NEW ZEALAND 26th September 2010

Auckland-based roaster Avalanche Coffee was the winner of the Supreme Award in the 2010 Huhtamaki New Zealand Coffee Awards in mid September, local reports said.

The awards, presented to the best coffees out of close to 300 entries this year, are chosen by a group of judges under strict conditions across a number of different categories. The chief judge this year, Instaurator, said that the coffees roasted by New Zealand roasters had constantly improved over the past five years.

Avalanche's Glacier coffee was the overall winner, and the roaster also won gold medals in the organic and decaf categories. Altezano Coffee, another Auckland roaster, took gold in the Flat White and Ethically Traded categories, the reports added.