Italian migration to Australia, where the water is poured first, then topped with espresso for a more pronounced crema. A long black is also typically shorter than an americano, resulting in a stronger, richer flavour.
“Basically it’s just less water, more flavour,” says Peter Dore-Smith, an Aussie who owns of Kaffeine, a cafe and espresso bar with two locations in London. He opened Kaffeine in 2009 and advertised both long blacks and americanos from day one. He says when customers ordered an americano, he’d try and convert them to long blacks – with a 100 per cent success rate. Still, long blacks currently make up four per cent of Kaffeine’s sales, versus 10 per cent for the americano. Filter coffee, that made by trickling non-pressurised water through ground coffee, sits at almost seven per cent.
Kaffeine, London | Photography: courtesy of Kaffeine
But after years of his and others’ hard work, the education is paying off.
“Long blacks are rising in popularity. I think it’s a little bit of a cool thing, too; it’s different to an americano,” Dore-Smith says.
Shelagh Ryan, co-owner of three Lantana cafes, agrees long blacks are on the up. She says that while black coffee sales aren’t necessarily increasing (Lantana’s advertised black coffee option has always been the long black), customers are now more likely to ask for an LB over an americano. “I think people are twigging to the fact that bigger isn’t necessarily better,” she tells Broadsheet. “It’s the same as the flat white, moving from the very milky lattes to the flat white. It’s exactly the same trend.”
At Juliet’s Quality Foods, an Aussie cafe in south London, long blacks currently make up 20 per cent of coffee sales. Co-owner Julian Porter favours the style over an americano, as it allows single-origin beans to shine. He believes the Australian association is part of the appeal for Londoners. “People associate [Australian coffee] terminology with a better product, because of the emphasis on and attention to detail that Australian operators have brought over with them.”
Ryan agrees. “[You’re] almost branding yourself as an antipodean or artisan place if you call it a long black as opposed to an americano. I think that’s where it’s got its credibility, its association with antipodean coffee culture.”
