Hot coffee from hot new café at Auckland Zoo

MEDIA RELEASE
15 December 2004

Hot coffee from hot new café at Auckland Zoo

Grab a hot coffee from a hot new café at Auckland Zoo – a café where you needn’t be a zoo visitor to get your caffeine fix or to sneak a peek at the animals.

Great coffee, hand-blended teas and a new, upmarket take on the classic Kiwi toasted sandwich are on the menu at a new café in Western Springs.

The WETA espresso café is a key feature of the new entrance complex at Auckland Zoo. The new entrance allows visitors to drop into the café or the Wild Zone Gift Shop before they enter the zoo proper, so the new café is catering to both zoo visitors and locals keen for a great cup of coffee.

The café offers inside and outside seating, with a view of the zoo’s Pridelands exhibit. Orb coffee, fresh-roasted locally, will be served. And for those who like their coffee with style, it will be brewed on a Faema E61, a retro design classic. It will be made by baristas totally au fait with the machine and the blend. Spotless Services Operations Manager Lee Bolam promises it will be the best coffee in the area.

Staff will also be hand-blending a wide-range of teas, including organic and caffeine-free varieties. The teas, many packed with flowers and herbs, will be presented in big glass jars to delight all the senses. Orb beans and ground coffee will be for sale, as well as retail packs of tea.

The café will be open for light brunches, including cereals, muffins, and toast with luscious toppings. A wide range of fruit juices will be available, and fresh smoothies will be made on the premises.

Lee Bolam says the lunches offered by the café will be a variation on the theme of the classic toastie, but with an upmarket spin. Artisan breads including focaccia, ciabatta and panini will be lightly toasted with a wide range of gourmet fillings. He says soup will also be available, kicking off with chilled soups for summer. Fresh salads will also be available.

WETA espresso cafe is offering an opening special of buy one coffee, get one coffee free for the first 10 patrons every day, until 31 December 2004. Café goers can also go into a draw to win some Orb coffee and a selection of teas.

So if you are visiting or passing the zoo, strolling around Western Springs Lake, taking your morning constitutional or looking for a novel location for an informal business meeting, drop in for a cuppa at the new WETA espresso café at Auckland Zoo. The café will be open from 8.30am every morning.

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About Auckland Zoo:

Auckland Zoo is home to the largest collection of native and exotic wildlife species in New Zealand (over 1000 animals and 178 species) and attracts over half a million visitors annually. It is becoming increasingly well known nationally and internationally through the award-winning television programme, 'The Zoo'. At the heart of all Auckland Zoo's work and activities is its MISSION: "to advance nature conservation by providing excellent wildlife management programmes and exciting visitor experiences which move and inform people to care for wildlife". Auckland Zoo is a member of both the Australasian Regional Association of Zoos and Aquaria (ARAZPA) and the World Association of Zoos and Aquaria (WASA).

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