WORLD TRIP 2010
New Zealand is the new Italy, as far as coffee’s concerned. We were here for a month and we just had to stretch our limited budget to sample a few brews.
I’m told that even New Zealand’s BP service stations have baristas serving decent coffee. My sort of country. Shame we could barely afford the BP petrol for our car (well, what’s to do on a backpacker’s budget?).
But when a caffeine craving hits at around 4pm, budgets become a secondary issue. Then, on discovering that Kiwi cafés tend to close at 4pm, everything else becomes a secondary issue and panic sets in.
That was the sad situation on our second day when we popped our heads in to Toasted in Auckland at 3:59. However, the lovely people took pity on my drawn, foreign face, and invited us back the next day for a free espresso.
No self-respecting budget traveller refuses anything free, so we changed our plans, cancelled flights, fuelled up the car and – perhaps against our better judgement – headed back in to Auckland. Slightly surprised, the friendly fellows at Toasted welcomed us in and I enjoyed a gorgeous flat white. My co-traveller had a very good hot chocolate.
Toasted is primarily a roastery and supplier. This is their “public face”, a small and popular coffee shop near the centre of town. It’s a recent addition but is already doing a brisk trade. The coffee is terrific and there’s a good selection of sweet treats.
A couple of the baristas competed with some success in 2010′s New Zealand barista championships, the final of which was held in Auckland just a few days before we arrived.
If you’re in the city, Toasted is (I understand) a modest sample of Auckland’s coffee
shop delights.
For us, New Zealand is all about the countryside, so, happily stoked up on coffee, we headed out of the metropolis sharpish.
