Coffee

New Zealanders love their coffee. You might think we're a tea-drinking nation (hello British heritage) but over the past few decades, coffee has surpassed tea as our favourite hot drink. This increased popularity of coffee has seen new cafés and coffee-roasting spots popping up all over the country. And this is no different in Southland, with close to 90 cafés to get your daily caffeine fix.

So, if you're looking for a good cup of coffee, here are some must-visit places in Southland.

New Zealanders will go the extra distance to get their daily caffeine fix because the café is almost as important as the coffee itself. Whether they get it from a "hole-in-the-wall" place barely big enough to fit a coffee machine and its operator, or brand-new stylish spots with lounge-style seating serving up a feast, to the café owner who remembers your name no matter how often you come by.

Wherever you are in Southland, there's a coffee spot that fits your style. 

In New Zealand, you will find that people mostly drink coffee in the morning, which is different in other countries, especially in Europe, where cafés are as busy in the morning as they are in the afternoon. If you walk into a café after 3 pm, you'll find it's still open, but fewer people will grab a coffee. So, keep this in mind when you're looking for that bustling café vibe.

Order a flat white to feel like a local ordering coffee in New Zealand. Nowadays, this drink is on the menu in cafés all around the world, but it was invented here in New Zealand (even though the Australians try to claim it as their own).

A flat white is made with a single shot of espresso and steamed milk, but the milk is not frothy. It can best be described as velvety. It’s really quite good and will give you a chance to drink coffee like a Kiwi.

Coffee Facts

• The world's first instant coffee is reported to have been invented by David Strang, an Invercargill native.
• New Zealand has more roasters per capita than anywhere in the world - and some even argue that New Zealand also has the best coffee in the world.
• Another kiwi, Derek Townsend, lays claim to having given the world its first Flat White (but the Aussies claim it is theirs too).
• New Zealand ranks as the 13th largest coffee consumer in the world at 0.94 cup per day, ahead of the U.S. and Australia, but behind the Netherlands where the Dutch drink 2.41 cups a day!
• 29 percent of coffee drinkers in Southland said they drink coffee to stay awake, well above the national average of 19 percent. (Could this be related to the early risings of our farmers?)
• Our capital city, Wellington, has more cafés per capita than New York City.
• You won’t find a drip coffee in New Zealand - sorry about that!
• Most kiwi homes will sport a French press/plunger if they don’t have an espresso machine.
• Reusable cups are encouraged in New Zealand, with most takeaway cups globally unable to be recycled. Quite a few places in Southland have their own reusable coffee cups (or boomerang cups) like Black Shag Espresso and Eatery, The Auction House, Toasted and many more.