We sat down with Paul Newbold, Head Roaster at Ozone Coffee New Zealand, to talk green coffee, origin trips, and what goes into roasting specialty coffee worth getting excited about. Paul's been part of the Ozone whānau for over 25 years – he first walked through the doors of our New Plymouth café as a customer, and never really left.
1. Can you describe your role as Head Roaster at Ozone and how you got into coffee?
As Head Roaster, I lead the coffee programme here in Aotearoa. That means contributing to green coffee procurement for NZ, running our Quality Control programme, and overseeing production roasting and R&D. Jamie and Karen – who are now my good friends – started what was then Ozone Coffee Company back in 1998. I used to make the trip out to the Fitzroy shop, which only opened on Saturday mornings. I must have shown enough enthusiasm, because by June 1999 they'd offered me a job managing roasting, wholesale ops, and a small espresso bar we ran out of the same space.
2. What factors matter most to you when roasting coffee?
So many factors – all the factors! Green coffee quality is the foundation, which is why we keep working with the same group of producers we've built relationships with over many years. We source coffee that's harvested and processed to very specific standards, and that care upstream translates directly into what ends up in your cup. Precise processing is huge – and the producers we work with really get that. This year, the team has gone deep on our quality control programme and dug into roast profiles. Data collection is central to all of it: we use software to track every roast and R&D session, then combine that with the sensory feedback we get from cupping to make sure we're working with each coffee's natural flavours and characteristics rather than against them. The goal is always the same – something genuinely tasty in your mug.
3. Tell us about your most recent origin trip. Where did you go, and what were you hoping to achieve?
My most recent trip was to Minas Gerais in Brazil, timed so I arrived just as harvest was wrapping up. That meant I could taste a huge range of coffees and get a feel for the quality of the shipments heading our way. I visited Fazenda Nova Aliança in the Monte Santo de Minas area – we've been buying from the Mello family for nine harvests now. Some of the Ozone team had been out there in 2022, but this was my first visit back since 2019, so it felt like a proper reunion. I also spent time with Bourbon Specialty, visiting farms around Poços de Caldas, and we had two days cupping with their quality team – a great way to calibrate and get a broader picture of what's available.
4. What are you looking for when you evaluate coffee quality and producer practices at origin?
We cup a lot on origin trips – the coffees are always super fresh, and it's a real advantage to taste what'll be landing at the roastery in two or three months' time. Beyond the sensory side, we work within a framework that aligns with our B Corp certification. That means while we're on the ground, we're listening, observing, and gathering information on how a producer is performing environmentally and how they're treating their team. We work with some genuinely innovative producers who share our values, so there's always something on the sustainability front that sends us home thinking differently.
5. Can you share a story from your last trip that captures what our producer relationships are really like?
Visiting the Mello family at Nova Aliança this harvest was something else. The welcome is always warm, the lunches are always incredible – but what makes those visits stick is the family's commitment to what they're doing. Since my last trip, they've invested in soil health through mulching and underplanting, which has helped reduce water use, and they've completed a solar energy project that now powers their processing operation through the busy harvest period. That's just a couple of examples. We also had a moment at Nova Aliança this year where we talked honestly about what nine harvests of working together actually means – the business relationship, yes, but also the genuine friendship that's grown out of it. That kind of connection is hard to put a number on, and it's one of the things that makes this job worthwhile.
6. How do you keep up with what's happening in specialty coffee roasting and sustainable sourcing? Any origins or techniques you're excited about right now?
Reading, social media, lots of cupping – and genuinely, the best source is the ongoing conversations between our NZ and UK teams. We think about our coffees and roast profiles constantly, and having that transatlantic back-and-forth keeps things sharp. Bolivia is still a really exciting origin for me. We've only been working with Bolivian coffees for three years, but the natural conditions for producing exceptional varieties are all there, and each harvest we understand the coffees a little better. Peru is another one the team has been exploring – there's a lot to be curious about there too.
7. What would you tell someone who wants to make more sustainable and ethical choices when buying coffee?
It's a fair challenge – we're all navigating it with every purchase we make. My best advice is to look for coffees with a transparent story behind them. Quality information that flows easily to the customer is usually a sign that a roaster actually knows their producers and is proud of the relationship. At Ozone, we try to learn as much as we can about every producer we work with – their values, their practices, the data on the coffees themselves – and then share that story clearly. B Corp certification is also worth looking for when you're choosing any product. It's a meaningful marker of genuine social and env