Black & White Coffee Cartel on High Street in Rangiora is the local outpost of one of New Zealand's most distinctive coffee brands, built on three simple words: Character, Coffee and People. The brand was born in post-earthquake Christchurch, where founder Bink Bowler — joined by his brother Luke and Reuben Thorne, Canterbury's son of rugby — opened the first store on Victoria St in February 2015. It quickly became one of the notable cafés of the city's new café culture, and the idea grew into New Zealand's first micro-roasting coffee franchise.
The point of difference sits in plain sight: rather than shipping beans in from a distant central roastery, each full café has an onsite roaster, so the coffee brewed in the store is roasted in that store — from raw to roasted under one roof, in full view of guests. The house Boss Blend, a medium roast of just two coffees, Brazil Cerrado and Honduras La Flor, pairs soft, sweet and nutty Brazilian notes with heavy Honduran cocoa and lively acidity.
The food is Western-style café fare with something for everyone: an all-day brunch menu with the classics — think bacon benny and the hearty BOSS breakfast — and a cabinet full of sweet treats and savoury options, much of it prepared onsite. Most stores offer food made without gluten or dairy, along with vegetarian, vegan and keto options, and the little bosses are looked after with FREE fluffies.
Beyond the cup, Boss Blend beans, merchandise and gift cards are available to take home. You'll find the Rangiora Cartel at 1/5 High St, where the beans travel only a few metres from roaster to cup.
On High Street in Rangiora, Black & White Coffee Cartel brings a big idea to a main street café: coffee that is roasted right where you drink it. The café is part of New Zealand's first micro-roasting coffee franchise, a brand born in post-earthquake Christchurch and built on a simple, three-word philosophy — Character, Coffee and People.
The Black & White story starts with the 2011 Christchurch earthquake, which flattened large parts of the city and changed many lives forever. As the ground was cleared for a new Christchurch, founder Bink Bowler arrived in 2014 with a vision to build a new series of "coffee shops" for a new city, keeping the idea of the future in mind. His brother Luke Bowler and Reuben Thorne, Canterbury's son of rugby, came on board, and in February 2015 the first Black & White Coffee Cartel opened at 83 Victoria St.
It opened loud and proud, immediately becoming iconic and loved — among the first of the notable new cafés to grace Christchurch and kicking off a new café culture for a new city. Franchising followed in 2016, with franchise partners the brand calls "Cartel Bosses", and within a few years Black & White was one of NZ's fastest growing coffee franchises. Each location was deliberately designed to break the tired, cookie-cutter franchise mould: the music louder, the service personal, the walls brighter, the furniture from different eras, and the coffee prepared by creative baristas described as "just like you". The goal, then and now, is to bring the funky, independent coffee shop to the masses.
The clearest expression of that independence is the roaster itself. Black & White rejects the traditional New Zealand model of a closed-off, centralised roastery supplying every store. Instead, each full café has an onsite coffee roaster, so the coffee brewed in the store is roasted in that store — from raw to roasted under one roof, in full view of guests. Small-batch roasting cuts out a key middleman, puts higher-quality coffee in the cup, and makes the guest experience genuinely authentic. As the founders like to point out, none of this is new — Europeans have operated this way for years; they have simply implemented it here.
The house blend is the Boss Blend, a medium roast made from just two coffees rather than a dozen: Brazil Cerrado, a natural with soft, sweet fruit notes and the famous Brazilian overtone of nut, and Honduras La Flor, a washed coffee with heavy cocoa notes and balanced acidity. One is natural, one is washed — a collision of sweet and bitter that the Cartel calls a unique, full and rounded personality. It is a blend with enough character to enjoy at home, too: Boss Blend is sold in 200g and 1kg bags, whole bean or ground for plunger or espresso, alongside merchandise and gift cards.
The food is Western-style café fare, and the aim, in the brand's own words, is to have something for everyone. Stores with a full brunch menu generally serve the classics all day — from a bacon benny to a hearty BOSS breakfast — though brunch menus vary from store to store to suit the local market, and much of the food is prepared onsite.
The cabinet does a brisk trade on its own terms. Sweet-wise, expect an assortment of caramel slices, friands, bliss balls, muffins, scones, cheesecakes and brownies; savoury, a mixture of pies, sandwiches, filos, wraps, sausage rolls, croissants and vegetable frittata, alongside options unique to the local store. Dietary needs are considered too: food made without gluten or dairy, plus vegetarian, vegan and keto options, are available in most stores.
The drinks list runs beyond espresso: along with the signature Boss Blend coffee there is hot chocolate, a selection of premium cold beverages, and FREE fluffies for the little bosses — a small gesture that says a lot about a brand that wants families, workers and coffee lovers alike to feel at home.
What ties it all together is atmosphere. Black & White was conceived as the antithesis of beige: a place where the music is a little louder and the service is personal, the walls are bright, and the furniture comes from different eras. The founders describe their story as still unfolding, and their suggestion is the best advice a visitor can get — pop into your nearest Black & White Coffee Cartel and understand the idea for yourself. In Rangiora, that means 1/5 High St, where beans go from raw to roasted to cup under one roof.