Kiwis out to give London a taste of fine espresso

Michael Allpress' (left) new cafe and roastery in East London's Shoreditch employs 14 staff. Photo / Supplied

Finding a decent flat white in London may have just got a little easier.

Auckland's Allpress Espresso will today open its new cafe and roastery in East London's trendy Shoreditch.

It is the second overseas venture for the company - which was founded in 1987 - since it set up its first offshore operation in Sydney 11 years ago.

Further global expansion is planned, with a joint venture in Japan already underway.

Allpress Espresso founder Mike Allpress, speaking to the Weekend Herald from London, said the company would open a cafe and roastery in Tokyo next year.

Another European operation in Dublin was also a possibility, he said.

An opening party for the London premises, attended by about 200 guests, was held in Shoreditch on Thursday night.

The Redchurch St site sits among art galleries, design studios and advertising agencies.

Allpress said the British coffee market, despite the country's economic woes, was ripe for what the Kiwi firm had to offer.

Fourteen staff were employed at the London cafe and roastery.

Tony Papas, Allpress' business partner who will head the British operation, said Shoreditch was an exciting place to be based.

"People have got a real swagger in their step," he said.

Before taking charge of the London site, Papas spent 10 years running Allpress Espresso's Sydney operation.

He said the firm would capture the attention of Londoners through providing superior products and services.

A specialist trainer had travelled from New Zealand to make sure the espresso-making skills of the Shoreditch staff were up to scratch.

Allpress said the London cafe - part of the three-level, 4500sq m new site - was expected to quickly grow to the point where it used 50kg of coffee beans a week.

A regular flat white at the Shoreditch cafe will cost £2.50 ($5.30), while the same beverage at Allpress Espresso's Auckland sites costs $4.

Allpress Espresso may open satellite stores around London, Allpress said, which would not be full blown cafes but small retail outlets with an espresso machine.

"London is so vast that it's part of our marketing strategy to have some of those small, satellite stores separate to the roastery."

Allpress said the company would also consider supplying specialist stores with retail coffee.

The Shoreditch venture received partial funding from the University of Auckland Business School's Entrepreneur's Challenge, which was given in the form a low-interest loan.

Allpress Espresso has an annual revenue of more than $20 million.