Reflections | How Singapore and Malaysia’s coffee names reveal the region’s history of multiculturalism
- The Economist recently extolled the virtues of Australia’s flat white, but linguists will find coffee terms in Singapore and Malaysia more interesting
- In any kopitiam – a Malay-Hokkien fusion meaning ‘coffee shop’ – names reveal the history of immigration in the region, making for some very multicultural cups
The flat white – two shots of espresso with gently steamed milk and little or no foam, described as a more velvety cappuccino – was recently described by The Economist as “Australia’s greatest culinary export”.
Australia’s coffee culture is rooted in post-World War II Italian immigrants’ coffee techniques – and language.
Since the 1980s, coffee staples down under have borne typically pithy Australian monikers: “short black” (a regular espresso), “long black” (one made larger with additional hot water), “short/long mac” and “cap” (clipped from macchiato and cappuccino, respectively).
One explanation for “flat white” suggests that patrons, finding airy foam adding nothing to the drink, would ask for just “flat” milk.
For language lovers, it is the coffee typologies in other contexts that get us high.
