Hospitality | Coffee Lab
Creating intelligent coffee Winning the Supreme Award at last year’s New Zealand Coffee awards was a career highlight for Anna and Rob McGregor and their North Shore based roasting company Coffee Lab. shipment of direct trade organic coffee from Sumatra, where Rob visited last year to meet with the growers.
The competition, headed by one of the world’s leading coffee authorities along with 14 judges, was held over two days where nearly 300 coffees, entered from 64 New Zealand roasting companies, were tasted and judged.
The world renowned La Minita specialty coffee farm in Costa Rica has chosen Coffee Lab to supply their coffee to in New Zealand.
Coffee Lab’s Organic Ethiopian Coffee (which is an ethically sourced coffee), gained the highest score, giving them the Supreme Award for 2011/2012.
“This is a huge honour for us to have the opportunity to roast and sell some of the world’s best coffee from a farm, where they have over two million coffee trees planted, that is so well known for their quality product, care of the environment and outstanding ethical practices,” Anna says.
Kristiane McGregor, Anna and Rob’s Brazilian born daughter, also won the 2010 NZ Coffee Cup Tasting Championships, giving Coffee Lab two Kiwi awards from the coffee industry.
“We hope to visit the farm next year and meet the many people who grow and process this amazing coffee. We are very excited about great coffees coming from Brazil, Ethiopia, Bolivia and Rwanda in the next months and look forward to supplying this coffee to people who want what I call ‘Intelligent Coffee’.
A taste of history Anna and Rob created the Coffee Lab in 2004 to compliment their retail stores and supply the hospitality market. The pair own Auckland’s Planet Espresso chain. Anna has enjoyed learning the craft of roasting over the years and has found the art of roasting great coffee to be a complex and fascinating process. Her background with industrial chemistry and quality control, coupled with many years building and operating cafes, has been a driving force to achieve excellence.
“That’s coffee with a story behind it, names, faces and communities who work together to better the lives of others through their craft. As much as possible we buy coffee that is not only excellent quality but also ethically sourced, which we see as a sustainable win/ win business model for everyone concerned.”
Earlier years spent living in Brazil as missionaries gave them first hand experience in the world’s largest coffee producing nation. “Living in Brazil where coffee is a huge part of the culture, it is almost impossible not to learn something about coffee,” Anna says. The Coffee Lab team celebrate their win
“We also returned from Brazil changed forever by the needs of people we met and saw going into business as a purposeful way to create finance that could in some small way make a difference. “We have been able to sponsor children, an orphanage, build toilets, houses and help people into business and do the types of things that give people in need a hand up and help out of situations that are really out of their control. This is one of the main driving forces behind why we do business and is also incredibly rewarding.”
Fair’s fair Coffee Lab has a strong focus on sourcing quality and ethically sourced coffees from around the world. It has just received a
Coffee Lab was the winner of the Supreme Award at the 2011 New Zealand Coffee Awards, as well as winning a gold in the ‘Organic’ category and two silvers, one in ‘Roasted Espresso’ and the other in ‘Decaf’.
Coffee Lab 15 Silverfield Wairau Valley Auckland 0627 T (09) 444 3131 E coffeelab@coffeelab.co.nz www.coffeelab.co.nz — Advertising Feature
BSC Foodpak Ltd
Congratulates
COFFEE LAB
For winning the Supreme Award, and a Gold and two Silver Medals at the recent New Zealand Coffee Awards. BCS Foodpak Ltd are proud of their long association in the supply of Coffee Lab’s Custom Printed Paper Hot Cups, to Rob and Anna McGregor.
Contact BCS Foodpak Ltd. www.bcsfoodpak.co.nz Email: sales@bcsfoodpak.co.nz Phone: 09 277-0104 | Fax: 277-0115 57C McLaughlins Road, Manukau City.
BCS Foodpak Ltd are innovative specialists in providing Custom Printed Paper Hot Cups and Cold Cups to the Hospitality Industry of New Zealand.
www.aucklandtoday.net.nz March/April 2012 | 35