Wānaka’s top barista, Bonnie Lam, is closed this weekend so her staff can take a break.
She’s taking one too, and will be relaxing on the beach, weather permitting, at Riverton with her daughter Kora (2) and partner Callum O’Dwyer.
That wasn’t what the Wānaka Sun went to interview Ms Lam about — we wanted to celebrate her recent success as the runner-up at the New Zealand Barista Championships — but as is usual over a cup of coffee, the conversation become quite fluid.
"We are closed for all public holidays because I feel why should we be open? We are part of the public.
"We don’t have to be open or closed. But I love my staff to have a healthy lifestyle," Ms Lam said.
Ms Lam’s road to becoming one of the nation’s best baristas began when she was 17 and worked in hospitality in Auckland.
She popped in and out of the hospitality industry while studying for her marketing degree at AUT.
Then she decided to become a snowboard instructor, so moved to Wānaka.
She has owned the Coffee Shack on Brownston St for about eight years and her second business, Coffee Dojo on Umbers St, for about four years.
She has entered national barista competitions about five times, placing fourth at the nationals in 2021.
She won the South Island barista regional heats earlier this year, entitling her to compete at the nationals, which were eventually won by Wellington barista, Max Cui.
Mr Cui will represent New Zealand at the world championships in Milan next year, but Ms Lam will remain on call in case he decides not to go — which she did not think would be likely.
Ms Lam said the event was all about making technically sound, tasty coffee, and artistry.
Baristas could make the same ingredients taste quite different from others, she said.
There were 15 finalists competing in the first round on October 5, with the pool reduced to six in the final on October 6, including Ms Lam.
Each finalist had to make a milk coffee, an espresso and a signature drink "a bit like a mocktail with coffee".
Ms Lam said she loved the Wānaka hospitality industry and is astounded by the growth in the number of food carts in Brownston St and at Three Parks.
"Anyone doing what they love and making that step into business, good on them. It is a big step to make after being a paid employee," she said.
Times had been tough in hospitality since Covid, and the recent global coffee bean shortage had been a reminder of that, adding to the stress of paying bills and wages, she said.
She had become fixated on crunching numbers, which she did not like doing, because her first passion was actually making good coffee, she said.
"All business costs are going up and we are not the only industry.
"I understand that there are wages, and people are struggling behind the scenes, and I think rent in Wānaka is hard, as expensive as in a city. It is hard for everybody at the moment."
"I love our environment and my staff. I don’t like being forced to make choices purely based on money. It cuts out flair and personality and then everything becomes too uniform and the coffee loses its soul," she said.
A regular flat white costs about $6 in Wānaka and Ms Lam predicted customers would push back if coffee prices continued to increase. Factors influencing global bean supply and prices included climate challenges and natural disasters, in bean producing nations, she said.
