Love Your Barista: Black Coffee, a Newtown hub features toasties with names

Friday, 23 February 2024

Ryan Abraham is a barista at Black Coffee, Newtown.

It’s an art gallery, music store and coffee shop all in one, with a speciality in toasties with names.

On offer at Black Coffee at the moment, is Miss Rubena, Gaucho Senior, Shroom Doom and Cheeky Cheese.

It feels like a hidden gem you might find, off a busy main road in London, when in search for a coffee from anywhere but the chain stores. But this one’s in a bustling part of central Newtown, Wellington.

The long narrow cafe is often filled with customers from the hospital, teachers, students and other “colourful Newtown characters”.

It has an old jukebox machine in one corner, passed on from father to daughter, and Barbie dolls perched on the lights hanging from chains off the high ceiling.

It was about 9.30am when The Post visits on a Monday. The first early morning rush had just passed and it’s the usual slight lull.

But sure enough, just as barista Ryan Abraham says, it hits 10am and the tables are filled in the long narrow shop and people stand around waiting for their takeaway orders.

The most popular coffee order is a flat white with a toss up between cow’s milk and oat milk.

If it’s getting a little too crowded inside, a “little hideaway” courtyard is tucked behind the back, past some stacked old stereos, lit up by a mural on the walls by Kāi Tahu artist Xoë Hall.

Located on Riddiford St, just down the road from Wellington Regional Hospital and Newtown School, it attracts nurses, teachers, university students, as well as the “little old ladies” who come by the cafe and “seem to love the odd music we decide to put on” Abraham says.

It’s mostly blues, rock-a-boogie, country style music with old hits like Fleetwood Mac, Roy Orbison or Hank Williams. But sometimes it’s festival playlists like from Shipwrecked or Splore or even Canadian actor William Shatner's spoken word poetry album.

Like many would say, working or living in Newtown, Abraham’s favourite part of the job is “all the colourful Newtown characters that come through”.

The staff are also “relatively quirky” – Abraham reckons it’s a given to work there.

The cafe also specialises in their small but well thought through menu of toasties with names including Gaucho Senior and Miss Rubena.

The most challenging part of the job is the 7.30am opening, but it’s nothing a caffeine hit can’t fix – his favourite part of being a barista is the free coffee after all.

Newtown Festival, happening March 3 , will mark his first anniversary working at the cafe.

Most people’s go to is a flat white, with a toss up between cow’s or oat milk.

But there is also a group of devoted regulars for their speciality coffee: A Flat Mike, consisting of half milk and half pouring cream.

Abraham’s favourite on the menu? The Gaucho Senior – a toastie with creamed corn, grilled spiced chorizo (which can be taken out for veggies), tangy jalapeno salsa,and creamy smoked cheddar, although most popular at the moment is probably the Shroom Room with olive tapenade, garlic mushrooms, tomato, mozzarella and spinach (only to be added later as to not have soggy warm spinach).

The cafe also showcases the work of local artists on a monthly rotation. This month is Hayden Gundry’s work, featuring sci-fi paintings on skateboards.

An exhibition opening is held at the cafe once a new artist’s work is up, providing an opportunity for a meet and greet.

Love your barista? Know of a generous loyalty scheme, an excellent brew, a must-try bean or a steady price? As cafes do it tough The Post wants to hear from coffee drinkers and cafés alike, so we can spread the word about, quite simply, good coffee. Email news@thepost.co.nz.