Coffee came with the First Fleet in 1788 but struggled in Sydney. Italian migrants brought espresso machines after the Second World War; Melbourne's Pellegrini's opened in 1954.
Sydney café owner Alan Preston put 'flat white' on his menu at Moors Espresso Bar in 1985. He says he brought the drink from Far North Queensland sugar towns, where Italian growers drank a 'flat' white coffee. New Zealand also claims it.
Coffee has grown in northern New South Wales since the 1890s. The modern industry dates from the 1980s, helped by Nat Jaques, who built the world's first mechanical coffee harvester. There are only about 50 growers, and they supply under 1 percent of the coffee Australians drink.
Flat white
How it's made. Espresso with steamed milk; Preston says the 'flat' was one of the white options alongside cappuccino and Vienna in North Queensland cafés.1,2
How it's served. A standard café order across Australia and New Zealand.
What time is taking away
Coffee palaces
By the 1880s, coffee palaces were common in Australian cities and larger country towns.2
What the record says
- Coffee arrived with the First Fleet in 1788 but plants struggled in Sydney's climate.2
- Coffee was reportedly first planted at Kangaroo Point, Brisbane, as early as 1832.3
- Records show coffee grew in the Northern Rivers of NSW from the 1890s until about the 1920s.3
- Nat Jaques developed the world's first mechanical coffee harvester; modern commercial coffee growing in Australia dates from 1985.3
- Australian-grown coffee makes up less than 1 percent of coffee drunk in Australia, from about 50 growers.3
- Italian immigrants were the first to bring espresso machines to Australia; Pellegrini's in Melbourne opened in 1954.2
- Alan Preston put 'flat white' on the menu of Moors Espresso Bar in Sydney in 1985 and has photographs to show it.1,2
- Preston says the drink came from Far North Queensland sugar towns, where Italian growers' cafés had Italian espresso machines.1
The flat white's origin is disputed between Australia and New Zealand; a 1989 Wellington claim appeared only in search snippets. The 1880s collapse of Queensland coffee could not be sourced and is not described. Australian Geographic's article was republished from The Conversation.
- Who invented the flat white? · Australian Geographic (republished from The Conversation), 2024 in the bibliography
- Coffee culture in Australia · Wikipedia in the bibliography
- Everything you need to know about Australian-grown coffee · SBS Food, 2021 in the bibliography
