Hello, coffee lovers and treasured patrons!

We’re buzzing with excitement to bring you the latest edition of our monthly newsletter, packed with exciting updates and plenty of caffeinated goodness to fuel your day!

With summer just around the corner, we’ve been crafting new seasonal menu items to celebrate the change in flavours (don’t worry—your all-time favourites are here to stay!).

Our brand-new Evening Menu just launched over the weekend, and today we’re thrilled to introduce our revamped Brunch Menu!

Check out the delicious details below !

Restaurant hours: 

Daytime Monday-Sunday 7:30-3pm
Evenings Wednesday-Saturday from 5pm.
Bookings are essential

What's coming up - Details further below

~ 'Dumplings & Dub' night on Sunday 27th October (Labour weekend)

~ Maca Event with Seleno Health 11th November

I (Gareth) have started a bit of a journal about my journey into running our own restaurant, my unintentional journey into coffee and how we ended up in Mangawhai Heads, to entering into the NZ Barista Champs 2024, I'll keep this at the bottom of each newsletter for those who wish to read it.

Music plays a big role in creating the atmosphere at Brewed As, and we’re always refreshing our playlists to keep things dynamic. It’s not just about providing a great experience for our customers, but also for us, the team, who hear the music every day. So, here’s a curated playlist, thoughtfully put together for hours of listening enjoyment.

As I reflect on the recent barista competition, I’ve gained so much insight—not just about the competition itself but about myself and our incredible team here at Brewed As. While I enjoyed the entire process, I won’t lie, the stress was intense! Juggling the business and the competition was a challenge, but it was made possible thanks to the amazing support from our team who stepped up in my absence.

A special shoutout goes to Anna, who was by my side every step of the way and even took on the role of head coach at the event (badge and all, haha). Her support was truly incredible—she is a superstar!

I’d also like to acknowledge our wonderful coffee roaster, Stu. He guided me through the process in the lead-up to the event. Although, as Head Judge, once the competition started, we couldn’t make any contact due to conflict of interest. Still, it was great catching up with him to debrief afterward.

And of course, a massive thank you to the amazing Mangawhai community! Your support in getting those votes in for the 'People’s Champion' award made all the difference. I couldn’t have done it without your enthusiasm and belief in me—it means the world.

Thank you all for being part of this journey. I’m excited to continue serving you the best coffee and food at Brewed As!

Cheers,
Gareth

Congratulations to Yuqi (Max) Cui Representing: Mojo, Wellington. Max will represent Aotearoa as NZ's Barista Champion in Milan, Italy next October 2025.

Runner Up: Bonnie Lam Representing: The Coffee Dojo Wanaka – Supported by: Flight Coffee in the Otago region.

Third Place: Hanna Teramoto Representing: Coffee Tech, Auckland.

Rounding out the top six are:

Fourth place: Tom Dixon Representing: Zephyr Coffee Co, Auckland.

Fifth place: Matt Ross Representing: Mt Zion Cafe, Tauranga

Sixth Place: Agnese Sokolovska Representing: Eighthirty Coffee Roasters, Auckland.

New Evening Menu!

Our new menu offers an exploration of vibrant, bold flavours and a thoughtful mix of textures. Expect dishes that emphasize a balance of freshness and richness, combining light, crisp elements with indulgent, savoury components. We focus on layering flavours through carefully curated sauces, herbs, and spices, creating a dining experience that’s as dynamic as it is satisfying. Textures play a key role, from crispy, crunchy bites to smooth, creamy finishes, ensuring each dish feels distinct yet cohesive. Whether you’re after something light and refreshing or hearty and comforting, the menu encourages shared dining with a variety of tastes and styles to explore. It’s a celebration of both vibrant, punchy ingredients and subtle, complex layers, all presented with modern flair.

Evening Menu

Dessert

Fried Banana Spring Roll (3)  19  vf
kafir lime caramel, coconut cream whip
Smores (2)  19  gf df
almond chocolate chip cookies, yuzu marshmellow,
duck island strawberry & lime vegan icecream
Coconut Lemongrass Panna Cotta  19  gf df
pineapple & ginger salsa, mint, freeze dried manuka honey

Day Menu

When: Sunday 4pm-10pm, 27th October 2024 (Labour Weekend)
Tickets ($10): LINK

Join us for a night of dumplings and live dub reggae! Enjoy mouth watering dumplings while Fish & Bread Soundsystem roll out some tunes.
Why'd we choose Dumplings & Dub? Alliteration of course! but also, we love music, and want to create a simple vibe where friends can hang out and enjoy some tasty dumplings and feel some music.

Information for the night

All orders will be taken at the bar or counter point of sale (no table service).

This is a ticketed event, door sales will be available, providing we have not met our capacity for the venue.
 
What is Dub Music?
Wikipedia link

Dub is an electronic musical style that grew out of reggae in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It is commonly considered a subgenre of reggae, though it has developed to extend beyond that style. Generally, dub consists of remixes of existing recordings created by significantly manipulating the original, usually through the removal of vocal parts, emphasis of the rhythm section (the stripped-down drum-and-bass track is sometimes referred to as a riddim), the application of studio effects such as echo and reverb, and the occasional dubbing of vocal or instrumental snippets from the original version or other works.

What are Dumplings?
Wikipedia link

Dumplings are a diverse category of dishes made from cooked dough, often filled with various ingredients like meat, vegetables, or cheese. The dough can be made from different starches, and the cooking methods range from boiling and steaming to occasionally frying or baking. The definition of a dumpling has evolved since the 17th century and varies across cultures, but it generally includes both plain and filled varieties, though some definitions exclude baked or fried items.
 

