December – April, 2012
(The first in what will be a series of “New Zealand Discovery” Posts.)
Our first new discovery in New Zealand was the coffee (see the Welcome to New Zealand post). They don’t do coffee the same way we do in America, and this took us totally by surprise.
The basic cup of black coffee is called a Long Black. It’s two shots of espresso with hot water added. Usually it’s added when the coffee is made, but occasionally they will give you a little pitcher of hot water and let you do it yourself. The other basic cup of coffee is a Flat White, which is a Long Black with hot milk and sometimes a little foam added. Aside from these two basics, there are the usual coffee drinks to choose from: cappuccino, latte, etc.
As for brewed coffee, it’s pretty hard to find. There are only two places we’ve seen where one can get brewed or “filter” coffee: Starbucks and Mc Donald’s. Starbucks of course features long backs and flat whites but sells brewed coffee also. Mc Donald’s features their Mc Cafe counters and practically hides what they call “filter coffee” in tiny print on the regular menu.
It didn’t take us long to get used to the change because the coffee is really good. Just like back home, we frequently get a coffee drink out during the day. I think New Zealanders love their coffee as much as Americans do in that every place sells coffee drinks: even the most out-of-the-way places or rustic bars have a top-quality espresso machine. One thing you won’t find here is the “never-ending cup of coffee.” The coffee drinks end, and if you want more you have to order—and pay for—a second one. Somehow, we’ve never missed those American refills, maybe because we seldom go out for breakfast and when we do, we just get larger drinks.
It was fun to finally get to Auckland in January and visit Starbucks and get brewed coffee. I still love it as much as ever, but when we went back to Opua we didn’t miss it. I was overjoyed, though, when we visited Tauranga where we will be staying awhile to find it has two Starbuck’s. Oh happy day! Then Rich gave me some stunning news: he realized he likes his New Zealand long blacks better than he likes Starbucks. Except for a couple of years in LA, we aren’t church goers and Starbucks is the closest thing we have to a House of Worship. We even call it “The Temple.” Rich deciding he doesn’t like The Temple so much anymore is akin to his changing religions on me. On our second morning in Tauranga, we went to Starbucks for me and then had to walk to a Robert Harris (a New Zealand coffee house) for him.
Now that we’re heading down to Tauranga to stay a few weeks, our marriage could be tested. I will want my Starbuck’s and Rich will want his long black from a New Zealand establishment (he doesn’t think Starbucks does good Long Blacks). It may take going back to crappy Polynesian coffee in Fiji to save our marrage. -Cyndi
