But not before he had first purchased an Ozturk coffee roaster, bought commercial premises off Ti Rakau Drive and spent 18 months sourcing, sampling, roasting and blending the finest green beans from around the world.
When he had isolated a number of superlative fair trade growers from India and South America he was ready to do business.
“The best beans are almost invariably grown well above sea level and these are all highland coffees,” says Warwick who has perfected two blends. They are:
Pahaar, meaning ‘mountain’ in Hindi. A heavy-bodied, low acid coffee, it exhibits spicy flavours with delightful hints of tropical fruits and a good crema showing.
Khuchi, a South American blend, displaying sweet and rich caramel roasted tones that are balanced to perfection.
A true coffee aficionado, Warwick won’t disclose the exact blend or origin of his coffees claiming: “that’s like asking Coca Cola to publish its formula!” But he has been quick to take his business a step further.
Last month he launched another hot-coffee commercial operation. Boulevard Superette and Dairy in Sunnyhills wanted to set up a coffee and fresh pastry takeaway business so King Coffee sourced a two group-head Vibiemme Italian espresso machine and arranged barista training for Boulevard employees.
“We are now serving the Pahaar blend and it’s going down really well with our customers,” says Boulevard owner Raj. Boulevard, one of four local establishments serving hot King Coffee, also sells 250gm and 1kg packs of King Coffee in store and is supplied twice a week to ensure that beans are always fresh.
With his new full service roastery for cafés and restaurants Warwick supplies the beans, and espresso machines, attends to all servicing and can provide ancillary coffee products too. Interestingly, Warwick is married to well known real estate consultant Christine Fowler, manager of Harcourts Howick. However, Christine says, while she loves nothing better than a good coffee, the business of blending and roasting is all Warwick’s. “I’ll just stick to real estate and my regular morning and afternoon coffee break!”
