New Zealand Listener – August 24, 2019

32 LISTENER AUGUST 24 2019

planet’s oceans.

Allpress has five siblings and a half brother.

His mother, Barbara, and father, Bruce, mar-

ried young and, after moving from Dunedin

to Auckland, had five children in quick suc-

cession. They separated while the children

were young. Bruce Allpress would go on to

become a well-known actor and later an

antiques dealer, while Barbara turned her

attention to raising the children, protesting

against the Vietnam War and welcoming

a who’s who of arts and culture into their

home.

Michael Allpress spent much of his

childhood in the lively company of adults

enjoying the family’s hospitality, and coffee

gradually became part of his DNA.

Was your upbringing as stimulating as it sounds?

My mother raised five kids under five, but

there were always interesting people and

food and music in the house. My grand-

mother passed on a real interest in food and

culinary things. She had raised seven daugh-

ters in Invercargill. So, while my friends were

eating white Tip Top bread and drinking

instant coffee or tea, we had roasted and

ground coffee. I’m not sure why, because

it was more expensive and we didn’t have

a lot of money, but Mum thought it was

a necessary luxury. When the relationship

with Dad broke down, Mum did the best

she could. It was the 1970s – the Vietnam

War was on, Woodstock was happening and

there was a bit of consumption of marijuana

in the house, but it was all manageable. We

were raised on good values.

And good coffee – what do you remember about

coffee that might have pushed you along this

career path?

One of my friends’ parents had a mah-jong

set and I borrowed it and learnt how to

play it. I introduced Mum to it and then

suddenly there was a group of mah-jong

players meeting at home. They were in

their twenties and thirties and I was just a

10-year-old kid. In the breaks, I would go

and make the coffee – it was very rudimen-

tary. I would simmer some milk and throw

coarsely ground coffee into the milk, let it

steep and then sieve it.

Your father worked in Japan before he became

known as an actor. What was he doing there?

Bruce travelled to Japan during the 1970s

as a textile merchant. Sometimes, he would

bring home his Japanese clients and Mum

would try to cook some Japanese food. I was

fascinated by Japanese culture. That is partly

why Allpress operates in Tokyo. They’re

known for their love of tea, but the Japanese

have also always appreciated good coffee.

You’ve built a successful business despite your

formal education being limited due to dyslexia.

For a long time I didn’t really dwell on it, but

I did have problems with numbers, reading,

letters. I still have some issues with that stuff.

My brain was wired differently, but it wasn’t

recognised and I was labelled as a bit slow. I

was held back a class, so by the time I got to

the third form [Year 9], I was 15. I was wag-

ging and going surfing, so I left school at 15

and got a job making surfboards. That didn’t

last long because it’s a seriously toxic envi-

ronment and wasn’t conducive to a healthy

life, so I moved to Whangamatā and went

surfing. I had a job later at a Turkish Arabic

restaurant in Auckland where we had about

12 different coffees. That led to working for

a hotel chain in Canada, and then a spell in

coffee-loving Seattle, before coming home

and setting up in the coffee business.

How far afield do you operate?

We have roasteries in Dunedin, Auckland,

Melbourne, Sydney, East Tokyo and London.

Coffee is a perishable product and should be

roasted in the country of consumption. We

supply 1000 independent cafes around the

world.

How do you distinguish yourselves given all the

competition in the international market?

After 30 years, we’ve got some significant

institutional memory and some great people

who know what they’re doing. Early on,

when I was younger and travelling, working

as a ski bum in North America and living

out of a suitcase, I would occasionally drink

an amazing cup of coffee. I would always

enquire about the brand and would find

out what roasting equipment they used.

Every time it was the same – hot air fluid

bed roasting. It makes a significant differ-

ence to flavour and flavour development.

You need to start with a great product, but

you can enhance it with the right roasting

technique. Allpress has always been in pur-

suit of flavour. We are renowned for being

reliable and getting a great cup of coffee.

SHELF LIFE

A
LL

PR

ES

S^

CO

LL

EC

TI

O
N

“Some of the new kids

on the block are roasting

very light – so light that

the coffee is sour and not

very palatable. You want

to be producing a cup of

coffee so people will go,

‘I’ll have another one.’”

13

2 4