Vivace Espresso believe in the best-tasting cup of coffee, and they’re keeping it Kiwi.
Kiwis are a bunch of coffee connoisseurs, and we know a quality cup of coffee when it hits our taste buds. Vivace Espresso is a Canterbury-based coffee company that’s been roasting beans from Christchurch since 1997, always with a focus on a high-quality and ethically sourced product.
Bernard Smith, who is the force behind Vivace Espresso, has a connection with coffee beans through his family’s involvement. It was his father, Trevor Smith, who would roast coffee beans on Cashel Street in Christchurch back in the ‘40s before coffee was a big deal in New Zealand.
In fact, when Trevor Smith sold his business, he sold the coffee roasting elements to Robert Harris. Bernard Smith carried on the legacy, alongside general manager Paul Baker, making Vivace Espresso the master roasting company it is today, while remaining 100% locally owned and operated.
Proving just how high quality Vivace Espresso’s beans are, the company took out three bronze medals at the Golden Bean Awards in Australia in November 2018. The awards involved the blind tasting of blends from professional roasters from Australia and New Zealand, and they were marked on criteria including sweetness, acidity, body, balance and aftertaste.
Their Ultimate Espresso and Union blends placed in the Milk Based category, while their Organic blend placed in the Espresso category.
Vivace Espresso has been adopted by and served at discerning establishments around the country, whether it’s being used to brew a coffee at a café or whether people are buying the beans to brew their own coffee at home.
While they remain focused on providing exceptional coffee beans, they’re also acknowledging the levels of single-use coffee cups the coffee industry produces. They’ve teamed up with Innocent Packaging to create a commercially compostable coffee cup for their retailers to buy and serve their coffee in that will raise funds for Māia Health Foundation, who is a community fundraising foundation on a mission to enhance healthcare experiences throughout Canterbury.
This partnership between Vivace Espresso, Innocent Packaging and Māia Health Foundation is a great example of Kiwis helping Kiwis. Both Vivace Espresso and Innocent Packaging are Kiwi companies, and helping the community funding initiative will truly give back to the people of Canterbury as well as the South Island.
You can see a beautiful video of how Vivace Espresso roast their beans over on their website vivaceespresso.co.nz
