Just watched the 1965 movie, The Ipcress File and was confounded by the opening scene (set in London) where Michael Caine boils a kettle, grinds some coffee beans and makes coffee in a cafetiere…
This was 44 years ago, and yet when I was growing up all I remember is instant coffee and then later the cafetiere being a new-fangled invention that first appeared in cafes and later came into the home. Coffee beans in England were not something you saw, but you could get pre-ground beans for special occasions.
When I arrived in New Zealand I was instantly struck by how good the coffee is. It seems everywhere you look there is an Italian-made espresso machine. As a result of being surrounded by the real stuff, every weekend morning I boil the kettle, grind some coffee beans and make coffee in a cafetiere.
I was just wondering at what point in time people in England abandoned making proper coffee, threw away the grinders and cafetieres and embraced the instant ‘wonder’ of a spoonful of granules. They equipment did exist, Michael Caine had it!
They say history repeats. I’m just glad to have gone full circle and arrived back in 1965.
As a postscript, the aforementioned Mr. Caine, admirable as his coffee making routine was, did make one huge error…he plunged straight away, where he should have stirred, left to stand for 4 minutes, stirred again and then plunged. However, he still get top marks for effort.
