Highlights - Rivers Cafe, Murchison

After the stunning drive up the West Coast of the South Island we turned inland just South of Westport to follow the Buller River to the East. Murchison is in a lush valley once you come through the gorge and we were exhausted already by the drive which was during an intense storm that was bringing down trees and causing rock slides all along our route.

Rivers Cafe, on Fairfax Street just off the main highway, was a welcome relief. We ordered some lunch and coffee with hot chocolate for the Junior Grendels.

I ordered a Shepherd's pie, but was delivered a piece of the Venison pie - I didn't complain as I had been tossing up between the two and I figured I'd count it a fortuitous error. I was correct, the venison pie was stunning and I have not enjoyed such a rich mean as much as that in a long time.

The coffee was very well prepared and to top it off they had a good internet cafe that allowed us to catch up with a few emails and make a quick post.

It was a very enjoyable stopping point - especially for the Junior Grendels who had a play area and a warm fire. As a bonus we got to sit inside and watch the snow fall on peak across the valley.



















Who: Rivers Cafe
What: Amazing Food, cozy fire and great coffee (Havana Coffee Works)
Where: 51 Fairfax St, Murchison
Contact: 64 3 523 9009
When: 24 September 2009
Accessibility: Very Good
Web: Rivers Cafe

Highlights - Supreme HQ

While in Christchurch we had just enough time for a flying visit to the local Headquarters of Coffee Supreme on Madras Street.

This funky roastery/espresso bar is the South Island starting point for Coffee Supreme. Of all the roasters whose coffee we tried it was Coffee Supreme who seemed to have the best distribution network and consistency in quality among the cafes that served there coffee. That is not to say that other roasters are not also outstanding, but the representation of their coffee was a bit more patchy than for Coffee Supreme.

Supreme HQ is like a Norse version of Seattle Grunge - enough wood paneling along the back dividing wall between the roastery and the bar to please any sauna lover but bare walls elsewhere with low-watt naked incandescent bulbs providing spartan lighting above the old, but well maintained La San Marco espresso machine.

The coffee was great - a really rich ristretto that bridged the gap between the bright acids and savoury gravy of whatever blend (I'm embarrassed to confess that I did not ask what was in the hopper) they were using that morning.

We got two take away flat whites for the start of our drive to Lake Tekapo and these were rich and sweet, an early taste of New Zealand milk that would happily dominate any milk based espresso drink if you allowed it to. In this case the coffee artfully sang through the milk and it was an enjoyable start to the morning drive.













Who: Coffee Supreme HQ Christchurch
What: Great coffee
Where: 218a Madras St, Christchurch CBD, New Zealand
Contact: 64 3 3790698
When: 17 September 2009
Accessibility: Adequate for entry to purchase a take away
Web: Coffee Supreme

Highlights - Shawty's

Twizel is a small town in the MacKenzie Basin that was built in 1968 as a town to service the local hydro plant. Today it remains a great stopping point for travellers and a staging point for keen astronomers wishing to take advantage of the clear, dry mountain air.

We stopped there on our way through from Tekapo to Queenstown and dropped in to Shawty's, a small cafe in the Twizel Mall.

Like most New Zealand cafes it was licensed - and they are in the process of expanding their bar (a lounge bar known as 'Grappa').

The coffee was superb (or Supreme to be precise!) and the Afghan we bought was just the right balance between dense and crumbly to satisfy. Owner and barista Troy was knowledgeable about the coffee and had a great menu that was amazing given the small size of the town.

I can't think of many small rural towns in Australia where you can waltz in and find a cafe in an open space with a playground for children that also serves top notch coffee and food. In fact I can't think of any at all - a bit sad given the size of our population.










