Anyone who’s been a student in Dunedin remembers the smell of roasting coffee from the nearby Greggs factory. Nowadays coffee roasters are plentiful in town and that aroma hits you in some surprising locations. Here is a list of the city’s eclectic and downright impressive coffee roasteries.
Allpress Dunedin Roastery
The building itself, like others around the city, had many past lives. While the world saw an old automotive workshop, they saw a home. Returning the building to some of its original glory was an obvious choice – what is left is a space filled with natural light, warm timber finishes, an industrial feel… and a giant Allpress Hot Air Roaster.
12 Emily Siedeberg Place, Dunedin North
Common Ground
In a small hole-in the wall, South Dunedin site surrounded by tradies bases. Grab a park next to the builders and plumbers and relax into the friendly vibe. Order your favourite coffee once and the barrister/roasters will remember and serve it up on your next visit – they’re real pros who supply small batch coffee to all the classy cafes in town.
Unit 11, Strathallan Industrial Estate, 4 Strathallan Street, South Dunedin
Grid Coffee Roasters
No nonsense coffee roasters using top quality ethically sourced beans, making really good coffee. They have a well-stocked gift shop attached, too. A couple of tables offer visitors a spot to chat while having caffeine shot. Locals have their own cups hanging on the wall.
172 Eglinton Road, Mornington
Kūkū Coffee Ōtepoti
Bringing some seriously cool credentials to Caversham, Kūkū serves doses of happiness in the form of freshly roasted beans and coffees, all accompanied by a soundtrack of vintage tunes playing on the instore turntables.
292 South Rd, Caversham
Mazagran
The blackboard art is as lively as this tiny café, in a curving corner of the inner city that has a real sense of entrepreneurial community. The coffee roaster shares elbow room with the four inside tables, and a rack of the grooviest magazines out. Coffee blends and single origin available plus cakes, tarts and slices.
36 Moray Place, CBD
The Roastery, Vanguard Specialty Coffee
The Roastery is where the magic happens. This industrial looking roastery in the Warehouse Precinct is where Vanguard’s specialty coffee is made before being served up on site, sent to stockists or supplying its flagship café in Princes Street. With a small food offering, it’s really the coffee that’s the hero here, and rightly so.
49 Vogel Street, CBD
The Strictly Coffee Company HQ
Are you a coffee enthusiast who loves roasting and the art of Barista coffee making? Visit the hub of the small Strictly Coffee empire. It specialises in buying, roasting, blending and supplying quality, ethically sourced Arabica beans. Their goal is to produce and provide the best espresso blends on the market for our amazing customers, whether they are café owners or enthusiastic home brewers.
137 Frederick Street, Dunedin North
Smith Coffee
After a lifetime in the coffee industry, the team behind Smith still has an enduring passion for going into work each morning, switching on the roaster and crafting a superb brew. The result is something special. You’ll find Smith Coffee out and about in different locations served from the window of mobile café caravan Archie.
Vanguard images by: Chrisanne Terblanche/Dish Magazine