Black & White Coffee Cartel is a New Zealand coffee franchise born from the post-earthquake rebuild of Christchurch. Founded by Bink Bowler alongside his brother Luke Bowler and Canterbury rugby identity Reuben Thorne, the first store opened in February 2015 at 83 Victoria Street in Christchurch city — one of the first notable new cafés to open in the rebuilt city, widely credited with helping establish a new café culture for a new Christchurch.
The chain's defining difference is its micro-roasting model. Black & White describes itself as New Zealand's first micro-roasting coffee franchise: each full café has its own onsite coffee roaster, meaning the coffee served in each store is roasted on the premises, in full view of guests, rather than arriving pre-roasted from a centralised roastery. This small-batch approach removes the middleman, improves quality in the cup, and gives guests a genuinely authentic experience — from raw green bean to finished espresso, under one roof.
The house blend — the Cartel Boss — is a medium roast built from two origins only: Brazil Cerrado, a natural-process coffee with soft sweet/fruit notes and a characteristic nutty overtone; and Honduras La Flor, a washed coffee with heavy cocoa notes and bright acidity. Together they create what the founders describe as a full, rounded personality with a collision of sweet and bitter — distinctive to Black & White.
The café experience is intentionally individual to each location: brunch menus vary by store, décor draws on furniture from different eras, music is louder than average, and baristas are encouraged to bring their own character to the job. Food typically includes an all-day brunch with classics like bacon benny and the BOSS Breakfast, plus cabinet food covering sweet treats (caramel slices, friands, bliss balls, muffins, scones, cheesecakes, brownies) and savoury items (pies, sandwiches, filos, wraps, sausage rolls, croissants, vegetable frittata). Much of the food is prepared onsite. Most stores offer gluten-free, dairy-free, vegetarian, vegan, and keto options, and free fluffy's are available for children.
Franchise partners — called Cartel Bosses — began joining the network from 2016. Black & White grew into one of New Zealand's fastest growing coffee franchises, with multiple locations across the country. The Boss Blend is also available as retail beans online and in-store.
There's a phrase Black & White Coffee Cartel uses that sounds almost contradictory: the funky, independent coffee shop — brought to the masses. Independence and mass-market don't usually sit together. But that tension is precisely what drives the Black & White concept, and since 2015 the chain has made a compelling case that you can scale an idea without sanitising it.
The story starts in post-earthquake Christchurch. In 2011 the Canterbury earthquake flattened large parts of the city. By 2014, founder Bink Bowler had arrived with a vision for a new kind of café — one built not just for the rebuilt city but for the future of it. His brother Luke Bowler and Canterbury rugby identity Reuben Thorne joined the founding team. In late 2014 construction began on the first store. In February 2015 it opened at 83 Victoria Street in the Christchurch city centre — loud, individual, and immediately popular. It was among the first notable new cafés to open in post-earthquake Christchurch, and it helped define the café culture of the new city.
The distinguishing feature of Black & White isn't just the aesthetic — though the deliberately louder music, mismatched furniture from different eras, brighter walls, and personalised service are all intentional. The real structural difference is in how the coffee is made.
Black & White is described as New Zealand's first micro-roasting coffee franchise. Rather than operating a centralised roastery that ships pre-roasted coffee to all stores — the standard NZ model — each full Black & White café has its own onsite coffee roaster. The coffee in your cup was roasted in that building, in full view of the guests, that day. No distribution middleman. From raw green bean to finished espresso, under one roof.
Small-batch roasting, the founders argue, produces a higher-quality result by removing unnecessary steps between origin and cup. This approach has long been common in Europe; Black & White brought it into a New Zealand franchise context.
The house blend — the Cartel Boss, a medium roast — is built from just two origins: Brazil Cerrado (natural process, soft sweet/fruit notes with a characteristic nutty overtone) and Honduras La Flor (washed, heavy cocoa notes, bright acidity). One natural, one washed; sweet meets bitter; nut meets cocoa. The blend is available to buy retail as Boss Blend beans in 200g ($12.50) and 1kg sizes, in whole bean, plunger, or espresso grind.
The food menu varies by store — intentionally so. Stores with a full brunch menu typically run all-day options including classics like bacon benny and the BOSS Breakfast alongside cabinet food: sweet (caramel slices, friands, bliss balls, muffins, scones, cheesecakes, brownies) and savoury (pies, sandwiches, filos, wraps, sausage rolls, croissants, vegetable frittata). Much of the food is prepared onsite. Most stores carry gluten-free, dairy-free, vegetarian, vegan, and keto options. Children receive a free fluffy at all stores.
Franchise partners — Cartel Bosses — began joining from 2016. Black & White grew into one of New Zealand's fastest growing coffee franchises, with locations across the country.