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A steep rise
热度直线上升
On any given day Shoreditch, a trendy part of London’s East End, is a flurry of hipsters clutching artfully designed takeaway cups. Between April 11th and 14th some 30,000 caffeine-keen people will descend on the area for the London Coffee Festival.
肖尔迪奇是伦敦东区的一个时髦地段，无论哪一天这里都有一群潮人，握着有艺术感设计的咖啡外带杯。4月11日至14日，大约3万名咖啡爱好者将齐聚该地区，参加伦敦咖啡节。
Many visitors will be ordering flat whites. The drink has rapidly gained popularity among those who want to taste their beans rather than temper them.
许多参加者会点一杯馥芮白。在那些想尝到咖啡豆的味道，而不是弱化咖啡豆味道的人群中，这种饮料迅速流行开来。
Flat whites, which originated in Australia and New Zealand in the 1980s, are powerful yet smooth. Two shots of espresso are combined with between 140 and 180 millilitres of gently steamed milk and crowned with a sliver of “microfoam”.
馥芮白起源于20世纪80年代的澳大利亚和新西兰，这种咖啡味道香浓，但口感也很丝滑。两份浓缩咖啡与140到180毫升的用蒸汽棒轻微加热的牛奶混合，并在上面盖上薄薄一层“细腻奶泡”。
The result is punchy and, if done well, a little sweet: less milky than a latte and not as frothy as a cappuccino.
这样的咖啡味道很浓，如果做得好，还会有轻微甜味：没有拿铁那么浓的奶味，也没有卡布奇诺那么厚的奶泡。
Australia’s coffee-making prowess is fairly recent. Tea was the preferred beverage for British settlers in the 18th century; as a result, no one seemed to know how to make a decent cup of joe.
澳大利亚的咖啡制作技艺是最近才出现的。茶是18世纪在澳洲的英国定居者更喜欢的饮料，因此，似乎没有澳洲人知道如何泡一杯像样的咖啡。
Beans were not roasted, but boiled. To improve the taste, people added chicory, a bitter endive, egg shells or mustard. In a letter to a newspaper in 1939, one man complained that Australia’s coffee “punishes the drinker”.
当时咖啡豆不是烘烤的，而是水煮的。为了改善味道，人们加入了苦苣（一种苦味菊苣）、蛋壳或芥末。在1939年一家报纸的读者来信中，一名男子抱怨说，澳大利亚的咖啡“是对喝咖啡的人的惩罚”。
During the second world war, American servicemen stationed in the Pacific refused to drink such concoctions and demanded that the Antipodeans up their game. The Greek and Italian immigrants who arrived after the war brought expertise.
在第二次世界大战期间，驻扎在太平洋的美国军人拒绝喝这种混合物，并要求澳大利亚人升级一下技术。二战后来到澳大利亚的希腊和意大利移民带来了专业知识。
Commercial espresso-makers reached the country in the 1950s. Peter Bancroft had tasted proper coffee on holiday in London and, with the help of his father, began importing Italian machines.
商用浓缩咖啡机在20世纪50年代进入澳大利亚。彼得·班克罗夫特在伦敦度假时尝到了正宗的咖啡，于是在父亲的帮助下，他开始进口意大利咖啡机。
Much of the country has an unfavourable climate for coffee plants, so it imports far more beans than it sells. However, along with avocado toast and Vegemite, flat whites are one of Australia’s great culinary exports.
澳大利亚大部分地区的气候都不适合种植咖啡，因此进口的咖啡豆远远多于卖出的咖啡豆。然而，与牛油果吐司和维吉麦酱一样，馥芮白是澳大利亚最好的饮食输出之一。
In the past year one in three British consumers ordered the beverage; Pret A Manger alone sold 8m to thirsty Brits. (The company sold 9m cappuccinos, but says the gap between the pick-me-ups is shrinking.)
在过去的一年里，三分之一的英国消费者点过馥芮白，仅Pret A Manger一家店就向口渴的英国人销售了800万杯馥芮白。(该公司售出了900万杯卡布奇诺，但表示两种咖啡之间的差距正在缩小。)
Americans are increasingly sipping flat whites, too. At COP, the UN’s annual climate summit, the Australian pavilion has become a social hub.
美国人也越来越多地在喝馥芮白。在联合国一年一度的COP气候峰会上，澳大利亚馆成为了社交中心。
Not because of the country’s green credentials—it is one of the world’s top exporters of coal and natural gas. Instead, what makes Australia so popular is the barista the delegation brings along. Call it flat-white diplomacy.
不是因为该国的绿色资质--澳大利亚是世界上最大的煤炭和天然气出口国之一。相反，让澳大利亚如此受欢迎的是代表团带来的咖啡师。这堪称馥芮白外交了。
