Serious Espresso and the End of the Flat White Era

Blog by Craig Miller, an Auckland hospitality icon and the man at the forefront of the development of cafés specializing in Italian-style espresso coffee in Auckland in the 1980s

On the 4th of October – three days after International Coffee Day – Auckland Museum members were treated to espresso and chocolates at our membership event “Serious Espresso and the End of the Flat White Era”. This event celebrated a recent donation to the Museum collection: a Faema E61 espresso machine and a collection of printed shirts gifted by Craig Miller. Craig is an Auckland hospitality icon and was at the forefront of the development of cafés specializing in Italian-style espresso coffee in Auckland in the 1980s. The Miller’s coffee brand has provided millions of cups of coffee both through their roastery/café in Cross St and through Craig Miller’s wholesale business of nearly 40 years. Here, we share Craig’s speech from the event and his insights from decades in the industry. - Jane Groufsky, Curator Social History

Our membership event "Serious Espresso and the end of the Flat White Era"

Today, casual dining is primarily daytime hospitality where you can drop in without a reservation. During my time in the hospitality industry, I have witnessed the expansion and diversification of casual dining, making it an integral part of everyday life for many people. The part of casual dining that I will focus on is hospitality places built around the espresso machine.

Until the early 1980s, casual dining mean tearooms, coffee lounges, fish and chips, and Chinese restaurants. From the late 1980s, a shift in daytime hospitality began to occur. By the early 2000s, it had become ubiquitous – a new setting centred around a style of espresso-made coffee and the food that accompanies it.

Designing aesthetics that match food with espresso coffee, along with a fit-out (often DIY), is something New Zealand, and this city in particular, can be proud of. As an industry it began in the 1980s when individuals in Auckland and Wellington, as well as throughout New Zealand, worked alone or in small groups, mostly unknown to each other, tinkering with and refurbishing old espresso machines. Some of these tinkerers wanted to take control of the taste for the coffee they served, deciding the best way to do so would be to roast their own beans. A larger group of people worked on matching food items for this new espresso trade.

Faema espresso machine
Collection of Auckland Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira, 2024.13.1 Gift of Craig Miller © © Auckland Museum CC BY More information ›

Faema E61

The purpose of the espresso machine and its operator is to deliver hot espresso and steam continuously, making tasty coffee in a hospitality setting. Italians invented espresso machines, so they have both form and function. Espresso machines can be described as “standing steam engines”, bringing industrial strength to the coffee-making process. Faema made the machine donated to Auckland Museum, and it is a three-group E61 model. 1961 is the year of the patent, and also the year of a full solar eclipse.

This new machine design revolutionised espresso-making away from the 1948 Gaggia-designed lever machine. The E61 contained a volumetric pump, a thermosiphon heating system for each group, and the ability to produce continuous hot water from the mains.

So, what is espresso? Firstly, always a single shot! 7-10 grams of coffee, 25-30 mls of hot water, to take between 20-30 seconds. It is a taste, and if you add milk, the Italians say “you don’t like the taste of coffee”.

When Faema’s patent expired, the group design became universally popular and is featured on the espresso machines of various other brands. In 2001 Faema reissued the E61 calling it “The Legend”.

The donated E61 has a 1963 date stamp on the boiler. It started its working life in Sydney, being brought to Auckland by Daniel Goldwater to use in Shadows, the student bar at Auckland University, in 1983. I purchased the machine from him to use in Another Roadside Attraction in Grafton in 1985. Retaining ownership upon selling the cafe, the machine was to become an initial feature of other shops that followed: Belaroma in Albert St in 1987; Millers in Exchange Lane, 95 Queen St, in 1989; Serious Espresso at the rear of the Civic Theatre before refurbishment in 1996 across Queen St to St James theatre in 1998; and the last site in my care in Shed 24, Serious Espresso on Princes Wharf. Its last 15 years of commercial life were in O’Connell St Bistro, up to the restaurant’s closing in 2022.

Overall, the E61 has a unique brand heritage and has been recognised as a symbol of espresso quality, culture and craftsmanship. This specific machine has served tens of thousands of coffees to people around Central Auckland, and it holds the memories of the baristas who made them.

Back view and details of the Faema espresso machine
Collection of Auckland Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira, 2024.13.1 Gift of Craig Miller © © Auckland Museum CC BY More information ›

Aloha shirt by Strangely Normal, 1990s. Collection of Auckland Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira, 2024.13.17 Gift of Craig Miller
More information ›

The Shirt Collection

I chose initially to wear pacific shirts because of my love for hibiscus flowers. I wanted a cotton shirt as practical workwear with a style that defines our city. Having a horticultural background, I have always been attracted to hibiscus flowers, and I once dreamed of having a hibiscus nursery. That didn’t work out, but I have kept wearing their flowers, growing a few at home and some around the town. Being in hospitality, I wanted casual workwear with short sleeves that included a hint of formality. To do this, most of the shirts have been made for me by Josie Mailman for more than 30 years. This allowed me to choose the fabric. At times when travelling overseas I would purchase the two metres of cotton needed which would then define the country I had visited.

In conclusion

It is timely that Auckland Museum has seen fit to add an espresso machine to its collection. This machine signifies over the last 40 years the rise of casual dining to include coffee shops with espresso machines at the centre. A significant amount of people participate in the in the espresso industry either through work, social interaction, or the simple daily need for caffeine in a tasty drink. This increase in its popularity is a significant part of our economy and contemporary social history, and it is a great privilege to have been given this opportunity to meet and share a time to celebrate our collective achievement.

Header image credit: Ryan Patrick Event photography https://www.ryanpatrick.photography/