Havana Coffee Works

The bright yellow facade of the Havana Coffee Works building stands out against the brickwork of Wigan Street. In the mid nineteen nineties, coffee culture in Wellington was limited to instant granules and basic diner brews. Roger Young and Tim Rose changed that when they opened this roastery in an old, cramped garage. They hauled a secondhand roaster into the space and started selling espresso to locals who had never tasted it before. That tiny, improvised operation sparked the city's obsession with artisan coffee.