Rumours Specialty Coffee opened in May 2022, and has quickly established itself as one of Auckland CBD’s distinguished places to experience a variety of curated specialty coffee offerings.
Owner and Head Barista Danny Lee works closely with boutique Auckland roastery, Society Coffee, to customise and deliver a unique espresso experience to the city’s office workers and coffee-curious pedestrians. “We wanted to provide something different. Society Coffee provides us with rotating single origin coffees, which are made especially for Rumours,” Danny says.
At time of print, Rumours was serving an Ethiopian Yirgacheffe varietal, which carries diverse fruit flavours. “When you pair the coffee with milk, we get a blueberry, cocoa, milk-tea-like finish. When you have it black, it’s like orange juice and tangerine pulp,” he says.
Rumours prepares its espresso using a Slayer EP 2 Group machine and Mahlkonig E65S Grinder which, along with a systematic weighing and timing of shots, ensures consistency.
Rotating single origin varietals are imported from small-batch South Korean Roastery Lowkey for its pour-over filter coffee. “I was born in South Korea and came to New Zealand when I was 10,” Danny says. “I wanted to share what [the coffee] is like in Korea by serving Korean-style roasted coffees with filter.”
Rumours intentionally keeps its food offerings minimal, rotating a couple of “really good” pastries from Real Bread Project. Additionally, visitors on Friday and Saturday only can experience a playful offering of Espresso Tiramisu, which Danny says is a “deconstructed tiramisu consisting of an espresso shot, our house-made tiramisu cream, and a lady finger on top, which you dip into the espresso. It’s a fun way to enjoy tiramisu and our coffee afterwards.”
Danny says it’s rewarding watching people enjoy the experience he and his team provide. The venue is already becoming known as a specialty coffee destination, and one with a calming presence of creamy whites and stone details. “I wanted to keep the fit-out clean and minimalistic, but with warm tones,” Danny says. “It’s somewhere for you to sit down and just enjoy your moment with good coffee.”
Rumours Specialty Coffee
19 O’Connell Street, Auckland CBD, Auckland, 1011
Open Monday to Friday 7:00am – 3:00pm and Saturday 8:30am – 3:30pm
This article appears in the October 2022 edition of BeanScene. Subscribe HERE.
