Auckland has a diverse array of boutique coffee roasters and some of them are cooking up one hell of a coffee. Photo / Getty Images
My coffee love is almost obsessive, to the point where I had second thoughts about pursuing a relationship with my husband when we first met, because he told me he didn't like it.
Well, I fixed that and now he is as big a coffee aficionado as I am.
Taking this whole coffee thing a little too seriously we have given more thought than is healthy to how to produce the perfect brew at home. For both of us, a great coffee comes down to one thing. The beans.
Over the years we have tried many a bean, from dark roasted blends to lightly honey-toned single origin. As we differ in tastes, I thought it would be interesting to get Espresso Man (my husband) to weigh in with his thoughts on all of the beans I was putting to the test for this story.
We realised we couldn't try every coffee supplier in Auckland – we need to sleep at some point – so we decided to narrow the playing field.
Through recommendations from friends, colleagues, baristas and fellow coffee addicts, we formulated a top 10.
Then we freshly ground and brewed up each one in our humble home coffee machine – espresso for him, flat white for me – taking careful note of smell, colour, crema, flavour profile and acidity and gave each a score out of five.
For everyone who has a favourite that didn't make it to this list, I apologise, but you never know, you might find your new go-to brew as you read on.
Onehunga, Newmarket
Stepping into the small, tucked away inner sanctum of Dear Deer coffee in Onehunga I was struck by two things. The aroma - which was divine - and the huge range of coffee beans that they had somehow managed to squeeze into such a small space.
Explaining my mission to find Auckland's best coffee bean to the in-store expert before me, I asked what his favourite was. He pointed me to their Premium Blend, explaining that it was a blend of beans from various regions in Brazil, with a mixture of darkly roasted and lightly roasted beans for added complexity.
The flavour was initially a very strong hit of chocolate, but the addition of the lighter beans gave a fruity raisin-like taste on the back of the tongue to finish. Carefully crafted into my trusty morning flat white brought out the best in this blend. I loved it. Meanwhile, Espresso Man found that the roast was too dark for him, although he did enjoy the fruity aftertaste.
Cost: Dear Deer, Premium Blend, $18 for 250g
Megan's verdict: 4.5/5
Espresso Man's verdict: 3/5
Grey Lynn
Late last year I was lucky enough to get a tour of Ozone's roasting headquarters in New Plymouth. Their head roaster took me through a process called "cupping" that he uses to assess the quality of the beans they are buying and roasting. It was fascinating and taught me there was so much more to tasting coffee than just taking a sip.
Ozone are a medium-sized roaster, with a café in New Plymouth and another in Auckland (not to mention two in London). Ozone have several signature blends but I opted for Nova Alianca, a single origin from Minas Gerais, Brazil that boasted "roasted hazelnut, milk chocolate and almond".
Interestingly, when brewed to my specifications the result was a little bit too fruit-forward for me, but Espresso Man found it wasn't fruity enough for him – he loves that acidity.
Overall, it made a very nice cuppa, but neither of us was so blown away that we would race out to grab more.
Cost: Ozone, Nova Alianca, $14.50 for 250g
Megan's verdict: 3/5
Espresso Man's verdict: 3/5
One Tree Hill
This cute roastery cafe sits in a leafy street near Auckland's Cornwall Park. The minute you walk in it becomes clear that this petite shop is focused on only one thing – coffee. A small batch roaster lies in full view behind the barista and three plastic coffee bean storage containers lay attached on the right-hand wall. Discussing the beans on offer with the barista I learned that there were two single-origin beans on offer, but you need to bring your own container to avail yourself of those.
The beans have a rich aroma of toasted hazelnuts and caramel. The caramel flavour comes through in the brew as well, evening out to a sweet hint of honey on the back of the palate. This blend is perfectly suited to my humble flat white and I really loved this one. Mr Espresso was less enamoured and informed me, once again, that it wasn't fruity enough for him.
Cost: Wētā Bush Blend, $13.50 for 200g
Megan's verdict: 4/5
Espresso Man's verdict: 3/5
In addition to their popular blends on offer in cafes around Auckland, the team at Atomic also have a good range of single-origin beans. We tried a lightly roasted bean from the well-known coffee-growing region of Guji, in Ethiopia.
The beans emit an aroma of caramel and honey and some fruity hints of peach. When brewed as espresso the flavour is rich molasses with a wonderful crema and a fruity hint on the back of the tongue.
The beans are equally delightful with milk, where the caramel really comes through, combining with the fruitiness to create a decadent toffee pop experience on the tongue. Somehow bold and delicate all at once, these beans are a delight.
Cost – Atomic, Guji Leyo Teraga, $15 for 200g
Megan's verdict: 3.5/5
Espresso Man's verdict: 4/5
Ellerslie
Bow & Tie are a small batch roastery based in Ellerslie, but they also have a cleverly converted bicycle serving coffee at events around town.
