Author(s): Jillian Adams

Food

BENNETTS is a well-known coffee importing business in Australia. Its origins date back to 1918 when Horace Bennett established H.A. Bennett Tea Coffee and Cocoa. From this he was to build a company that would encompass three generations of the Bennett family and survive many challenges, including a swing away from tea drinking in the post war period and a huge growth in the popularity of coffee. Each of Horace's sons worked at some time in the family business, but it was Bill who continued the name and successfully traded through Australia's shift away from tea consumption and into coffee drinking. Following his father and grandfather into the family business, Bill's son Scott learnt his trade in the newly established coffee growing and trading industry in Papua New Guinea. For more than 90 years, any Australian who has enjoyed a cup of tea or coffee has more than likely sampled the work of Bennetts. A Good Brew: the history of H.A. Bennett & Sons and tea and coffee in Australia tells the story of a business that spans almost a century, tracking the development of the tea and coffee industry in Australia over three generations.