The search for quality and variety is what drives the city's passionate coffee roasters and blenders.

Coffee, coffee, coffee – we love, love, love it. Whether it’s our breakfast latté, mid-morning long black or maybe even a frappé or cold brew later in the day, this get-up-and-go go-to is a source of both joy and strength. Which is why for the dedicated roasters and retailers putting their all into delivering Christchurch caffeine-istas with the best the world of coffee has to offer, the focus remains firmly fixed on quality and variety.

Markus and Maria Hirner of Espresso245, who market their coffee under the Viking Coffee brand, source green beans directly from Bolivia, after travelling there in 2018 to follow up on reports of a rise in high-grade specialty coffee from the central South American country. The new trading connection is a cultural one as well – Maria Hirner is originally from Bolivia and her family farmed coffee there in the past. A big attraction is the wider choice of varietals on offer from Bolivian producers.

At the Birmingham Drive roastery of Switch Espresso, Jeremy Innes is also on the search for new green-bean varieties and developing relationships with importers. “We source beans from all over but predominantly they’re Colombian and Brazilian. We’ve also started a good trading relationship in Java for Arabica beans. I’ve made a couple of trips to London, and we’ve got a strong relationship with Trade Aid. It’s all about maintaining a consistent supply,” he says.

The constant search for new varieties was enough to get Dan Brown of Underground Coffee Roasters interested in the “wet hulled” coffees coming out of Vietnam and East Timor. “Wet hulled” refers to the shorter drying time the green beans are subjected to. This emphasises body and mutes acidity, resulting in a more intense flavour. Brown and his team deliver their top-quality freshly roasted beans for home or café consumption. To make the home experience even better, he recommends customers buy whole roasted beans and a good-quality flat burr grinder.

Vivace Espresso opened the doors of its Christchurch café and roaster more than 20 years ago and is still going strong. That’s down to the love that the hard-working team have for the beans, which makes every cup an experience, giving them the same buzz you feel when you’re sipping on one of their premium blends. Vivace Espresso don’t just want to know where the beans came from but what the story behind them is, from the leafy green farms in Africa right through to the high-altitude trees in Papua New Guinea. Everything is ethically produced to the highest quality, which means guilt-free coffees galore. 

Prima Coffee Roastery started out as “Caffe Prima” in a small city garage in 1995 with its first house blends, Blue Mountain and Diva. Since then, the business has grown and evolved to become Prima Roastery in Woolston. Here, a passionate team of coffee drinkers use their extensive experience to craft a comprehensive range of blends and single origins as well as assemble and test a lineup of the best brewing equipment. Pick up a bag of Colombian Natural for the weekend, sample another of Prima’s changing single origins from around the globe or choose from their evolving list of blends.

As well as keeping the masses happy at its St Albans café of the same name, Ris’tretto Espresso roasts its own coffee at Waikuku Beach. There, it produces its No. 1 House Blend, a fair-trade organic espresso blend that packs plenty of punch but without a bitter aftertaste. The blend’s excellence has been recognised through multiple awards since but more importantly for Ris’tretto Espresso, their customers love it.

Christchurch is blessed with an ever increasing number of coffee roasters. Remember that variety is the spice of life, so to avoid caffeine FOMO, put a bag of beans from one of these outlets on your shopping list as well: C4, Coffee Embassy, Unknown Chapter, Hummingbird, Lyttelton Coffee Company, Jail Breaker Coffee, Coffee Worx, The Coffee Workshop, The Crafted Coffee Company, Oddfellows Café, Coffee Supreme Welles Street and Allpress Espresso.