Chateaubriant is a genuine French cafe-pâtisserie and has a delightful supply of ‘specialités francaises’. This cafe is charming, with a warm European vibe; a cafe we would often drive to for an after breakfast coffee and croissant. With so many children and parents coming here it makes for a very fun experience. Their espresso coffee (we would normally order piccolos) is excellent.  Currently serving an organic Fairtrade blend (roasted by ‘Chaisso’, Devonport), deep and chocolatey, low acidity with some faint berry and citrus flavours, perfect for the early morning. Each cup is very well made by Yannic the owner and Genevieve the barista who take their time to care for what is being served and get it right. The croissants are the best I have had, so far, in the whole Auckland area (try all their breads- superb); and served by the ever charming Jo. A beacon of coffee and food illumination in the midst of Devonport!

Chiasso is an excellent roaster, retail and wholesale supplier of coffee-making supplies and top quality equipment. This is a seriously good place, pleasant atmosphere, friendly staff and you can feel the passion for superb coffee ooze out in every direction. And if you wish for a delicious and very well made coffee, this is a great place to go! We went often, mostly in the afternoon for an after lunch coffee. When I first arrived in Auckland this year, in February, we decided to test out the Presso espresso machine ( www.presso.co.uk ) for which Chiasso is New Zealand’s distributor. After pulling lots of shots with the Presso at Chiasso, we became confident of its potential to turn out a good espresso. And after discussion with Chiaso’sbarista and also theirdirector Brendan McKellar, we bought one and we gave it a thorough testing, day in day out for five weeks while in a cabin with no electricity. We used a Hario hand grinder and lots of single origin coffees and blends from v