Coffee shops offer a moment of respite for customers stopping by for a brew. What is it like on the other side of the counter? Madeleine Crutchley talks to baristas running some of Auckland’s best coffee spots to find out.
I arrive at Miller’s Coffee, along with the milk
The sky is bleary, my eyes are foggy and the neurons in my brain have yet to get themselves in order. In my slumberous state, I get a bit of a fright from the milkman, who vigorously thrusts the heaving crate of dairy towards the front counter.
All at once, barista Victoria seems to welcome me with a nod, thank the dairy deliverer with a smile and pour a milky coffee for one of the two patrons in line (who have made a beeline to the cafe and been served within the first 10 minutes of opening).
“The regulars normally come just before 7.30am,” she tells me later.
Across town, on yet another grey day where the sky threatens to swallow Auckland’s skyscrapers, the head barista of William’s Eatery also caters to an eager queue. Dody places tulip cup after tulip cup into their corresponding saucers, handing out bouquets of mugs like a florist on Valentine’s Day.
For these coffee connoisseurs, it’s yet another day as a barista — casually cultivating a tight-knit community within their nooks of the crowded inner-city.
During even the busiest periods (the cafe estimates serving about 200 brews a day), Dody maintains a cheery attitude with customers and co-workers alike. His 5am wakeup isn’t apparent. He says he views an upbeat attitude as a key part of the job.
“It’s the service that you offer to people. You’ve got to really remember people’s names, their coffee order. I really enjoy that — it’s my job to socialise.”
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Advertise with NZME.New Zealand proudly boasts a distinct and buzzing coffee scene that has been slowly expanding since the 1950s. Writer and history curator at Te Papa, Stephanie Gibson, says the growth in NZ’s cafe culture dates back to post-World War II.
“Coffee began its climb to ascendancy in New Zealand with the arrival of American servicemen in the Second World War and European immigrants and refugees who brought different coffee drinking habits and café sociability with them.”
The growth was also assisted by the import of new technologies, such as Italian espresso machines and US percolators. As a third place, where people gather outside of their homes or workplaces, these spaces continue to be invaluable in hosting community gatherings.
Miller’s Cafe, where Victoria works, is the eponymous coffee spot of influential coffee brewer and roaster Craig Miller (who further established his credentials with the release of Coffee Houses of Wellington 1939 to 1979: The pre-espresso period in New Zealand in 2015).
The coffee house opened in 1984 and has been serving espresso ever since. The huge coffee roaster standing proud at the cafe has been functioning since 1988 — barista Frith stands at the helm of the machine today, firing it up at about 8.20am each day.
The machine, an Italian Petroncini, weighs 30 kilograms and is powered by Lamborghini Caloreclima burners (the Lamborghini brand, now best known for luxury sports cars, has a less glossy history as a tractor and oil-burner manufacturer).
Before coffee beans are roasted they’re hardly recognisable, extra tiny and a pale green colour. Frith scoops a hefty load from the sacks in the corner and drops the first batch into the roasting machine. The bull-stamped burner spits out a hot blue flame in the centre of the machine, which rotates the beans in a circular motion for an even roast.
Frith explains that he monitors each batch of beans by listening out for distinct “cracking” noises, which signals the bean is expanding and losing its moisture. At the first audible cracking, he checks the batch, examining a few beans from the machine. The batch quietens and turns for a little longer, before the cracking noises start up again. When they do, Frith also checks visual indicators, like colour and size, before halting the roasting process.
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Advertise with NZME.Frith drops the beans into a huge tray, which sucks air down through little holes and rotates the batch with mechanical arms. It’s hypnotising.
Coffee is roasted daily at Miller’s Coffee – Frith says the frequency can range from three to 10 times a day, depending on the demand. The regularity of the roast is part of what makes Miller’s special, says Frith.
“What you’re drinking this morning was probably roasted yesterday, and what you’ll drink this afternoon was probably roasted this morning. It is always incredibly fresh.”
While Frith roasts, Victoria has been serving a steady line of customers (she makes about 90 cups of coffee on a busy day) — some clad in bike-ready lycra, some wearing blazers and some bookish characters pairing their coffees with a good read. She seems to know everyone’s name (and I check behind the counter and confirm she doesn’t have reference notes).
Victoria reflects on the unique relationship she forms with the customers.
“It’s so funny, you get to know their coffees first before you know their names. You slowly get to know what they do.”
Victoria says she appreciates these loose connections with customers, catching little snippets of their lives and encouraging casual chat.
Dody agrees.
Another key aspect of his role, Dody says, is maintaining high quality across all his servings (including the offerings that are decaf or made with alternative milks).
“I think the best part of the day is opening up and dialling up the coffee machine, tasting the coffee to see if it’s right before we serve people. We listen to music we like and taste the espresso, long black, americano and white coffees as well, to make sure the quality is right,” Dody says. “I’ve got to make sure my stomach has something in it.”
Victoria is also precise in her attention to quality.
She walks me through several coffees, showcasing how she adjusts flat whites and piccolos to suit individual customer preferences. There’s a steady pour where she’s able to hold back the foam on a flat white and another where she blends all of the milk froth with the espresso seamlessly. Miller’s is strictly a “free pour” cafe, with no latte art in sight, to ensure keen focus on the taste and texture of each coffee.
Do the customers ever acknowledge this attention to detail or return the friendliness?
“It’s the little conversations with customers, when you get to interact with them,” Dody says. “The simple ‘what are you going to do today?’ And, when people come up and say ‘your coffee is really nice.’ It makes my day.”
Victoria agrees, saying that chatting with customers is a real treat. Occasionally, when the line doesn’t seem to shorten and the flat whites are stacking up, she says the constant chat can be tiring. But, most mornings, it’s “so neat”.
For Dody, care is at the core. He distills his approach to work with a simple fondness.
“It’s the ‘hospitality’ industry, right?”
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