~ Sydney Cultural introduction from our Researcher ~
On Sunday 24 July, CLAIR Sydney headed to the Rocks to take part in the largest coffee festival in the southern hemisphere – the Rocks Aroma Festival.
The festival marked its nineteenth year in 2016, further cementing its place as an important fixture in the dynamic Sydney coffee scene.
Although modern Australia traces its heritage back to England and the Britain’s love of tea, interestingly, in 1788 the First Fleet were the first to introduce coffee to Australia, bringing coffee with them when they arrived in Sydney. Coffee seeds and plants were procured en route in Brazil and seedlings were planted in the first garden at Government House. Unfortunately they did not survive as Sydney’s climate is unsuitable for coffee production. However, coffee’s popularity in Sydney skyrocketed after World War Two, which saw an influx of refugees and migrants from Europe. These immigrants introduced Sydneysiders to espresso-style coffee and it’s popularity has continued unabated ever since.
The festival which ran in parallel with the weekly Rocks Markets brought huge crowds to the already popular tourist spot as people eagerly lined up for coffee tasting or ‘cupping’ as it’s officially labelled. Famous local coffee roasters like Pablo & Rusty’s and Nine Yards Coffee were some of the 60 roasters and gourmet food stalls at the festival. There were also many different food trucks, latte art demonstrations, competitions, live musicians and DJs.
We were amazed to see so many innovative ways to brew coffee like nitrogen-infused coffee at Pablo & Rusty’s Coffee Roasters. The close proximity of the Rocks Markets gave festival goers even more options for lunch and/or something to snack on to complement their favourite cup of java. A number of local pubs, restaurants and bars also got into the spirit (no pun intended) and offered limited-edition alcoholic beverages like espresso martinis, cold-press coffee liqueur and even milk-coffee ale! We thoroughly enjoyed our time at the festival and look forward to the 20th anniversary of this event in 2017.