The Best Coffee in Auckland

We take our coffee very seriously here in New Zealand, and a good espresso in some form is part of the daily routine for many many people.

In Auckland we are lucky to have some of the best coffee roasters in the country set up shop and usually they'll have a café attached to the roastery…which makes for very fresh coffee obvs. But there are many brilliant baristas working in cafes all across the city so to be honest you are never very far from an excellent cuppa. This is somewhat subjective, but these places are where we think you'll get the best coffee in Auckland…

Atomic Coffee

Opened in 1992 on Ponsonby Road, Atomic Coffee is a top-ranking roastery that runs three espresso bars in central Auckland. In 1995, Atomic moved to Kingsland where it began crafting its famous coffee. Their small-batch coffee is hand roasted and sold in cafes across New Zealand. They are an environmentally responsible company that uses all compostable packaging. Wholesale training programs, barista training courses, and marketing support are offered.

Their coffee is all fair trade and specialty grade. The beans are roasted and blended for a complex profile and deep flavor. Each blend is roasted individually using the Loring Kestral smokeless coffee roaster. Their flagship brand, Veloce, is a delicately-roasted complex espresso with notes of chocolate, spice, and fruit.

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Highlights:

• Small-batch, hand-roasted coffee
• Diverse selection of blends
• Environmentally responsible
• Wholesale training programs

These guys are experts. Great coffee super friendly knowledgeable staff excellent food.Parking close by.Highly recommend.

Peter

Billy Café

Opened in 2016, Billy Café is a great local café with iconic views of the Auckland Domain and War Museum. It is an American-inspired cafe that offers friendly service at reasonable prices and has become quite popular. The setting is comfortable and welcoming with indoor and outdoor tables and a nice décor.

Besides great coffee, they serve breakfast, lunch, and brunch. Their coffee and homemade cakes get great reviews. Some of their specialties are gluten-free cakes, potato scones, and peanut caramel crunch slices.

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Highlights:

• American-inspired café
• Great views
• Superb coffee
• Homemade cakes

Best cafe in Auckland. Amazing food, excellent service and welcoming vibe.

Matt

Bestie Café

Bestie Café is a casual, cozy, and homey place that serves delicious, locally roasted eighthirty coffee. With lovely views of the Sky Tower, this café is a favorite spot for inner-city artists. The pink walls covered in Polaroids and the pastry case with handwritten post-it notes give it the feeling of someone’s house rather than a commercial establishment.

They serve breakfast, brunch, and lunch. Their menu includes many delicious items such as vanilla and cinnamon muesli with fresh fruit and a dirty dog breakfast muffin. Drinks served are tea, iced coffee, cold-pressed juice, house-made sodas, and kombucha. Many of the items are gluten free. Inside the food cabinet are salads, sandwiches, and treats.

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Highlights:

• Beautiful views
• Casual setting
• Locally roasted coffee by eighthirty
• House-made sodas

Always friendly and helpful staff. Their menu items look delicious. I get food to go as their cabinet food is very tasty.

Jane

Honey Bones

Honey Bones is a friendly neighborhood café that serves great coffee and a variety of menu items. Their service is excellent, and the staff is attentive to the customers’ needs. This popular café gets busy on the weekends, so you might need to wait a bit for a table. Gluten and dairy-free options are available upon request.

This is a great place to go for breakfast or Sunday brunch. In fact, breakfast is served all day long. Many of the lunch items have a Middle Eastern twist. For example, the Middle Eastern bowl features spiced lentils, poached eggs, shug, labneh, and flatbread. Sides, smoothies, cold drinks, supreme coffee, and loose leaf teas round out the menu.

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Highlights:

• Neighborhood café
• High-quality ingredients
• Good service
• Gluten and dairy-free options

Coffee was superb. Great service. Istanbul scramble was so delicious I wished I could start all over again.

Nicola

Eighthirty Coffee Roasters

Eighthirty is famous for its perfectly roasted coffee. Many cafes throughout the country serve their coffee. They also offer a coffee school with courses for wholesale customers and the general public. Courses include Espresso Fundamentals, Soft Brew Fundamentals, Advanced Espresso, and barista trainings. They practice sustainability by composting and using compostable cups and packaging. They pay living wages, and source directly from coffee farmers where possible. They are a net positive business.

Their coffee selection includes classics, standards, special blends, decaf, espresso, filter coffees, and organic coffees. The roaster’s choice subscription mixes it up by sending you a different variety of coffee each week or month. They also sell brew equipment and eighthirty merchandise.

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Highlights:

• Perfectly roasted coffee
• Offers courses for wholesale customers and public
• Sustainability
• Sourced directly from coffee farmers

Love my daily visit to Eightthirty – great coffee and fab baristas. A shame they don’t encourage people to bring their own cups by charging a lesser price.

Helen

Espresso Workshop

Founded in 2007, Espresso Workshop is run by self-proclaimed coffee fanatics who are happy to share their expertise. In their Parnell roastery, they roast their own specialty coffee beans and host trainings, workshops, and cuppings. A great view of Hobson Bay and efficient service round out the experience. They also sell brewing equipment and coffee subscriptions.

Premium single-origin coffee and small-batch roasted coffee made from the best beans are their specialties. Their goal is to unlock the flavor potential of specialty coffee and make coffee drinking an experience. Sweet and savory cabinet food pairs with the coffee for a delicious treat. They offer a range of house blends, single-origin espresso, single-origin filter, collaborative blends, and decaf coffee.

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Highlights:

• Roast their own beans
• Staffed by coffee fanatics
• Single-origin coffee
• Coffee workshops offered

The best coffee in Auckland I love the taste.

Robert

Miller’s Coffee

Miller’s Coffee is a boutique coffee-roasting company that has been serving espresso since 1984 and roasting it since 1988. Open from 7:30 until noon, it serves some of the best espresso in Central Auckland. They specialize in coffee with a human touch and view roasting coffee as an art form.

They roast their coffee on a Petrocine 30 kg drum roaster at 212 C. Each roast takes about 20 minutes. Designed for espresso machines, their special Miller’s Blend is 30 percent Papua Ne Guinea, 30 percent Columbia, and 30 percent Kenya.

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Highlights:

• Boutique coffee-roasting company
• Designed for espresso machines
• Coffee with a human touch
• Full-bodied flavor

The best coffee in Auckland. If you want decaf, syrups, or food don't bother. if you want great coffee get there now.

Mathew

Red Rabbit Coffee

Steve Barrett founded Red Rabbit Coffee Co. in Wellington and then moved the business to Parnell. There are several locations, and new ones are opening soon. At the Parnell headquarters, you will find a bean retail store, a café, a coffee bar, and communal tables.

They specialize in clean, green single-origin espresso and filter coffees from around the world. Subscriptions for single-origin coffee, filter coffee, and espresso are available. The staff is eager to share their knowledge about home-brewing and coffee with customers. Tea, cookies, and other delicious baked goods are served to complement your coffee.

This is my business

Highlights:

• Espresso bar and roastery
• Dedicated staff
• Single-origin espresso
• Coffee from around the world

Excellent Coffee, vibe and people.

Lewis