Kevin Tiller

I started drinking tea when I was maybe 11 years old, with milk & 2 sugars (english style). I prefer green tea or chai now.

I probably first had coffee about 13yrs old. My parents drink it with milk and sugar (or saccharine). I didn’t like it at all until one of my aunts suggested I had it black (think it was Susan who was living with us at the time). I much preferred it that way.

So I have been drinking it black ever since. Almost the modern history of coffee – instant, then filtered, then “proper coffee”. However I noticed that black coffee quality varies greatly. Many places in Sydney do like an expresso shot then just fill the cup with boiling water, making it too hot to drink and too weak. So I started asking for a black coffee “with no extra water” which sort of worked but the quality was still very variable.

In the end someone suggested that I should just ask for a short black/ expresso, and I have found that much more agreeable. My usual order is a double expresso, almost nothing to screw up other than crap beans or a total dipstick making it.

Although I have been vegan for the best part of 20 years now, I drank black coffee beforehand, and even find soy latte or cappucinos just too milky. If I fancy anything a bit different now I will have a soy piccolo latte – they are really good. Bit in general a double expresso is heaven. What we can make at home is just ideal.

I definitely try to avoid instant coffee at all costs. But if there is not alternative then I will have some.