“Coffee has always been popular, but I’ve really seen it take off over the last 10 to 15 years,” she said.

The mix of caffeine, ritual and social interaction has intrinsic appeal and has inspired the stereotype of the coffee drinker, always in need of that fix to start the day on the right foot.

“Some people get very upset if the person who usually serves them isn’t there, so

consistency of quality is very important,” Ms Greer said.

“And if they get a bad cup of coffee, they won’t come back,” she said.

“Reputation is vital.”

Owner of Colleen’s Café, Colleen Follett says that whether you drink coffee or not, the phrase ‘let’s go for coffee’ is an excuse to gather somewhere with a good atmosphere.

“The atmosphere is just as important as the coffee,” she said.

“You can’t have a good coffee and bad atmosphere, it just doesn’t work.”

In the past five years she has seen the demand for coffee really take off in Wellington.

People are becoming more educated about what they want.

“I think people want to get out more and they are realising that it doesn’t cost the earth,” she said.

Donna-lee King, manager of Kimbell’s Bakery said that good coffee comes down to the setting of the grinder.

“The harder the grind, the more the pressure and the

better the quality crema,” she said.

“When you talk about crema, you’re not talking about milk, you’re talking about the quality of the coffee when you compress the grounds and the creamy froth that sits on top when the shot is infused,” she said.

Increasingly, even hotels and clubs have an espresso machine and as the hospitality industry continues to grow, knowing how to make a good coffee is a useful trick to have up your sleeve.