Who: Shawty's
What: Great coffee, food and Grappa (apparently!)
Where: 4 Market Place, Twizel, South Canterbury, New Zealand
Contact: 64 3 4353155
When: 18 September 2009
Accessibility: Very Good
Web: Shawty's

Mitchelli's

Mitchelli's was one of the cafes we managed to visit in Christchurch. I don't know why it is that all Christchurch cafe's seem so stylish and this one was one certainly had style character and great coffee. There is a much more independent mind set in cafes over in New Zealand and the unique characteristics of each make comparisons between them very difficult - much better to enjoy each cafe for what it is.

Mitchelli's was originally a rough warehouse or garage that has refitted by the Mitchell family for the purpose of opening a deli and cafe. It serves coffee by Wellington's Cafe L'Affare and they serve it superbly. The ristretto was tight and full bodied and the flat white creamy, rich and delicious.












Who: Mitchellis
What: Great coffee and gelati
Where: Ash Street Christchurch CBD (just off Poplar Lane)
Contact: 64 3 3774574
When: 16 September 2009
Accessibility: Good
Web: Mitchelli's

The Astro Cafe

Barista Fraser Gunn is also a superb photographer. We got to be impressed by both the photos and the Supreme Coffee he served from his perch high on Mt John at the University of Canterbury's Observatory.

Given that 2009 is the International Year of Astronomy and that both the Junior Grendels are proud owners of Galileoscopes, we could hardly pass up a visit to an observatory that also hosts a great cafe.

This cafe has to have one of the best views in the world and it was well worth the steep road trick up the mountain to drink in the view - along with a coffee.

Junior Grendel One and Two wasted no time at all in giving us both heart failure with their antics on the steep sides of the mountain.

Fraser had a small scope set up on a tripod with the view over the ski fields nearby - I managed to wedge the camera over the lens at just the right angle - and as soon as I can extract the images from my card I'll post them up - in the meantime the following spread of Grendel adventure pics should be satisfactory!

If you are passing Lake Tekapo ever in your life I highly recommend that you take the turnoff to Mount John and drive up the hill. Simply amazing. They also do night tours at the observatory, leaving on a minibus from the town below, and although I missed it (too tired!) it looks like a great night's viewing.

Highlights - C1 Espresso Christchurch (Updated post)

We went to C1 yesterday morning - a quirky little caff that out-grunges Seattle and that also has (to the Junior Grendel's delight) a working Dr Who pinball machine and a shopping centre style pony ride (circa 1960-something).

We went to four cafes in our brief stay in Christchurch - only two of these were on my list, the other two were walk-ins and I have to say that I am impressed with everything I have seen here so far.

C1 had great coffee - roasted by C4, good service (which is particularly handy when you have small ones in tow) and the food was exceptional. I had eggs benedict on the best bagel I have ever had in my life!

The ristretto was served in a heavy-bottomed glass, ideal for the purpose and was a good balance between acidity and savoury.

The flat white was well balanced with the espresso sitting nicely above the milk on the palate. Mrs Grendel had a cappuccino - also superb. This turned out to be her favourite cafe of the trip so they must have got everything right!

C1 - great cafe, great style and great coffee.









Who: C1
What: Great coffee and choice nosh
Where: 150 High Street, Christchurch 8142, New Zealand
Contact: 64 3 379 1917
When: 16 September 2009
Accessibility: Tricky
Web: C1 Espresso

Aiming for the peak

The Guys at Coffee Supreme in New Zealand already come highly recommended from so many aussies and kiwi expats that they are firmly on my list of Must Visits.

Today I took a look at their website for the first time and was blown away by the detail they offer the casual web visitor. If their coffee is roasted as well as their web presence I am in for a treat.

Best of all they have a whole section dedicated to the listing of the cafes that host their beans which means I can do a little more pre-planning at add some Points of Interest to my GPS - in fact the only thing missing from their website is a downloadable .csv document with GPS coordinates for their cafes. If I have the time I might create this myself - it would be well worth the exercise.

Well done guys - a most stylish web site and great tools for the coffee lover to find your bean.