Unlike its name, Black and Gold is not about shiny, expensive furnishings. Instead, Owner David Hung has taken an organic approach to his new venture.
“Ninety per cent of the furniture is recycled materials, including wooden and metal crates, pallets, and table tops,” he says. “I wanted to build a sustainable café, which also means using free range and organic products. Coffee is first and foremost our passion and will always be our main focus, but I feel this café has allowed me to combine good coffee and food within a sustainable concept.”
Keeping with its theme, David says the first step was to create a self-sustaining herb garden at the back of the café. “I’ve been running cafés and working in the food industry for a long time, and the biggest thing I’ve noticed is that we waste a lot of food,” he says.
As such, the freshly picked herbs are utilised in the café’s menu and all food scraps and waste go back into composting for the herb garden – and for feeding David’s chickens offsite.
Black and Gold use Coffee Supreme’s Brazil blend for their signature offering. David says this blend contains dark chocolate and nutty notes with hints of dried cranberry. Head Barista Kayako Nakamura can also be seen running a rotating single origin on the café’s La San Marco 100E series machine. At the time of print Coffee Supreme’s single origin Ethiopian Yirgacheffe added a nice option for espresso fans to try. Alternative brew methods are also available, including cold brew, V60 pour over, and syphon.
David has been committed to nurturing his coffee passion for years. He founded Espresso Workshop, which he ran for six years before starting Black and Gold in April 2014 in the developing community of Albany. David was also a finalist in the NZ Barista Championship from 2006 to 2010, and is a former NZ Latte Art Championship head judge and sensory judge.
Head Chef Gavin Suter has created a menu that retains a “simple and fresh” philosophy, with items including a slow roasted beef cheek with grilled cos lettuce, as well as a pulled pork sandwich.
“Black and Gold is all about creating an experience for customers to enjoy,” says David. “We want to introduce a fine café culture and good quality specialty coffee to the people of Albany.”