From cart to King of Quality
The specialty coffee industry is noted for the enthusiasm of its pioneers and their willingness to take an entrepreneurial plunge into uncharted waters. Many are still at the forefront of the sector’s growth.
Michael Allpress is a prime example of someone who not only saw an opportunity in an undeveloped sector of the coffee industry, but was prepared to keep investing in ensuring it had a future.
It is a driving force that he hasn’t wavered from since he shelved his surfboard and began working in restaurant kitchens in his native New Zealand in the 1980s. Michael followed that most Australasian of trends – combining work and travel – when he headed for Sydney and then Seattle and Canada.
As a chef, he had a personal passion for extracting the best possible tastes and flavours from a range of food and beverage items. He included coffee on the list.
But, it was in Seattle that Michael found his future career. The largest American city in the Pacific Northwest, Seattle is noted for its innovative contributions to music, technology, education and coffee. Seattle’s claims to fame include the legendary Jimi Hendrix, the creation of “grunge” music, the bands Nirvana, Soundgarden and Pearl Jam and one of the heaviest levels of coffee consumption in the USA. Starbucks was founded there. However, it was the strong emergence of successful, independent, artisanal cafes and roasters that struck a huge chord with an espresso-loving Michael.
It proved to be the catalyst for him to return to New Zealand and explore business opportunities in what was then a niche market at best. In such an environment, the first challenge is to get a specialty product out to a wider and appreciative audience. Old habits die hard. At that point in history, much of the coffee on offer was aimed at profit over quality and general public education was sorely lacking. It took a $5000 Commerce Commission research and development grant for Michael to design and build New Zealand’s first mobile coffee cart. It was located at Victoria Park Market – a craft, clothing and souvenir market and retail complex in Auckland’s Freeman’s Bay. “Despite initial resistance to a paper cup, the cart was extremely successful,” Michael says.
His second cart soon followed and captured hearts and tastes in the courtyard of Auckland University.
At that stage, Michael was buying the beans for the carts from another roaster. “But, from my travels, I knew it was possible to have a better tasting coffee. I embarked on gaining more control over the roasting process with the aim of improving the flavour in the cup.” Michael sourced a roaster in Australia, shipped it to New Zealand where it was stripped down and refurbished and he began roasting to meet his own demands.
That rapidly spun out to supplying freshly roasted coffee to several Auckland cafés and restaurants. Allpress Espresso, the wholesale roasting business, had been born. But, far from simply delivering the product, Michael offered regular training sessions to teach his customers correct espresso preparation techniques.
Michael had control of his roasting process, but couldn’t leave it there. “I saw the opportunity to further improve the quality of espresso by using the best machinery possible,” he says. His preference was the Italian La Marzocco with its dual boiler system. He flew to Italy and the United States, securing the La Marzocco agency for New Zealand and Australia. Not only did the wholesale coffee accounts increase, but so too did the espresso machines. Michael extended his training classes to educate café staff and established a technical team for ongoing support and maintenance.
That first 12 kilogram roaster was now struggling to keep up with demand and by early 1995, Michael had purchased a 30 kilogram Petrocini. He hadn’t finished expanding though and opened the Allpress Espresso Bar in Auckland’s Victoria Street. The public now had the opportunity to buy fresh coffee for home or office. Life for Michael Allpress was already looking very occupied, until he and good friend, restaurateur, Tony Papas – who was working in Australia – combined their skills to take Allpress Espresso across the Tasman. In 1999 they established a Sydney roastery along with an Allpress Espresso Bar. But, Michael’s desire to continually improve the flavour of coffee in the cup remained strong. So, you guessed it, he established his own green bean importing company – Brown Bean Ltd. “By taking control of the entire selection process, we can ensure premium quality, single origin beans are sourced, roasted and blended to produce outstanding coffee,” he says.
The original Allpress Espresso Bar was sold in 2000 and Michael embarked on creating a new platform that would become the role model for wholesale customers on how the company wanted its coffee prepared and delivered. Caffetteria Allpress was established below the roastery set up at Freeman’s Bay. Hoppers shoot the fresh coffee from the roastery direct into the cafettaria. The idea for this one came from Michael’s trips to Italy where he had visited many espresso bars.
So, does Michael kick back a bit now? No! In 2003 he researched new roasting methods and commissioned New Zealand’s first fluidised bed hot air roaster. “This method of roasting consistently produces great tasting coffee. Consistency is a roaster’s greatest challenge. The flavour is cleaner, brighter and more aromatic. Hot air roasting will set the benchmark to which all fresh roasted coffee is compared,” Michael says.
In 2006, he opened an office in Melbourne and the Allpress Roastery in Sydney.
While he was doing all that, Michael made a conscious decision not to sell his beans through supermarkets. Instead, he developed a showcase store on Auckland’s Ponsonby Road. Here, customers are encouraged to taste and expand their coffee knowledge before choosing what to buy. It has also expanded beyond espresso and into other specialty areas with coffee classes for enthusiasts. In 2009, the store won gold in the prestigious Best Design Awards for the Retail Environment category.
Today, Allpress supplies to more than 350 cafes, espresso bars and restaurants in New Zealand and more than 260 along Australia’s east coast. There are 40 employees in New Zealand and 50 in Australia. And now, there’s a new ship flying the flag. This time it’s a roastery and espresso bar in Shoreditch, London. Needless to say, Michael Allpress hasn’t finished with the coffee world yet. For his next moves, we will watch this space.
