Ark Coffee

Remember when you found out a tomato was actually a fruit? That was a trip. Well, hold on to your seats because the very laws of nature are about to unravel once again: coffee – that bitter-tasting drug that keeps the world spinning – is a fruit. A cherry, to be precise. No one really eats the cherry, but roast the seeds, mix them with water and you’ve got yourself a piping hot mugachino. (Or, you know, a long black. Whatever floats your boat.)

Naomi and Ulala Nakama know this like they know the backs of their own hands (very well). The sisters behind Auckland’s Ark Coffee source their fruits – we’ll call them beans from here on – from small farms around the world, then roast them lightly so as not to burn-out their natural flavours. Because (Earth to Big Coffee) why the hell would you turn something as delicate as fruit into charcoal? Aside from roasting and making the stuff, the sisters offer hands-on brewing classes, as well as public coffee tasting sessions, known in the biz as ‘cupping’, where newbies can learn to use phrases like ‘soft mouth feel’ and ‘notes of praline’ with confidence.

Let’s face it: the whole industry is riddled with ridiculous language. Good thing it tastes great.

Published in Smith Journal, November 2011