The (coffee) crown of the NZ South Island - Nelson

I arrived in Nelson just before the storm: Cyclone Lusi was making her way towards the South Island and we were told to expect some heavy rain and wind over the next 2 days. 

I hadn't experienced a cyclone before and I don't know if it is because Nelson got the tail end of it but it actually wasn't that bad. Yes, the wind was strong and yes, it rained non-stop for some 15 hours but it still felt rather warm. I expected having to lie on my bunk bed all day and praying for the roof not to collapse so the fact that I managed to venture out to a coffee shop and have a great breakfast was definitely a bonus. Speaking of coffee shops, here is my run down of Nelson:

Morrisons Street Cafe. When gathering info on Nelson coffee shops I didn't take into account that most of them are located in Richmond which, as it turned out, was quite a way away from my hostel. With it being a Sunday and middle of the storm, it had to be somewhere walkable for me to access it. One of the tourist leaflets I picked up at the airport recommended Morrisons Street Cafe and after checking their breakfast menu I knew I had to try it. I'm still shocked every time I see the size of a Kiwi breakfast - my bowl of bircher muesli turned out to be a stew size bowl filled with goodness: berry couli, bananas, blueberries, sweet dukkah, chia seeds, oats and apple. Who needs free toast at the hostel? They serve Atomic Roasters coffee which I meant to but didn't get round to trying in Auckland and it was very pleasant. The place itself was really busy, which was a nice contrast to the deserted streets. It had a lazy Sunday feel to it - wooden tables were lined with weekend papers and no one seemed in a rush to get somewhere (apart from the staff who were very quick and efficient). Morrisons tag line is cafe gallery so there are some beautiful pieces displayed on the walls. I couldn't have wished for a better spot to hide from the storm in.

                 

 

Once the storm was over I picked up a bike and cycled the Great Taste Trail to Richmond to meet with the Pomeroy's team.

Pomeroy's (@pomeroyscoffee) got in touch with me via Twitter and we arranged to meet at their Coffee Factory where they kindly offered to show me around as well as take me to some other shops in Richmond. I met up with Lawry (and briefly Emma whose coffee school is based in the same building and who is a bit of a coffee legend, having won the title of the first NZ's barista champion in 2001, being a founder member of several coffee associations and sitting as a judge of multiple coffee competitions). I was given a tour of the roastery and a warehouse space where their coffee and tea are stored, as well as a first hand experience of their huge 60kg roaster. I am used to small batch roasteries, which use machines half the size so I was visibly impressed. As Pomeroy's have been around for 25 years and have a loyal client base and supply many cafes as well as trade online, it makes sense that their roasting needs are higher. I was told they usually have between 15-20 different single origins and do quite a lot of blending (their house blend has about 5 or 6 different single origins going into it). Their green coffee comes from indirect trade through suppliers from Auckland but their ambition is to form a relationship with coffee farms directly. They also have a smaller 1kg roaster upstairs for all of their coffee experiments and tasting. Once we'd seen backstage it was time to sample some coffee: I spotted some beans from Panama and having never tried coffee from there before I was really keen to do so. Drunk as a filter it was surprisingly light and acidic, quite different to my usual Ethiopian or Kenyan brew.

Once we were done at Pomeroy's it was time to explore Richmond and as Lawry had a delivery to make, and I desperately needed breakfast, our first stop was Cafe on Oxford. The shop is unusual in Nelson terms as it uses several brewing technics such as Chemex and V60. Whilst New Zealand is very much into their espresso based drinks, I felt that it is even more so in Nelson than Wellington or Auckland. I decided on a Sumatran pourover and some beautifully scrambled eggs with a side of roasted tomato and cumin. Sitting outside in the sun, our coffee chat continued and with Caffeination (@caffeinationNZ) starting in Welly the following weekend, moved on to coffee competitions and its importance as well as to comparisons of UK and NZ coffee scenes.

               

Full and happy again, I could move on to stops no. 3 and 4, both owned by a lovely Michelle who I also had a pleasure of meeting. Ginger Cafe (@cafe_ginger) and Ambrosia (@Ambrosia_Cafe) are located in the same shopping mall, although on opposite ends, but couldn't be more different. Whilst the newly (6 months) open Ginger is smaller and serves food from a cabinet and espresso based drinks, Ambrosia is the big sister with a wider range in terms of a food and drink menu. Apart from the owner, they have one more thing in common: they both serve Pomeroy's coffee and Ginger even have their own blend - slightly sweeter and designed especially for them. To say I've had a great morning / early afternoon would be an understatement - meeting great people and seeing their different coffee ideas in practice is what attracted me to writing this blog in the first place. I can't stress that enough but Kiwis really do know customer service and London could learn a lot from them!