Thursday, February 4, 2010

Addington Coffee Coop - Coffeehouse w/ a Good Mission

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Addington Coffee Coop isn’t just another neighborhood coffeehouse. Yes, they have amazing food and superb coffees (made from in-house roasted beans), and they also sell a selection of miscellaneous fair trade goods. But what defines this coffeehouse is their overall mission and business model as an entrepreneurial cooperative. All profit made goes back to the farming communities, in Sumatra, Ethiopia, and Mexico, from which the Coffee Coop source their beans. At the end of the year, all Coffee Coop staff vote on where they would like to see percentages of the profits go. So this means that the coffeehouse floor staff get as much say in what happens with profits as the Coop's financial investors, which is something that the employees take great pride in.

Addington Coffee Coop is the brainchild of a few young 20/30-somethings, who were inspired by their overseas travels, and particularly within developing nations. After seeing how the other two-thirds of the world’s population live, they were moved to do something. They gathered a team of investors and like-minded people to create what, after a little over one year, has become a successful business, making a small difference in their community and in other struggling communities. The Coop’s profit sources come from coffeehouse sales in addition to sales of Free Set t-shirts and jute bags that are ethically sewn and manufactured in India. Addington Coffee Coop has overseen distribution of these tees to several successful NZ campaigns and events, including Splore (Auckland arts and music festival) and Safe (campaign against animal cruelty).

The building that Addington Coffee Company inhabits used to be an old mechanic’s workshop. After stripping everything back, steam cleaning, grounding down the floors, and putting in large windows where garage doors used to be, the coffeehouse now has a relaxed and comfortable vibe with a variety of vintage tables and seating. Globes, atlases, and international flags communicate a global interest, but the Coop is just as interested in local investment. Something that speaks to this is small laundry room at the front of the shop, intended to be an amenity for locals and shows the Coop’s desire to be accessible to all members of the Addington community.

We love Addington Coffee Company’s selection of foods - like the salmon and potato gateau and the seriously amazing rhubarb/berry compote with yogurt and granola, as well as the milkshakes and smoothies that are served in vintage milk bottles. Great care goes into coffee roasting and making…. the quality speaks for itself. We also really like the fact that $ spent here means investing in a good cause.

So if you haven’t been to Addington Coffee Coop yet…check it out. It is located on Lincoln Road in Addington village. Operating hours are Mon-Fri 7:30am-4pm, and Sat & Sun 9am-4pm.

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Addington Coffee Coop
297 Lincoln Rd, Addington, Christchurch

3 comments:

  1. That looks awesome, definately going to check it out!!

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  2. A little bird told me that this is an AMAZING wedding venue ;)

    ReplyDelete