New Zealand cafe & coffee culture
There seems to be a common mission them with New Zealand cafe & coffee culture – there’s no excuse for bad coffee – ever! Kiwis are self appointed coffee connoisseurs and won’t pay good money for a lukewarm, scummy brew. The standard is high and that’s good news for our international travellers!
New Zealand cafe & coffee culture versus European
Now here’s a thing that puzzles some European visitors accustom to having their coffee and cake in the late afternoon. New Zealanders tend to place more importance on their morning and lunchtime coffees. If you arrive at a café 3-4pm you’ll probably find the staff sweeping up and clearing the cabinets. Some cafes are packed in the mornings and lunchtime, but after 3.00pm, is a different story. Now that’s fine if you like peace and quiet, but you love the café vibe, you will sacrifice some of the atmosphere by going at that time.
New Zealand cafe & coffee culture – catering to all dietary tastes
New Zealand cafes not only serve great coffee but also a variety of cabinet food (attractively presented) or a menu – some will offer both. And for a small country, I think we have the best tasty gluten-free options to be found anywhere in the world.
Our cafes are often theme-based and a great example of this is The Federal Store in the Strandon suburb of New Plymouth. Here the theme is 1940-50’s kitsch and décor, complete with formica tables and chairs and memorabilia in every available space. You’re greeted to a stunning display of home-baking with the most enormous and ornately iced cakes. The muffins are buttery and packed with gorgeous berries and dotted nuggets of white chocolate and don’t get me started on the salads. The female staff wear a scarf around their heads in a style popular for that era and although the atmosphere is slightly chaotic, it’s a happy place to be!
This photo was taken while Michael was trying to choose between a savoury muffin and a sweet one…the Berry and white chocolate muffin won the toss. It was a good choice!
Definitely the better choice Michael – I’d have gone for that too! NZ does have some great cafes – for both ambiance and food the choices are endless. Don’t know that Starbucks does very well here when we have so many great little local cafes – as it should be 🙂
Yes Jan, as long as New Zealand continues as a boutique destination, our special cafes and artisan businesses will thrive. P.S. the muffin was not shared, not even a crumb!