We tried their Pachamama organic, fair trade blend which is made up of beans from PNG, Indonesia and Mexico. The beans emitted an aroma of cinnamon and orange. This is a bit of a darker roast that is initially bitter but mellows out on the tongue, leaving a sweet honey aftertaste.
Cost: Bow & Tie, Pachamama Organic Blend, $15 for 250g
Megan's verdict: 3.5/5
Espresso Man's verdict: 3.5/5
New Lynn
Evolving from a humble coffee cart based in Titirangi, Mt Atkinson is now a boutique coffee roaster, offering some of the best beans in town, and they have just opened an equally charming cafe on Portage Rd. A delightful colleague put me on to Mt Atkinson and I am very glad they did.
We tasted one of their blends, a mix of Ethiopian Yirgacheffe, West Ugandan Direct Trade and Colombian Supremo. With a complex aroma of toffee, passionfruit and chocolate, the final brew is smooth and well balanced. Although a blend, this is a much lighter roast and the result is more fruit-forward than other blends on this list. This blend made a rollicking good flat white, simply delightful. Surprisingly, Espresso Man really liked this one too. He found it fruity with good acidity and smooth finish.
Cost: Mt Atkinson, Muriwai Blend, $12.50 for 200g
Megan's verdict: 4/5
Espresso Man's verdict: 4/5
Parnell, Wynyard Qtr, Newmarket, College Hill
From the Balboa region in Columbia come these delightful beans. We hadn't tried any Red Rabbit beans prior to this test and we were pretty darn impressed. The aroma was so delightful I think I lost about half an hour of my life with my face buried in the grinder catcher, inhaling the goodness.
The flavour profile is full of caramel, lime, orange marmalade and mixed stone fruit. When brewed with milk it has a stunning toffee aroma with hints of pear. Incredibly well balanced, you get fruit up front and then a smooth honeycomb flavour warms the back of the tongue. Espresso Man says: "nice acidity, light and well balanced". This one is a firm favourite for both of us.
Cost: Red Rabbit, Balboa, Colombia, $18 for 250g.
Megan's verdict: 4.5/5
Espresso Man's verdict: 4.5/5
Wairau Valley, Ellerslie
We ventured over to the North Shore to check out the Coffee Lab cafe and roastery there. The coffee we had while there was absolutely delightful and I asked the friendly barista what her recommendation would be for beans to take home. She pointed us to a single origin from Ubaque, Columbia. I grabbed a bag of beans and we headed home, eager to try them.
The beans have a lovely aroma of molasses and cherry. This is a darker roast with a little bitterness up front that mellows to a sweet toffee on the back of the tongue. Lacks the fruitiness and complexity you are looking for in a single-origin roast though. A really nice coffee, but it didn't blow me away. We are definitely up for trying some of their other beans though, there is a good range of choices.
Cost: Coffee Lab, Columbia Ubaque, $17 for 250g
Megan's verdict: 3.5/5
Espresso Man's verdict: 3/5
Born out of a collective love for great coffee between friends in Wellington, Flight Coffee has since spread its wings to Auckland. Offering a selection of blends and single origin we decided to give their Bomber blend a grind.
A blend of beans from Columbia, Rwanda and Timor-Leste, the aroma is a pleasant mix of toasted almonds, orange peel and dark chocolate. Upfront the flavours that come through are caramel and shortbread biscuits with a little more complexity coming through at the end where you get a hint of citrus fruit. Espresso Man described his espresso as "bright, but not complex" but admitted the more he drank it the more he liked it. A really enjoyable coffee and at a good price, much more affordable than many of the options on this list.
Cost: Flight Coffee, Bomber Blend, $12.50 for 250g
Megan's verdict: 3.5/5
Espresso Man's verdict: 3.5/5
Sure, all the beans on this list can be ordered online pretty easily, but sometimes you need to grab some coffee from the supermarket. Over the years we have tried every single brand that is available as beans and we have settled on a firm favourite. Supreme's Ethiopia Guji beans.
They offer the natural sweetness I am looking for with the fruity acidity that Espresso Man loves. As an espresso you get crisp acidity, some berry and stone fruit notes, while with milk you get more of the chocolatey body coming through, with a pleasant, lingering finish.
Cost: Supreme, Ethiopia Guji, $9 for 200g
Megan's verdict: 3/5
Espresso Man's verdict: 3/5
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Best beans overall: Red Rabbit, Balboa Columbia
Best range: Dear Deer
Best bang for your buck: Flight Coffee, Bomber Blend, $12.50 for 250g
If we missed out on your favourite coffee roaster and you are fuming about it, please tell us in the comments below, we would love to try them.
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