OZONE ROASTERS

London HQ Entrance

New Plymouth HQ Entrance

London Interior

New Plymouth Interior

Chilling Out In London

Chilling Out In New Plymouth

Empty Coffee Cup London

Empty Coffee Cup New Plymouth

Flagon of Water  London

Coffee Of The Month New Plymouth

Bull Dog Menu London

Tomato Juice London

Sourdough Toast, 2 Poached Eggs, Bubble + Squeak Cakes
London

Benedict Style Eggs, Bubble And Squeak Cakes w/ Bearnaise
and Portobello Mushrooms  London

Exiting Ozone New Plymouth

#36 Three Dozen

The Ozone Layer

This will be interesting. My first attempt at a pictorial blog covering two versions of the same place.  Ozone northern Hem and Ozone southern Hem. 

The Ozone team have been bringing sustainable, ethical, freshly roasted, single origin coffee to the people since 1998.  Certainly no flash-in-the pan jumping on the bandwagon tailgater.  These intrepid New Zealand Roasters held a vision from the outset to aspire to coffee excellence and achieve international recognition as a leading artisan coffee roaster. 

Ozone is also the first coffee roastery in New Zealand to have printed, biodegradable takeaway cups. For the coffee anoraks they also use German Probat roasting equipment.

The world is increasingly realising NZ roasters and baristas are continually producing some of the best coffee in the world, with coffee culture in NZ at the forefront of the industry internationally. Like all things of a specialist nature, the more a customers knowledge is expanded upon an artisan process, the greater their appreciation and loyalty.

Inevitably sustainable success in the modern day NZ economy means conquering your home turf and then taking your knowledge, momentum and specialist brand overseas to a bigger audience. To quote the founders " It's not about a New Zealand company going overseas to London it's about a parochial New Plymouth company"  

It seems to me the perfect cup of coffee is principally about the flavour and taste. But behind this taste is a passion, philosophy, education and dedicated engineering process that governs the success of those principles from the roast to the brew. A great brand is also about having a sense of purpose and a raison d'être and Ozone have clearly figured this out from the off.

The two head quarters of Ozone roasters are 11,511 miles apart. Intuitively they compliment one another, both for their commonalities as their points of difference. One offers grey sky in summer and the other blazing blue sky in winter. Weather aside, their calling card 'cup of coffee' is great tasting and fit for purpose, as any artisan roaster specialising in Third Wave Coffee should be. With the addition of an inventive and talented chef and full menu in London it makes Ozone London a place not to miss on the breakfast-brunch-lunch circuit.

info@ozonecoffee.co.uk

info@ozonecoffee.co.nz

Ozone London Map

Ozone New Plymouth Map

NZ Coffee in London: Flat White, Milk Bar, Caravan, Allpress, Ozone, Sacred Cafe + Kiosks, Bullet, Modern Pantry, Providores, Kopapa

NZ/Aus Coffee in London: Kaffeine, Lantana

NZ Roasters in Auckland/Wellington: Kokako, Mojo, Ozone, Atomic, Havana, Cafe Laffare, Coffee Supreme, Coffee Lab

NZ Roasters in Tokyo: Allpress, Mojo

NZ's first dedicated siphon coffee bar: Lamason in Wellington.

NZ Roaster of the Year: Coffee Lab 

NZ Barista of The Year: Gravity Coffee's Aymon McQuade

NZ Latte Art Championship Winner: Gerry Zhang

NZ Baristas are the pioneers of the 'flat white' - sorry for swearing, even starbucks are now doing a flat white.

Link to: NZ Coffee Festival

Link to: Handy Database List of NZ Cafes and Roasters

Link to: Harvesting Coffee Beans

* It is also possible to harvest beans from coffee plants grown in NZ, more specifically both robustus and arabica varieties are being cultivated and grown commercially. 

** In humans caffeine acts as a central nervous system stimulant, temporarily warding off drowsiness and restoring alertness. Hence its addictive tendencies and popularity.

CAFE GOVETT BREWSTER

Two Breakfasts, Two Flat Whites. 

Len Lye Strikes A Pose

Fresh Changeable Cabinet Of Seasonal Produce

Eggs Benedict With Toasted Ciabatta, 
Crispy Potato Rosti + Hollandaise With 
Bacon ~ Smoked salmon ~ Spinach + mushroom 

Sweet corn, Red Chilli And Coriander Fritter
With Bacon, Poached Egg, Baby Spinach And Tomato Relish

Cheese + Bacon Scones Strike A Pose

Take Out Flat White by CGB from Ozone Roastery

The Corner Graphic

Govett Brewster Cafe + Art Gallery 

Love Len Lye Pin Badges

#35 Jump and Jive

Kinetic Coffee

If for the last decade you have been sleepwalking in your PJ's, you might have missed the cutting edge coffee being discreetly served by New Zealand roasters. Having just returned from a trip to Aotearoa, it seems the perfect time to blog a few of my favourite food places in the southern hemisphere who serve freshly roasted coffee and to highlight those cafes smitten by wanderlust, who have already migrated across the oceans to set up shop in the northern plateau.

