Auckland-Based Velo Coffee Roastery on What Sets Them Apart

Velo Coffee is an Auckland-based roastery created by Derek Townsend, the founder of Karajoz Coffee. He introduced European style espresso to New Zealand back in 1982 with the launch of the infamous DKD café in Auckland, which became a cultural landmark, and helped shape the early history of coffee in NZ.

Townsend remains a pioneer in New Zealand coffee, and is currently one of only two SCAA qualified Green Bean Graders in the country. 

Velo Coffee has stated that their aim is to create a complex flavour profile that can unveil subtle layers during tasting. This is similar to how fine wine and perfume operate, revealing layers of character over time.

Coffee experts have been saying this is a likely direction for the industry to head in for some time. Many of them put this down to simple science—the plants that coffee is derived from have much more diversity and potential for complexity than grapes do. Wine enjoys such a reputation for subtle flavour simply because the industry has existed for so much longer than the coffee scene, and it’s master craftspeople have had more time to hone their skills.

Now, forging a path forward, Velo Coffee has crafted a seven-origin signature blend. Following a lot of trial and error, Velo says that “by blending our beans, we are trying to achieve the perfect coffee.”

Other roasters offer blends, but the perfect balance is hard to achieve. Roasters need to understand how the flavours combine. As a blend, Velo Coffee is versatile—it can be made soft and sweet, or intense and robust. Velo’s sophisticated and contemporary signature blend features a rich and creamy body, offset by hints of orchard-ripe orange. In their own words: “smooth, like a caramel topped crème brule.”

Velo Coffee, having the tag line “Let The Journey Begin”, is designed with travel in mind. Sometimes, the biggest pain of travelling is the simple fact that the coffee isn’t anywhere as good as your favourite brand at home. The travel packs that Velo Coffee offers solves this issue for all travellers, including portable coffee makers such as an Aeropress.

To find out more, visit the Velo Coffee cafe “The Shot Bar” at 3 Virginia Ave, Eden Terrace, Auckland.  Open from 7am - 2pm Monday-Friday. Here you can watch their coffee beans being freshly roasted while you sip a perfect Velo brew. For more details, visit the website here: https://velocoffee.co.nz/