SAVOUR NORTHLAND
4th-28th October 2024
Think Wellington on a Plate, but for Northland, we have an exceptional talent of wine makers, produce growers and artisans right here in Northland, so its time to celebrate and tell the world!

Locally inspired dishes, special one-off events, culinary collaborations, and immersive workshops, all served up with our warm Northland manaakitanga (hospitality) and some of the best views in the world! It’s time to taste the treasures of Tai Tokerau. Join us for an unforgettable month of culinary goodness.
 

An abundance of mouth-watering magic!
 

Northland is home to delicious, fresh produce, amazing seafood, globally recognised wines, and award-winning restaurants, cafes and markets. Our sub-tropical paradise stretches from Mangawhai to Cape Reinga, the Tasman Sea to the Pacific Ocean! From hearty kai to unique dining experiences, get ready to Savour Northland with a huge range of foodie events this October!

At Brewed we worked with our chef and local wine makers to pair a couple of plates with wine and a cocktail to showcase the local ingredients available to us.

We have made two pairings for the event:
 

Monday 11th November
5:30pm-7:30pm
TICKETS HERE
Myself and Anna have been using Maca in our daily lives for several years now. Corin, New Zealand born co-founder and co-director who has over 15 years of academic and research experience, specialising in medicinal antioxidant chemistry, oxidative diseases, cellular protection and health. He holds a PhD in medicinal chemistry. and Sally, a native Peruvian of Andean descent, with a Bachelor in industrial engineering and ancestral knowledge of traditional Peruvian medicinal plants. Together they share an incredible story. You can read more about Corin & Sally here.

Maca known as "the food of the brain" is a medicinal root from the Andes of Peru that has been used for centuries to bring balance and harmony back to the body's hormonal systems. As an adaptogen it can assist with hormone balance, mental health, stress, fatigue, immunity, focus, energy, stamina, sexual function, libido and much more.

In this workshop we will share the ancestral story, preparation and uses of maca and then integrate with modern science to explain how maca works in the body. This is followed by an in-depth discussion of the different types of maca, how to prepare and use maca to achieve results, finding the right maca combo for you and finally all the FAQs about maca that we are commonly asked. We will also share some amazing case studies from customers who used maca for PCOS, Menopause, libido, anxiety, chronic fatigue and ADHD.
 

If you have ever had an interest in maca but wanted to learn more, If you have never heard of maca but have an interest in its health effects or if you've tried maca but want to know how to best prepare and consume it then grab your spot. We will be serving a delicious maca latte and demonstrating some simple ways to consume it as well.

Early bird special rates for those who sign up early, ticket prices $10-25. So get in quick to save and secure your spot
TICKETS HERE

Have you got an upcoming event? Birthday? Work lunch? Xmas party? We can accommodate, whether its for a group of 10 or 100+.
If this is something you'd like to organise, get in touch with us at brewed.intentions@gmail.com.
Our full menu available to feed your guests, full bar menu, and if you want your favourite cocktail on for the night, we can sort it for you!

Chapter Four

Finally arriving home in New Zealand, I worked at a few cafes but I really struggled to find somewhere I could work that allowed me to operate the coffee at the level I knew was possible. It was at this time an opportunity came up to open our own coffee kiosk, it was a franchise but had really loose contract so we were able to do as we pleased without too much intervention from the franchise, a year in, and we had built up from 20 coffees a day to 250+ every day, we were chuffed.

That was until the current CEO sold his majority to another big business guy who started making severe changes. For example, set up a ‘distribution centre’ so we would order everything from there, I thought it was strange after the distribution centre was set up, our milk cost went up a significantly, we were close with our milk supplier before this, I reached out to see if there had been an increase recently. There wasn’t. They were ‘clipping the ticket’ on almost everything. We started talking to the other franchisees, and eventually we got banned from speaking with them as we were causing ‘ripples’ through the franchise…well yeah, you’re ripping off these innocent, naïve young business owners who joined a franchise for guidance and support, instead they were bullies and did the opposite.

Long story short, and thousands of dollars in lawyer fees trying to leave, we were finally free and no longer in business, we’d built that business to a value of a 6 figure sum, sadly walking away with less than half what the business was valued at, but the long strenuous process, our health and mental wellbeing is not worth any amount of money. However, we’d learnt a significant amount about how to run a small business (and how not to do business), valuable lessons we utilise to this day.

With a hefty restraint of trade slapped on us (unable to work in any business with a coffee machine 1.8km from Newmarket, and if you look at a map as the crow flies, it covers a substantial amount).

Evan who owned a pub on the corner from our coffee kiosk, invited us up to Mangawhai Heads to put a coffee machine in his outside courtyard to serve coffee til midday over Summer, after spending a Summer up here, who’d want to go back to Auckland?

At this stage we’d done two Summers at the Freehouse, and I’d gotten deeper and deeper down the coffee rabbit hole, I went to all the coffee events I could, eventually going to a Barista Judge training course, where I went on to Judge at the New Zealand Barista Championships where I met Stu Hargie, one of New Zealand's most respected professional in coffee. We took on a lease across from the Freehouse where Anna and I set up Brewed As, starting as just coffee and cabinet food, but now 5 years on, have a full breakfast and lunch menu, full bar and open for evenings....

...to be continued.