Coffee is kind of massive in NZ in a laid back unpretentious way. They even have their own  NZ Speciality Coffee Association.

So whats the big bean addiction ? Mainly an ingrained desire for great tasting fresh roasted coffee. Served with fab tasting quirky combinations of seasonal food produce to indulge your senses and amidst the sort of relaxing, quality assured, lived-in-habitat where you feel so at home, you want to move in statim. 

This first blog focuses on the popular Cafe Govett Brewster already an institution in New Plymouth, the starry night city snug under the dazzling Mount Taranaki, located on the west coast bubble of the North Island. 

CGB is located adjacent to the Govett Brewster Art Gallery, the home of the permanent Len Lye gallery and guardian of the Len Lye Foundation and Archive. This artist is considered a genius to those that know and if you don't know, you will discover his work occupies its own unique space in the art world and is unforgettable.

The cafe offers wide open sky spaces with a sun drenched aspect, being only a short dash from the award winning coastal walkway. The coffee is roasted across the road at Ozone headquarters who I will be giving their own airspace in a future blog. Their Kinetic coffee creates its own unique force of motion.

The menu at CGB is inspired for breakfast, brunch or lunch and with a side of 'target word' from the Taranaki Herald, the morning blends seamlessly into midday. All the staff are lovely here. If I was a traveller I would have scribed a cross on the kerbside to signify my recommendation..... or perhaps it should be a koru.

The deepest southern hemisphere has the advantage of being mixed cultural, with an array of influences and ingredients continually progressing the cuisine. Coupled with a New Zealander's genetic inclination to innovate, experiment and tread new ground, the cafes serve food which occupies the enviable space of being so far away from the generic homogenisation of the western world, they are able to maintain their own barometer of influence as a secret gem.

This innovative leaning is demonstrated by CGB's star plate of Sweet corn, Red Chilli and Coriander Fritter, with Bacon, Poached Egg, Baby Spinach and Tomato Relish. Words can not describe how perfect that tasted at 11am, so I wont try to elaborate.

We followed our regular morning visits to Cafe GB with trips to see Julian Ward's photography at Puke Ariki, the T'Art gallery and a swim at the aquatic centre with indoor and open air pools facing the wild rolling sea.  A rad experience to start your day.


Cafe Govett Brewster Like No Other.

HOMEMADE BREAD

I Bring You Homemade Freshly Baked Organic Sourdough Bread 

Homemade Bread + French Linen Oven cloth

The Perfectly Coloured Homemade Sourdough Bread

3 Days Ago Just Bacteria & Yeast Paste In Fridge

The Perfect Indoor Picnic Meal. 

#34 Ask for More

Bun in the Oven

I bring you bread. 

Hang on.... this isn't any kind of supermarket branded bread, this is freshly baked, handmade, homemade bread. More exactly organic wild yeast Sourdough bread, made with a starter from grapes of an Organic Californian vineyard circa 1980.

Any clientele of the 'Model Bakery' in Nappa valley reading this, will at this point, nod knowingly.

I cannot claim this wonderful creation is from my own hands. It is those of my partner, the one I mentioned on an earlier blog, the one with the artistic eye. She also has artistic hands. Artistic bread making hands.

There is something mesmerising about watching hands knead bread and observing a golden brown bun rise in the oven before your own eyes. 

The beauty of having a starter is it will keep on giving. 

No indoor picnic is complete without the pleasure of homemade bread. Like the smell of freshly grounded coffee, the smell of home oven baked bread is certified as addictive.

Bread is the foundation of the food pyramid. 

Bake some bread and invite your friends round to share it.

BOWENS FISH & CHIPS

1 x Handy Welsh Picnic Blanket

1 x Cardigan Bay Estuary

1 x St. Dogmaels Potting Shed

1 x St Dogmaels Car Park Mosaic

1 x The House Of Bowens

1 x Five Star Rating

4 x Saturday Night Table Reservations

2 x Catch Of The Day

1 x Under Starting Orders

1 x En Route

1 x Making Clear Headway

1 x Landed

 Colloquialism from Rhos, North Wales

1 x Bowens Unwrapped 

#33 Dirty Knees

Wales Finest Fish And Chipped Potatoes.

This is the 5th and last post in the mini series of 'Wales Favourite Places To Eat' and I have a feeling this one will prove popular with the foodies.

What happens when you go in search of the tastiest Sgod a Sglod in Wales ?

Well... it is a helpful head start if you can ask a local insider for a tip off - especially if they are big participators in the local Do Lectures scene.

