Aussie Lingo
Radio Vignette
(transcript- these audio vignettes were aired on News Radio KOTA in Rapid City South Dakota)
Good morning, this is Michael the Aussie coffee guy from Essence of Coffee. I trust you had a great Thanksgiving, and your family time was blessed.
When family and friends get together, it’s a great opportunity to have fun. In Australia, it often includes taking the mickey out of someone – that’s Aussie for teasing. You see, in Australia, if we like you then we’re going to tease you. That’s how you know you’re ‘in’. A relaxed gathering having a BBQ or sharing a meal is a great time for talking.
However, I still talk Aussie, so when I’m doing the talking I’m sure hoping the listeners are doing the understanding.
With this in mind, to help you understand me when you visit, I thought we could start the morning off with a few Aussie words and their meaning:
Crikey – an expression of surprise.
Mate – that’s a friend.
Bonza – that means really good!
No Worries– no problem/its ok. Or I’ve got it covered. The bush – that’s out of town, kinda like the hills.
The Outback is not a restaurant chain, it’s the interior of Australia, even more remote than the bush. Woop, woop – when you say a bloke lives in woop woop, it means they live out of town a long way away. Kinda like living in North Dakota.
That’s not a knife, this is a knife – that’s comparative Australian lingo. Maybe I’m the crocodile Dundee of coffee – that’s not a coffee this is a coffee.
A visitor to Essence from a large city in the east ordered a flat white. Now the flat white is an Aussie creation whose uniqueness is not about flavorings but about the ratio of coffee to milk and the specific way the coffee is extracted and the milk is textured. As the reputation of the Aussie flat white grew internationally, commercialism took over and turned a flat white into a branded product.
That commercialized drink was the New Yorkers’ experience of a flat white and they were not expecting our traditional flat white. When they said the flat white in New York was different I thought; That’s not a flat white… this is a flat white. So, in the spirit of not confusing new yorkers, this is my approach to coffee.
I often hear people say, I wish coffee tasted as good as it smells. To answer this wish corporate companies add flavors and syrups to mask the disappointing taste.
At Essence, our approach is different. I know that within the coffee bean the potential for an amazing drink lays dormant. If I can source some of the world’s finest beans, grown to exacting standards and processed with care, then, as a master roaster I will be able to bring out the very essence of that bean which will have an inspirational flavor profile.
A coffee bean is the seed of a fruit and is naturally sweet and requires an artisan approach to extract the flavors. If it is bitter or tastes like tobacco or an old boot, then it’s not the beans’ fault. Your coffee should taste as good as it smells. The success of our roasting is a mix of art and science. Balancing the chemical reactions of the roasting process with an artisan touch to caramelize rather than burn the sugar within the bean. Our baristas then skilfully bring those flavors to the cup.
Crikey mate, what a great way to get a bonza brew. No worries about that. As you’re enjoying an Essence of Coffee remember – that’s not a coffee, this is a coffee.
Come on into Essence at 908 Main Street and try the traditional Aussie Flat White. No matter what coffee drink you order remember to tell your barista “now that’s a coffee.”
