Wellington Eats – Zest Food Tour Review, Wellington, New Zealand

It didn’t take me long to come to the conclusion that Wellington is, indeed, cool. While researching why it’s known as the Capital of Cool, I noticed a trend in the food found there. With an emphasis on fresh, local, and unique, Wellington eats are a big part of what makes the city so great. To get a better sense of why, I spent a tasty afternoon on a Zest Food Tour, a Wellington walking tour dedicated to this trend.

Our Zest Food Tour started like any day should, with a great cup of coffee. This, by North American standard at least, it was not your average cup of Joe. At Mojo Coffee we were given a behind-the-scenes look at coffee roasting – something I found truly fascinating. Makes sense as I have enjoyed craft beer tours around the globe. Why not a lesson in coffee?

What really stuck out at this stop was the use of ethically sourced beans. “You won’t find a great coffee in New Zealand for less than $4, and you shouldn’t be able to anywhere.” said our Mojo coffee-roasting host. Picking coffee beans, as I found on this this food tour stop, is hard work. From backbreaking manual labor to shipping to distribution to roasting to barista means a lot of people to pay along the way. “When you pay one dollar for a cup of coffee, how much do you think the farmer gets?” Great question. This is something, admittedly, I have not really thought about. Wellingtonians, on the other hand, get it. This appreciation of where your food comes from instantly sets a higher standard. Later in the day at the Wellington Chocolate Factory we found much of the same. Harvesting cocoa beans is a lot of work. Think about that the next time you pay 99 cents for a candy bar. This wasn’t the case here as their simple and delicious bars start around $12 NZD. Craft beer bar though… ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).