David & Clare Hieatt thought about it - for two seconds - and  recommended Bowens Fish & Chip Shop in St Dogmaels, located at the sea end of the winding estuary running into Cardigan Bay along the B4546. Even any Tokyo resident worth their salt, who knows the taste of fresh fish and sushi would call this place........."an excellent chippie."

The journey out of town from Cardigan to Bowens, sumps up Wales with winding, picturesque, leafy, relaxed, clean air and an active community spirit. Just a mile or two from Poppit Sands we found the institution of Bowens the pride of St Dogmaels. After skipping lunch our eyes started spinning like the winning fruit on a one-arm bandit.

For those who favour TripAdvisor for a ratings run down, you will see there is one happy Bowens punter who describes it : "As good as Rick Steins fish but with tastier chips"

Who are we to argue? Certainly judging by the fully booked reservation cards on the four tables inside Bowens on the Saturday night we dropped by, even Rick Stein wouldn't get a walk in table here.

If you ever found yourself as online secretary of the UK's "Love Chips!" group, you would certainly make a personal visit to this Welsh chip landmark.  We ordered 2 x Haddock and Chips, 1 x Mushy Peas, 2 x Red Ketchup cartons and asked for our treasure bounty to be lightly salted and a dash of vinegar. The 2 slices of lemon were kindly thrown in free.

Bowens embraces Wales enterprising new law, which helps to reduce the number of carrier bags circulating in Wales. A charge of 5p is made for every carrier bag requested in every shop in Wales and the money is donated to charitable environmental projects. Da iawn Cymru !

We headed out to the very edge of the estuary and plonked our catch on our Welsh Melin Trefin blanket on the grass, with a view out to the Peninsula. You can always tell the signs of a good feed when everyone goes silent and smiles broadly through rosy cheeks.

If you are ever lucky enough to find yourself in deepest west Wales, you might like to ring this number: 01239 613814 and the tiny team of two at Bowens will have a round of F&C ready for your personal collection.

100% Welsh Fish & Chips. 100% Quality Of Life.  One Hundred Per Cent Wales.

This brings a close to this mini blog series on Wales. And if you fancy sampling this wonderful country's authentic food but prefer it with the blazing sun, you could of course always consider a trip to Welsh Patagonia .

 

LLYS MEDDYG

Llys Meddyg Facade - Original Welsh Stone & Slate

The In House Smokery

The View From The Cosy Garden Cottage

The Wood Clad, Copper Rivet Dining Room 

Original Tiles Surrounding Open Fireplace

Original Timbers + Local Art with Flute

Fish And Chips - Amuse Bouche

Rolled Butter And Cucumber Slices 

Home Smoked Salmon, Pickled Beetroot, 

Hereford Beef Sirloin, Garlic Puree

Line-Caught Seabass, Scallop And Crab Foam

Newport Y Parrog Beach

Community Plaque

Beach Stone Cottage - Uninhabited

Cow Rambler

Ascending Welsh Terrain. 

Conquering the Mountain Of The Angels

#32 Buckle My Shoe

Wales The New Cornwall

Llys Meddyg is quite possibly one of the nicest places to stay in Wales. A one time Georgian coaching Inn, this stylish and down to earth restaurant & rooms is nestled under the Carningli Mountain Of The Angels and a very short jog away from Newport's ever-so stunning Y Parog beach.

Coastal walks, coastal cycles, coastal rambles and coastal drives, Wales has it all.

Why bother budging up amongst the Cornwall crowds when you can come to this beautiful idyllic stretch of unpopulated Welsh coastline. Newport is perfectly small and big enough to find. The mouth of the River Nervern forms two beaches with curiosity rock pools and miles of empty beaches to explore with your dog, fly a kite or challenge your partner to a razor clam haul.

Llys Meddyg also has a cute cosy cottage tucked around the back which was our abode for 3 days, we felt so at home and snug we didn't fancy the very kind offer of an upgrade. The food which is this blog's raison d'être, is locally and seasonally sourced, with a provenance and  quality you would find in any michelin star restaurant. The proprietors Ed and Lou and head chef James Oakely have already established a lasting reputation. The LM Welsh Breakfast was equally memorable, a treat that hit the spot.

We made an after-breakfast climb high up the Carningli mountain with its amazing 360 degree views around the Pembrokshire tundra and coastline, stretching out to the sea and around to the National Park.  Cairns are dotted about all over the Mountain and the strong Welsh breeze flaps your tail feathers, making you feel alive as you observe the fell runners and local bird habitat glide and soar ...

From Newport, we took a day trip to The National Wool Museum Of Wales and discovered the beautiful weaving of Melin Teifi who also produce a wonderful range of clothing inspired by traditional Welsh workwear and Melin Trefin weaving from the village of Trefin, whose hand loom work is equally beautiful.

When we bring our friends back to Wales, we will definitely invite them to stay with us at the Llys Meddyg, a quiet gem of style and comfort, deep in Wales.