Matt Wilson’s interest in coffee began when he operated pinball machines at the Midnight Espresso and delivering newspapers to Cafe L’affare.
“I was fifteen at this point and the coffee culture had just begun. I knew I wanted to be a part of it,” said Wilson.
Aged 16, Wilson left school and opened his first cafe in the red light district of Wellington, Vivian street. Although it was a tough start, with both the banks and roasters failing to take him seriously, Tim Rose and Geoff Marshland from Havana Coffee Roasters saw something in Wilson.
As this relationship blossomed, so did Wilson’s eagerness to get stuck into the world of coffee roasting.
“Havana represented something I love: colourful, eclectic, real people who took an interest in you and your business.”
Wilson was then fortunate to travel to the Americas with Rose, where he spent time meeting coffee farmers and watching the wonders of the industry.
"Seeing the whole process, especially in Bolivia, Colombia, Panama and Cuba, I felt a real connection to the farmers and cooperatives," added Wilson.
After being an ambassador for Havana for 15 years, Wilson decided to give roasting a shot, purchasing a roaster and experimenting with it in his garage. He was committed to only roasting fair-trade, organic coffee, and developing a great espresso roast to service his cafes.
This eventually led to a new venture with his friend, Freya Atkinson, and Good Fortune Coffee was born at their flagship cafe, Seashore Cabaret, in Petone.
With a 200-seater cafe, and roastery, plus the partnerships with both TradeAid and friends at L'afarre, Wilson developed his first espresso roast, Firecracker.
“It’s insanely balanced, with intense chocolate, peanut and toffee tones,” explained Wilson.
As New Zealand’s first living wage, organic, and fair trade roastery and cafe, he is proud of his business' impact. But, it has not always been easy.
Having to manually move 800 kg of coffee beans every single week was difficult work, and eventually their small 10kg roaster could not keep up with the demand for their services.
Wilson and Atkinson decided to step up Good Fortune Coffee by purchasing an old villa, which could house their new 25kg Pettrocini roaster.
Even with the roastery's immense success, Wilson has never stopped prioritising and appreciating the coffee industry’s people, from the farmers in Bolivia to the baristas and customers in Wellington.
Moving forward he hopes that roasters both small and large adopt this vision.
“We must protect the workers and their livelihoods and ensure they have fair, sustainable, and beneficial conditions. For everyone, and the planet.”
Photography by Russell Kleyn
