Soggy clouds blanket Melbourne’s
skyline and I trudge along Swanston Street looking for an afternoon espresso. Beyond
the boutique bistros, flanked by Bourke and Crossley Streets, is my destination
– Pellegrini’s Espresso Bar. It’s at this very spot that Pellegrini’s,
Melbourne’s coffee-drinking institution, made its debut by serving shots from freshly
ground coffee in 1954. It’s where Pellegrini’s shipped its first espresso
machine into Melbourne, from the old country, and served coffee to
tea-indoctrinated Melburnians. Now, coffee drinking is as much a part of
Melbourne life as is breathing.
Bourke Street has seen its fair share
of facelifts over the years, yet Pellegrini’s wears its unchanged façade and
interiors proudly – dark brown wooden counter, body-height windows, a
checker-board floor and walls awash with ageing yellow paint. A shelf above the
counter cradles personal momentos, signed celebrity posters, vinyls, and framed
pictures; a collection spanning the decades from which a little-known shopfront
morphed into one of Melbourne’s historical coffee destinations.
A waiter calls my order to his barista
with a thick Italian accent: ‘Sergio! One espresso! Grazie!!’ There’s a clattering
of teaspoons as couples slurp on spaghetti. The espresso machine’s motor rips
into gear. Beans grind away wildly and the air intensifies. Light conversation
and hushed voices carry on, unperturbed.
It’s alleged that Pellegrini’s owned Melbourne’s
very first espresso machine, a claim hotly debated by commentators, customers
and Melburnian café owners alike. It’s clear that Italian cafés shot up in Melbourne
during this time and the start of commercially-roasted coffee naturally coincided.
Between 1953 and 1955, a small string of cafés flung open their doors, just
like Pellegrini’s – Don Camillo in Victoria Street, Lexington Café in
Exhibition Street and Universita Café in Lygon Street; all claiming to own some of Melbourne’s first espresso machines. In 1954, Italian migrants Agostino Monaci,
Vic Panatieri and Sergio Coperchini started their company, Mocopan, to deal in
spices, smallgoods and coffee. Now, Mocopan is one of Australia’s iconic coffee
brands.
Despite this haze over Melbourne’s
coffee history, Pellegrini’s still stands as an ancestral locale where Melbourne’s
coffee culture brewed, one ground bean at a time. Pellegrini’s has since served
its coffee with lashings of genuine hospitality and simple, Italian home-style
cooking. The Sunday lunch crowd is sitting on barstools lining the counter
already devouring its share.
My steaming espresso hovers its way
across the counter. I stir its rich crema before stealing a small sip. The
coffee is as black as death itself but warms me immediately.
My waiter throws me a lingering gaze
and a smile emerges from underneath his manicured moustache. I selfishly point
to the cake cabinet. ‘Blueberry pie?’ I nod enthusiastically. ‘You want cream,
Bella?’ He piles the cream on a slice of pie that’s wide and crusty. Double
thick cream slides off his old wooden spoon. Recently arrived customers point
to the bounty of more baked treats sitting behind the glass – apple pastries,
baked lemon pie and sponge cake.
The sun peeks from behind the clouds
momentarily. Cups and plates lay bare along the counter. Only an idle serve of
spaghetti, half-eaten, is shepherded back to the kitchen. Its previous owner
looks over-full yet content. Customers remain firmly on their barstools.
Generations of Pellegrinis have brewed their
livelihood here and generations of Melburnian families have drunk it
wholeheartedly. This is Melbourne’s coffee history in the flesh and its lustful
heart is still beating strongly.
‘Another espresso, Bella?’ I politely
decline as I pass my waiter a $10 note. He calls out one final attempt to sell
me another espresso before bidding me farewell. ‘Ciao Bella!’
Enjoy a coffee and take a sip of Melbourne’s coffee history for yourself:
Pellegrini’s Espresso Bar – 66 Bourke
Street, Melbourne.
Don Camillo – 215 Victoria Street, West Melbourne.
Universita Café – 257 Lygon Street, Carlton.
