By Peter de Graaf
Move over, Ponsonby Rd - Kerikeri is the nation's newest coffee capital.
Max Coffee, which employs just four people in the back room of a Kerikeri house, showed up the country's biggest roasters by bagging three of the top honours at the New Zealand Coffee Festival.
On top of
golds for best espresso and best filter/plunger roast, Max bagged the coveted supreme award for best overall coffee.
The tiny Bay of Islands business was up against 120 coffees from 40 roasters, sampled by a panel of 11 judges during the two-day event in Taupo last weekend.
The company's roaster, Keir Toto, above, was still pinching himself in disbelief yesterday. The 25-year-old took over the business from his neighbour just three months ago. He trained his palate working as a barista in his uncle's cafe in Auckland before setting up a coffee cart in Kerikeri.
And the secret to a winning roast? "It's just one of those things, mate. We just love to do it."
Max uses only Arabica beans, grown everywhere from Ethiopia to East Timor, and supplies supermarkets, organic outlets and cafes.
Mr Toto said most of the awards went to small businesses operating out of sheds, because ``the bigger companies were just cruising along and they've been left in the dust''.
Festival director Michael Guy said one roaster collecting two awards was "absolutely outstanding". "To get the supreme awards as well is just phenomenal ... A lot of people say, `It's just bloody coffee', but there's a real skill and art to roasting - it's like making fine wine," he said.
Kaeo's Tiger Mountain, the only other Northland roaster to take part, won a bronze in the best espresso category.
