If you fancy a cup of New Zealand’s best coffee, one of the best guides is to see which beans are revered by the people who work in the roasting industry.
The national coffee awards determine which beans are considered to be the best available for making coffee, whether you buy the beans and make it yourself or head to a café which stocks the best beans.
Auckland’s Altura Coffee won the Supreme Award at the Huhtamaki 2015-16 New Zealand Coffee Awards, the second time it has been judged the country’s best coffee roaster since the awards began in 2003.
Nearly 300 entries were entered from New Zealand Coffee roasting companies for the awards.
Altura, based at Albany on Auckland’s North Shore, won the Gold Medal in the highly competitive Flat White category, which attracted the greatest number of entries. Their Altitude coffee was launched to the New Zealand market only two weeks before the holding of the awards.
Winners at the Huhtamaki New Zealand Coffee Awards
Supreme Award
Altitude (Altura)
Category: Huhtamaki Roasted Espresso
Gold: BG (Fred Coffee)
Silver: Geisha (Inca-Fe)
Silver: Toasted blend (Bean Addicted Marketing)
Silver: FCC Organic Blend
Silver: Arrow Gold (Bean Around The World)
Silver: Fix (Fixation Coffee)
Bronze: Casa (Ebony Coffee)
Bronze: Macro Medium (Macro)
Bronze: Blizzard (Avalanche Coffee)
Bronze: Milano (Excelso Coffee)
Bronze: Max Special Blend (Max Coffee)
Bronze: Bold (Altezano Brothers)
Category: Ethically Traded
Gold: Deluxe (Karamu Espresso)
Silver: Fairtrade Organic (Santos Coffee)
Silver: Diamond Blend (Ambition Coffee)
Silver: LaLa Organic (Coffee LaLa)
Bronze: Ethiopia Washed Simado (Espresso Workshop Roastery)
Bronze: Organic (Essenza Coffee)
Bronze: Geisha (Inca-Fe)
Bronze: Deco Yirgacheffe Natural (Deco)
Bronze: Ultimate Espresso (Vivace Espresso)
Bronze: El Salvador Vista (Altezano Brothers)
Category: Foodservice Filter/Plunger
Gold: Lance’s Special Blend (Ambition Coffee)
Silver: Kidnapper’s Breakfast (Hawthorne Coffee)
Silver: Marin Estate (Inca-Fe)
Silver: San Vicente Blend (Cloud Coffee Pty Ltd)
Bronze: Gourmet (Vivace Espresso)
Bronze: Max Exotic Blend (Max Coffee)
Bronze: Jed’s (Jed’s Coffee Company)
Bronze: Jamaican Blue Mountain Style (Robert Harris)
Bronze: Volt AMP (Volt Espresso)
Category: Single Origin
Gold: Ethiopa Yirgacheffe (Story Coffee)
Silver: Kenya Rwaikamba (Coffee Lab)
Silver: Yirgacheffe Konga Sedie (Excelso Coffee)
Silver: Kenyan Kangiri (The New Zealand Coffee Company)
Silver: Nigaragua (Roma Coffee Roasters)
Bronze: Nigaragua (Karjoz Coffee)
Bronze: Nicaragua Margogype (Hawthorne Coffee)
Bronze: Rio Jorco Masl 1800+ (Cloud Coffee Pty Ltd)
Bronze: Deco Colombia El Silencio (Deco)
Category: Meadowfresh Flat White
Gold: Altitude (Altura)
Silver: Pinks Elixir (Pinks Elixir)
Silver: No. 1 House Blend (Ris’tretto Espresso)
Silver: Weta Bush Blend (Weta Coffee)
Silver: Lollibird (Story Coffee)
Bronze: Ambrosial (Meebz Coffee)
Bronze: OOH Lala (Coffee Lala)
Bronze: AA& Blend (Toasted Espresso)
Bronze: Volt Surge (Volt Espresso)
Bronze: Toasted Blend (Bean Addicted Marketing)
Bronze: Hollywood (Hollywood)
Bronze: Espresso Love (Gravity Coffee)
Category: Supermarket Plunger
Gold: Kidnapper’s Breakfast (Hawthorne Coffee)
Silver: Karajoz Genuine No. 1 Blend Plunger (Karajoz Coffee)
Silver: Marin Estate (Inca-Fe)
Silver: Guatemala (Pomeroys Coffee)
Silver: Orb Yirgacheffe (Orb Coffee)
Bronze: Dash (Caffe Prima)
Bronze: LaLa (Coffee Lala)
Bronze: Macro Medium (Macro)
Category: Organic
Gold: Suke (Excelso Coffee)
Silver: Geisha (Inca-Fe)
Silver: Costa Rica Las Latas (Espresso Workshop Roastery)
Silver: Santa Felisa 21 Brix (Coffee Lab)
Silver: Harvest Fairtrade Organic (Hawthorne Coffee)
Bronze: Vivace Fairtrade Organic (Vivace Espresso)
Bronze: Santos Organic (Santos Coffee)
Bronze: Roma Organic (Roma Coffee Roasters)
Bronze: Organic Ambition (Ambition Coffee)
Category: Supermarket Espresso
Gold: Marin Estate (Inca-fe)
Silver: Macro Medium (Macro)
Silver: Karajoz Genuine No. 1 Espresso (Karajoz Coffee)
Bronze: Max Morning Blend (Max Coffee)
Bronze: Espresso Blend (Hawthorne Coffee)
Bronze: Cuban Blend (Pomeroys Coffee)
Bronze: Arabica Gold (Robert Harris)
Bronze: Espresso (Coffee Distributors Ltd)
Source: 2015 Huhtamaki New Zealand Coffee Awards. Next awards are planned for 2017.