About Us

The New Zealand Coffee Producers Association

Supporting outstanding quality specialty coffee production in New Zealand

"Great things come from small beginnings"

Poipoia te kākano, kia pūāwai - Nurture the seed and it will blossom

The New Zealand Coffee Producers Association (NZCPA) is a membership-based organisation supporting the establishment of a viable specialty coffee industry in New Zealand

Together, we act as a convener, connector and knowledge hub with the collective aim not to own or control any part of the value chain, rather to ensure that New Zealand enters the global specialty coffee market with a reputation for a high quality, ethical, and traceable product.

Our Role

NZCPA exists to:

Build knowledge and capability for New Zealand coffee growing and processing
Connect growers, researchers, industry experts and partners
Develop best-practice frameworks to support long-term quality and credibility
Enable growers and producers to be the architects of the value chain ownership
Represent the emerging industry with transparency and integrity.

Where the Industry is At

NZCPA Logo

New Zealand coffee production is still nascent with a small number of growers embarking on a commercial journey. Climatic and environmental conditions are proven in some parts of Northland with micro-climates in other parts of NZ likely to be promising also, but long-term feasibility and models to achieve viability are still being tested.

The NZ industry’s value proposition is high quality, rarity, provenance, ethics, and innovation, and targeting the high value global specialty market, rather than a high volume commodity market.

NZCPA is connecting with a global network of growers, experts, researchers, innovators, and buyers to establish pathways for success. 2026 will see the first formal coffee crop trials take place in Northland, the first draft of a NZ growers handbook, and more opportunities for knowledge sharing.

Our Journey so Far

The timeline below shows the steps we have taken in this journey to date. What started as a discussion of curiosity and inquiry has progressed with
two stages of support from the Ministry of Primary Industries and formal establishment of the New Zealand Coffee Producers Association.

Our Approach

NZCPA members are drawn together with common interests and aligned objectives:

Collaboration over competition as each producer can harness the opportunity of expressing individual brands, with unique attributes
Farmer-led innovation – learning together first, scaling-up over time with growers as pioneers and the architects of value chain ownership
Transparency, honesty and integrity – sharing what’s working and what’s not as our goal is for dedicated growers to produce the highest quality product
Environmental care – protecting New Zealand's no/low pest status and maintaining biosecurity for future resilience and viability
A circular mindset and innovative use of by-products to increase returns to growers
Long term thinking - 10+ year horizon for building a premium origin reputation.

The People and Businesses Behind
the Purpose

The New Zealand Coffee Producers Association was established in November 2024. The founding committee consists of a passionate group of individuals who all have one thing in common; the belief in the huge potential of the specialty coffee industry for New Zealand.

The NZCPA would like to thank those, both past and present who have contributed to the inception and the ongoing development of the establishment of this industry: Albert Kim, Rob Schluter, Stu Hargie, Pat Russell, and Will Valverde. Bioeconomy Science Institute, MPI Māori Agribusiness Extension Fund, Kauri Coffee, Biz Assist, Businessis Ltd, and Tinakori Enterprise.

Our Team

Prof. Peter Shepherd

PhD FRSNZ (Chair)

Tony Hayward

Grower & Coffee Trial Lead

Angela O'Rourke

Grower & Entrepreneur

Tamalene Painting

Māori Landowner Trust Chair

Sue Dobbie

Officer & Project Co-Lead

Justine Stuart

Officer & Project Co-Lead

The initial feasibility work and establishment of the New Zealand Coffee Producers Association has been made possible through project funding support from the Ministry of Primary Industries Māori Agribusiness Extension Programme.

The NZCPA Committee are excited to continue this valuable partnership with a second stage project in 2026/2027 which will enable formal crop trials on Māori-owned land in Taitokerau Northland, assist in access to new plant varieties, and continue to develop the knowledge and networks for commercial production of New Zealand-grown specialty coffee.