We love our coffee in the Bay of Plenty, data shows. Photo / Dean Purcell
We love our coffee in the Bay of Plenty, data shows. Photo / Dean Purcell
The people of Rotorua prefer to kick-start their morning with a strong brew of black coffee, while their counterparts in Tauranga prefer to start their day with a latte.
I remembered gaining this groundbreaking news yesterday after I sipped my first cup of coffee in more than a week. Perhapsthat influenced my perception of the importance of this revelation.
I decided to break my coffee habit to see what abstaining from one of life's small pleasures might teach me.
It rattled my daily routine.
I have my own ritual when I arrive at work each day: Grab filtered coffee and plunger; head to hot water cylinder in the kitchen; savour the taste of a fresh brew.
I repeat this ritual at various stages of the day and have developed a taste for my own coffee making.
I can't remember the last time I bought a barista-made coffee, but it was probably at some cafe paired with a horrendously expensive plate of eggs benedict.
But I am an outlier in the Bay of Plenty: a region where coffee conniseurs are drawn trance-like to the aroma of espressos, lattes, cappuccinos, mochas and flat whites.
According to Google Trend data as of March 2021, interest in coffee online reached an all-time high in New Zealand over the previous year — despite that lockdown thing.
It's thought Wellington is the coffee capital of New Zealand but it was Muriwai last year where interest was highest online - Wellington was 6th. Illustration / Rod Emmerson
Surf-town Muriwai topped as the city or town with the most searches, with Rotorua and Tauranga coming in 11th and 12th respectively.
Espresso (or short black) was the most commonly searched coffee type in Rotorua, followed by latte, cappuccino, flat white and mocha.
In Tauranga, they prefer a bit of milk in their brew, with latte topping the list, followed by espresso, mocha, cappuccino and flat white.
The national trend was slightly different from both, with espresso, latte, mocha, flat white and cappuccino rounding the top five.
My preferred brew is a flat white unless I'm making it myself — then it's just straight black.
I don't know why I'm drawn to the blunt taste; maybe it's just laziness of not wanting to undertake the strenuous task of taking the milk out of the fridge.
My week without a coffee wasn't too bad, in fact, I don't think I really noticed the difference except for one morning when I had a killer headache.
While I didn't suffer, I know family members — who shall remain nameless — who would struggle to go without one for even a day before their heads started pounding.
I'd also like to think it proves I'm not a coffee snob, although I do have a link on my phone saved with a map showing cafes that serve my favourite brand.
Okay, maybe that does make me a snob but I think everyone is in their own way - and that isn't restricted to coffee choices.
Everyone has their go-to products. Why not change it up? Photo / File
People prefer their own brand of beer, wine, vehicle, clothing, tools, deodorant, whatever.
I reverted to drinking tea over the past week and am surprised at all of the different flavours, rather than just the gumboot brew of plain tea with milk.
I tried green tea, lemon and ginger, rooibos, chamomile. There are a great big plethora of different varieties out there.
I had hoped taking a week off coffee give me some sort of enlightenment about life that I'd be able to pour out over this page, but alas no.
However, it has opened my eyes up to trying something new and I guess that's what I would encourage you to do for the next week.
Break your habits and take a look around next time you're about to buy your standard product — you might just prefer what you find.
So if you're in Rotorua, give that latte a go and if you're in Tauranga, ditch the milk for some straight-up black coffee.
