Roaster Of The Month!
Empire Coffee
Our August Coffee Discovery Box is here! This month, we’re exploring delicious brews from Empire Coffee. Let's explore.
Empire Coffee Roasters is a small independent roastery based in the heart of Hawke's Bay.
Since 2016, we've been roasting approachable, carefully sourced coffees that celebrate balance, seasonality, and the stories behind every origin. We believe coffee should be enjoyed, not overcomplicated, and that great coffee has a way of bringing people together.
As a family-run business, community sits at the heart of everything we do; from supporting local cafés and charitable organisations to building a business that's grounded in people, place and purpose. Whether it's a dependable everyday blend or a limited seasonal release, every coffee is roasted with the same goal: to create moments worth sharing.
From our corner of New Zealand, we hope our coffee becomes part of yours.
This month we are showcasing..
Blend: Gatehouse Blend
Single Origin: Tanzania Mbinga
Decaf: Colombia Tolima Sugarcane Decaf
Some coffees are carefully planned. Gatehouse wasn't one of them.
Originally created for a prospective wholesale partner before the doors of our first café had even opened, the partnership never eventuated - but the coffee did. The blend was simply too good to leave behind. When we opened our cafe in Napier in 2018, Gatehouse stepped into the spotlight as our house blend and has remained there ever since.
Built from coffees sourced across Colombia, Tanzania, India and Papua New Guinea, Gatehouse is smooth, dependable and endlessly drinkable. Expect notes of dark chocolate, Doris plum, earthy spice and cracked pepper, balanced by a medium body that performs beautifully whether you're pulling espresso at home or brewing your morning plunger.
The coffee that wasn't meant to be. The blend that became Empire.
- Tastes like: Dark Chocolate, Doris Plum, Earthy Spices & Cracked Pepper
- Roast: Medium Body: Medium
- Brew: Espresso, Aeropress or Plunger
From the highlands of Mbinga to your morning cup - this limited release from Tanzania’s Ruvuma region is a celebration of depth and balance. Grown at elevations between 1500–1900m, these beans develop a rich character shaped by cool mountain air and fertile volcanic soil.
Expect smooth layers of chocolate and roasted nuts, rounded by dark berry sweetness and a lift of black tea and citrus zest. It’s a cup that feels familiar yet quietly remarkable — the kind of coffee you’ll remember long after the last sip.
Tastes like: Chocolate, roasted nuts, cooked dark berries, black tea & zest
- Process: Washed
- Roast: Light–Medium
- Body: Medium
- Altitude: 1500–1900 MASL
Decaf shouldn't feel like a compromise.
Sourced from Colombia's renowned Tolima region and decaffeinated using the natural sugarcane process, this coffee retains the sweetness, balance and character that make Colombian coffees so widely loved. By using locally derived sugarcane compounds rather than traditional chemical methods, the result is a cup that remains distinctly coffee-first.
Expect notes of dark chocolate and brown sugar, supported by a smooth medium body and a lingering finish. Whether you're cutting back on caffeine or simply looking for an evening cup, Tolima proves that great coffee doesn't need caffeine to be memorable.
- Tastes like: Dark chocolate & brown sugar
- Roast: Medium-Dark
- Body: Medium
- Brew: Espresso, Plunger
