Coffee fuels dreams of award-winning barista

Otago Daily Times

19-07-2025

Some children dream of being firefighters or astronauts, but Bonnie Lam used to dream of coffee.
The local cafe owner is much more than a hospitality businesswoman, she has big ambitions of helping the industry move forward as she recently made it on to the New Zealand Specialty Coffee Association.
In addition to owning the Coffee Shack and Coffee Dojo cafes, Ms Lam is a competitive barista with hopes of bringing home the world cup.
For the past six years she has taken part in the World Barista Championships and each year she gets a little closer to first place.
As part of the championship, competitors worldwide must first compete at a national level.
Ms Lam came second in the country last year and has also been accepted on the New Zealand Specialty Coffee Association after campaigning for better education.
Originally from Auckland, Ms Lam's journey to Wānaka coffee expert began with frequent snowboarding trips to the region.
She already had a passion for coffee and experience as a barista during her university years, but when she visited the South Island, she found a love for Wānaka too.
She recalled talking to a local woman in a cafe while on a snowboarding trip over a decade ago.
"She sat down and talked to me for 30 minutes; told me about her grandchild," Ms Lam said. "That doesn't happen in Auckland."
That moment made her appreciate Wānaka's close sense of community and it didn't take long for her to move down.
Her first endeavour was to become a snowboard instructor but a yearning to make great coffee and connect with the community lingered.
She first went back to being a barista as she looked for opportunities to open her own place.
"All I needed was like a little corner of someone's retail shop," she said. "Like a hole in the wall sort of thing to get started."
After putting an advertisement out online 12 years ago, Ms Lam managed to find a garage on Brownston St, which is now known as the Coffee Shack.
Many, including Ms Lam's partner, questioned whether the old garage could really work as a coffee shop but she had a vision and was determined to make it happen.
"I probably wouldn't park my e-bike in there," she said, recalling the dire state she found it in.
Her empire grew when about five years ago she opened the Coffee Dojo in Three Parks and also became focused on competing.
She now holds the number one title in the South Island and came second place in New Zealand last year.
Her next steps have less to do with business and more to do with improving the hospitality industry and becoming a world champion.
Her role on the New Zealand Specialty Coffee Association means she can start pushing for better education for those looking to join the industry.
She felt one of the key obstacles the industry faced was the lack of proper training for baristas, an art form that needed to be perfected.
"It's so difficult like that," she said. "Just because you've been in hospitality, it doesn't mean you've been a barista."
Ms Lam also said doing a barista course was often not enough as students would not fully experience the hospitality industry. Her vision was to improve the education process and encourage having barista apprenticeships that would give students the opportunity to learn the craft on site.