You could go as far as to say that coffee is in Richard Goatley’s blood. Born in El Salvador, he moved around Central America with his missionary parents and four brothers, visiting coffee plantations along the way and experiencing the industry first-hand.

Richard now owns and runs Altezano Brothers with his brother Tim. Since 1999, Altezano Brothers have scoured the globe to source the best beans; sourcing quality beans is key to their business and the coffee drinker’s experience.

A visit to Altezano Brothers’ roasting headquarters in Edwin Street is an education in just how much goes into the precious brown liquid that gets us going in the morning. Coffee is the second-largest traded commodity in the world. To avoid commodity coffee, which is the domain of many supermarket brands, Richard says Altezano has created relationships with coffee farms and co-ops so he and Tim can source quality beans, picked and shipped at the optimum time.

Altezano Brothers ensure their coffee beans are traceable, “to avoid the high degree of exploitation in the sector,” Richard says. “We look for other certifications of coffee plantations, like Rainforest Alliance, and Fairtrade provides protection too.”

The goal is to import the best green coffee beans into Aotearoa, where they are roasted and shipped to Altezano’s loyal customers. A range of blends and single origin beans is available directly from the website, guaranteeing some of the best quality and freshest coffee in New Zealand to brew at home.

Kiwis are passionate about searching for the best-tasting coffee and rightly so, because not all coffee is created equal. Coffee aficionados want to understand when the coffee was picked, what the variety is, the method used in the processing and, most importantly, when it was roasted.

“It's a natural product that's going to change, even when we buy from the same plantation year after year,” says Richard. “Our job is to find the exemplars from each country and have these in stock at any given time.”

Richard says coffee supply has been tough due to a frost that wiped out 50% of Brazil’s crop. “Brazil is the biggest coffee grower in the world, so it has impacted supply at a time when coffee drinking is experiencing global growth,” he says. “For some countries, walking down the road holding a cup of coffee has become a sign of success.”



With supply issues, shipping delays and a weak Kiwi dollar, it’s no surprise the cost of your daily caffeine fix has increased in the last two years.

Despite the tough market conditions, Richard says he loves it. “We're a small family business, we enjoy what we do. I don’t know what I would do if I wasn’t doing this. I’d have to grow up and do something responsible.”