Latest news with #AllpressEspresso
NZ Herald
06-05-2025
- Business
- NZ Herald
At-risk youth find success with Ringside Cafe in Tauranga
The programme combines tikanga Māori, te reo, and holistic youth development. Grounded in the Māori healthcare model Te Whare Tapa Whā, it offers work readiness training, fitness, guest mentoring, psychological support, and post-programme guidance to empower taiohi (youth) towards employment, further study, and resilient futures. 'The two young women, who were once considered at-risk youth, have turned their lives around,' he said. Hiku and Taratoa, friends for 14 years, opened their cafe seven weeks ago outside the Tauranga Central Baptist Church at 640 Cameron Rd. 'We met in primary school.' Creating the cafe has taught the friends various life skills about perseverance, and both have grown in confidence. 'Early on, we had days where we barely had customers,' Hiku said. 'Now we average about 30 customers per day.' In seven weeks, they have learned more about the art of coffee, how to steam milk and the different kinds of milk. 'Steaming the milk for a cappuccino takes three seconds, a latte two seconds, and a flat white one second.' Hiku and Taratoa split the cafe's roles, with Hiku providing customer service and Taratoa creating the coffee. The cafe is open from 7am to 12pm every weekday, and the two plan to add a food option, the Kiwi classic toasted sandwich, to the menu. Inman said mental health advocate Mike King, Allpress Espresso, and Tauranga Central Baptist Church supported the duo. 'Mike King generously loaned them a Silverstream coffee trailer to get started,' Inman said. He said the Gardiner Family Trust donated $20,000 to enable Hiku and Taratoa to buy the trailer outright, a massive milestone in their journey. 'The long-term goal for these guys is to take ownership of the whole thing and make it theirs.' He said Hiku and Taratoa had done amazing things in the short time they have had the coffee cart, even with limited resources. At-risk youth were often misrepresented in media as being involved in ram-raiding, causing violence and other troublemaking activities, Inman said. 'At-risk youth these days have anxiety, low self-esteem, lack of whanau support,' he said. Bay of Plenty Youth Development Trust community coach Anna Veale said running their own business allowed Hiku and Taratoa to build their confidence. 'If you believe in somebody else, then they generally will believe in themselves.' Expectations were high for the two baristas, who must be at the coffee cart at 6.30am to prepare for the day and be consistent each day. 'We do believe in them.' Outside of catering, the duo would like to take the coffee cart on the road and attend more significant festivals, but they would need generators and transportation, Inman said.
SoraNews24
23-04-2025
- Entertainment
- SoraNews24
American cookie store Pug opens a pop-up in Tokyo for a limited time
Bringing Boston cookies to Japan…with a twist. Tokyoites get to enjoy a world of flavours on their doorstep, and now there's a new player on the scene bringing Boston cookies to the metropolis for a limited time. Called 'Pug', this American cookie specialty store is actually a new Japanese-born chain, and it's putting its own twist on the classic recipe to suit local tastes. The name comes from the fact that the wrinkly surface of the cookies resembles a pug dog, and the tagline 'Chunky, Melty, Guilty' puts them firmly in the decadent indulgence category. With stores planned for Kichijoji in Tokyo and Sendai in Miyagi Prefecture, and a store opening in Kawasaki's Musashi Kosugi on 24 April, the chain is kicking off proceedings with a pop-up at Shibuya's Miyashita Park from 28 March to 26 May. ▼ We stopped by the Shibuya store to check out the new cookies. The first thing that stands out at the pop-up is all the variations on the menu. Staff are happy to help you out with suggestions, which led us to go all out with the 'Boston Cookie Crunch' (680 yen [US$4.78]), a Boston cookie on top of vanilla ice cream, with an espresso shot (250 yen) as a topping and milk (400 yen) as a side drink. ▼ You can't go wrong with milk and cookies. We were immediately drawn to the cookie cup, which had a small gap between cookie and rim for us to dip our spoon into so we could pick up some of the ice cream beneath. As we scooped up the ice cream, the cookie began to crumble, revealing just how chunky and melty it was. ▼ Living up to the chain's 'Chunky, Melty, Guilty' tagline. The cookie was so soft and warm it easily broke into gooey pieces, melding with the cold ice cream to create a tantalising texture filled with sweet, chocolatey, nutty flavours. This wasn't the end of the taste adventure, though, as we still had the espresso shot to pour all over the mix. ▼ Allpress Espresso, a New Zealand specialty coffee roaster with two locations in Japan, has partnered up with Pug to provide coffee for the chain. The addition of coffee brought even more flavour to the mix, creating a perfect blend that combined the sweetness of cookies and chocolate, the refreshing taste of vanilla ice cream, the rich aroma of nuts, and the bitterness of freshly brewed espresso for a truly decadent experience. With the espresso served separately, you can pour it on the mixture, enjoy it as is, or add it to your milk, giving you a variety of customisation options. When we were there, we saw loads of overseas customers lining up for a taste of Pug, adding toppings like caramel sauce and peanut butter to customise the cookie experience to their liking. It's a fun new way to enjoy cookies, but the pop-up will only be in Shibuya until 26 May. Judging by the popularity of the store when we were there, we have high hopes that this is just the beginning for Pug, with more locations to come in future. Store information PUG Limited-Time Pop-Up Store / 「PUG」期間限定ポップアップ Address: Miyashita Park South 3F Food Hall Open: 11:00 a.m.-10:30 p.m. (weekdays); 10:30 a.m.-10:30 p.m. (Sat, Sun, and public holidays) Until 26 May, 2025 Website (Instagram) Photos ©SoraNews24 ● Want to hear about SoraNews24's latest articles as soon as they're published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter! [ Read in Japanese ]
