By Yan Zhuang
Nov. 12, 2021
When Italian migrants arrived after World War II, they helped develop a coffee scene that many now regard as the best in the world.
當意大利移民在第二次戰後抵達時，他們協助發展了，目前很多人認為是世界上最好的咖啡場景。
A couple of years ago, when I was planning a trip to the United States, a few friends joked that I had to beware of their terrible coffee.
幾年前，當我計劃去美國旅行時，一些朋友開玩笑說，我必須當心其糟透的咖啡。
As someone who’d grown used to the standards set by Melbourne cafes, I remember thinking: It can’t that bad, right? I mean sure, it might be a little substandard, but you can’t mess up a flat white too much.
身為一個已經習慣，由澳洲墨爾本諸咖啡館訂定之標準的人，我記得當時在想：不會那麼不佳，對吧？我的意思是，當然，它或許有點不合標準。 不過，不能把平白咖啡(一種流行於澳大利亞及紐西蘭，具有微泡的濃縮咖啡飲料)弄得過於一團亂。
圖1. flat white (圖援用自：https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/flat-white)
Then I got there, had a sip of the brewed brown swill they like to drink and realized that it was really that bad.
之後，我到了那裡。喝了一口他們喜歡喝之釀造的褐色劣質物。因此體認到，它確實那麼不佳。
Australian coffee has become something of a global phenomenon, most recently evidenced by the flat whites our delegation gave out at the COP26 meeting and which reportedly were a resounding success. (Unlike the rest of Australia’s performance at the climate summit).
澳大利亞的咖啡已經成為一種全球事象的東西。最近我們的代表團，在第26屆締約國會議(COP：Conference of the Parties)的大會上，用光了平白咖啡，獲得了證明。據報導，這是一項令人矚目的結果。(這與澳大利亞在氣候峰會上的其他表現完全不同)。
Over the last decade or two, Aussie-run cafes have popped up around the world. Our coffee is slowly being embraced by Americans. In 2015, Starbucks started selling “Australian style” flat whites, reigniting a fierce debate about whether it originated in Australia or New Zealand.
在過去1、2十年間，澳大利亞人經營的咖啡館，已經在世界各地迅速出現。我們的咖啡正慢慢被美國人欣然接受。於2015年，星巴克開始銷售“澳大利亞風格”的平白咖啡，重新引發了有關其是否起源於澳大利亞，或紐西蘭的激烈爭論。
Our coffee culture, particularly in places like Melbourne, is world-class. The story of how it developed speaks to both our immigrant past and our willingness to go at things our own way instead of following tradition.
我們的咖啡文化，特別是在類似墨爾本的地方，是世界級的。其如何發展的由來，證明了我們移民的過去，及我們以自己而不是依循傳統之方式行事的意願。
According to historians, it started after World War II, when Italian migrants brought with them espresso machines and the European cafe culture.
根據歷史學家們的說法，這始於第二次世界大戰之後，當時意大利移民隨同帶來了，意大利式咖啡(把烤黑之咖啡豆，用蒸氣加壓煮成的咖啡)機及歐洲咖啡館文化。
“The introduction of espresso coffee in the 1950s is nostalgically remembered by many as a key watershed between a drab past and a cosmopolitan present,” Andrew May, a historian at the University of Melbourne, said via email.
澳洲墨爾本大學的歷史學家，Andrew May經由電子郵件宣稱：「於1950年代，意大利式咖啡(也就是，濃縮咖啡)的引進，被很多人懷舊地銘記為，過去單調與現在世界性之間的一個關鍵分水嶺。」
But it wasn’t quick to take off, he added. “There was also still a lot of racism toward Italian migrants. So it was a slow burn really, and the next wave of inner-city rejuvenation and gentrification from the early 1980s — a new wave of Bohemian cafes — gave coffee another significant boost.”
他補充說，不過這起飛並不快速。「對於意大利移民仍有許多種族主義。因此，實際上這是一種緩慢的進程，從1980年代初開始之下一波大都會舊市區的回春及中產階級向日趨破敗市區的移居(新一波的波西米亞咖啡館)，賦予了咖啡另一次意義深遠的推動。」
Our love for velvety, milky coffee came from the marriage of Italian espresso and the existing British tradition of drinking tea and instant coffee with milk. “We’ve perfected the milk side of coffee because we’re a milk drinking nation,” said Bruno Maiolo, the president of the Australian Specialty Coffee Association.
我們對於天鵝絨般之牛奶咖啡的熱愛，源自意大利式咖啡與英國現有喝茶及具有牛奶之即溶咖啡傳統的結合。澳大利亞精品咖啡協會主席，Bruno Maiolo宣稱：「我們已經改善了咖啡的牛奶部分，因為我們是一個喝牛奶的國家。」
And how did Australian coffee go to the next level? It’s because baristas and roasters have been willing to push the boundaries, always experimenting and refining, he said. “We’re new and young and hip and always asking questions about every piece of the puzzle.”
他表示，那麼澳大利亞咖啡是如何更上一層樓？這是因為咖啡師及烘焙師們一直願意突破界限，始終進行嘗試及精煉。「我們是現代、年輕且時髦的一代，總是問些有關每一令人費解之事的問題。」
This willingness to mix-and-match and experiment is a running theme in Australian food culture, said Emma Felton, a sociologist from the Queensland University of Technology.
來自澳洲昆士蘭科技大學的社會學家，Emma Felton表示，在澳大利亞飲食文化中，這種混合、搭配及嘗試的意願，是當前的一種主題。
“You look at countries like France or any European country and they’re much more hidebound. Their culture is much more rigid, so they don’t have as much experimentation, with their food in particular.”
「檢視類似法國或任何歐洲的國家，結果他們較為墨守成規。其文化較為僵化，因此沒有那麼多的嘗試，特別是有關他們的食物。」
“We don’t have to conform so much because we’re a nation of immigrants,” she said. “We really pick-and-grab from all over the world.”
她宣稱：「我們無需太順應，因為我們是一個移民的國家。實際上，我們從世界各地進行挑選及攫取。」
At home, Australians don’t think of ourselves as a nation of coffee connoisseurs, she added, but we usually are by default, because of the high standard we are accustomed to.
她補充說，在國內，澳大利亞人並不認為自己是一個咖啡鑑賞家的國家。不過，我們通常是默認的。因為，我們習慣了高標準。
網址：https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/12/world/australia/migration-and-experimentation-what-led-to-australias-coffee-culture.html
翻譯：許東榮
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