The second NZCPA Annual Conference & Field Day took place on the 5th and 6th of June and we were overwhelmed with interest. More than 60 people attended the conference at Ngawha Innovation & Enterprise Park and around 40 people attended the Field Day which was held at Simons NZ Coffee in Karikari Peninsula.
We were very lucky to have our keynote speaker Kraig Lee join us all the way from Kona Farm Direct in Hawaii. Prior to the conference Kraig visited some established coffee farms in the North and was impressed to see coffee trees not only surviving, but thriving in New Zealand and producing some excellent coffee beans. Kraig generously shared his experience, practical advice, and perspectives on developing a thriving coffee-growing industry, which he believes is absolutely viable if we stay very focused on creating a high quality specialty product and businesses with diverse income streams.
We were also fascinated to hear from Dr Peter Bircham, Head of R&D at Garage Project, who introduced an innovative indigenous yeast project that he is part of which could create exciting opportunities for New Zealand coffee processing.
The NZCPA team provided and update on the progress of the industry development, and were able to report that we are currently aware of at least 9000 coffee trees already planted between the Bay of Plenty and the Far North. This information will continue to be collected via a coffee mapping survey so that we can better understand the size of the industry and how we can continue to support hose involved (the link to the survey is HERE).
On Saturday attendees toured the plantation and home of Simons NZ Coffee and explored the family-run operation’s processing and roasting facilities. Horticulturalist Colin Partridge delivered an engaging and practical agronomy session, while coffee expert and Q Grader Sean Ellis from Kaffelogic demonstrated the innovative Nano 7 benchtop coffee roaster.
The energy, knowledge-sharing, and collaboration throughout the event left us excited about what lies ahead for New Zealand coffee. Both days were filmed this year by JCUT Media and these videos will soon be published on the NZCPA Members Resource Library section of our website. If you are not already a member, but are keen to have access to the detailed information that we share, head over to the Membership page of our website for benefits and details.