Meet the Makers : Kohu Road & Mt Atkinson

A really interesting event, learning about coffee roasting from Jacob of Mt Atkinson Coffee and tasting ice cream from Kohu Road ice creamery at the Tannery in New Lynn.
I found the coffee roasting demonstration to be the most interesting part of the evening, Jacob is clearly quite passionate about roasting his beans, and to be able to see his fancy machine in action was quite fascinating. Plus the coffee he gave us to take home smelled and tasted amazing.
Greg chatted to us a bit about his philosophy on food and how he started his ice cream business. Although his reasoning seemed a bit faulty to me at times, he does make delicious ice cream, which I thoroughly enjoyed sampling.
I could have done with the event being a bit later on in the evening, as having wine and ice cream on an empty stomach before dinner is a little bit odd. But still a thoroughly enjoyable event, thanks Alex!

We got to the venue after about three u-​turns in awful pouring weather. I never go to New Lynn so it was pretty hard for me to find this place (the weather didn’t help at all).
Our destination was «The Tannery» where both Mt Atkinson and Kohu Road are based. It was spacious and cozy with interesting interior designs. School stools, green plants in clear glass bowls and wooden walls were unique and friendly. They have a café seating area as well as roastery and creamery where you can see through a glass window.
We were divided into two groups of 10ish people and our group started with Mt Atkinson. Jacob, the founder, showed us how coffee beans are roasted. We got to see and smell the process which was great. I was a bit sad that we didn’t get to try their coffee; however we were given a pack each to take home which he even ground for me. Very generous. My room is now full of fresh roasted coffee smell which I am tremendously happy to come in to.
Our group moved onto Kohu Road and were introduced to how their brand started and developed. After an hour of listening though, I started to feel a bit tired. This event seemed to be quite full-​on with lots of information to digest. Thankfully then, we were given three small samples to try — white choc, salted caramel and lemon. Salted caramel is their best seller and I understood why. It was heavenly with the perfect texture and flavour of caramel. I really wanted to try the cookie & cream so I’ve asked if I can just buy a single scoop (as it wasn’t enought for me!). The owner smiled and gave me a small scoop to try which was nice. Sadly the flavour itself didn’t jump up too much compared to other brands.
Overall it was an interesting experience but I didn’t think it was worth my travelling time and 2 hours. Maybe I am over listening to lecture-​like speeches while standing up.

A great night hosted by Jacob from Mt Atkinson coffee & Greg, the brains behind Kohu Road ice cream.
I was a bit surprised that there was only wine and water on offer, I really thought this was going to be a coffee and ice cream tasting event. On a cold, rainy night coming out to an industrial part of New Lynn, I really could have used a hot drink to warm me up.
Learning a bit about the ins and outs of coffee roasting was interesting, as was the real story of what goes into the food we eat. The ice cream was delicious and the coffee was heavenly when I tried it the next morning.
I am looking forward to visiting The Tannery during the day to watch Kohu Road staff in action & so my son can enjoy an ice cream and have a play in the kid’s caravan. Thank you to Greg, Jacob and Alex for a fun event.

What an amazing event!
Learning about coffee roasting from Mt Atkinson was super interesting, and getting to see it all happen was like walking into a laboratory to chat with a scientist! Jacob is clearly a passionate maker, and it was fun to chat with him about his business.
Kohu road is such an amazing brand, and to meet Greg, it’s founder, was such a thrill! Greg’s philosophy on food was right up my alley — food should be made of FOOD, no icky stuff, and please, no killing involved. The ice cream is so ridiculously good, I am salivating for my next opportunity to get my hands on some salted caramel… or matcha? or maybe lemon curd? or caramelized fig? or is it the banana? Why must we choose?
Lovely night — thanks to Alex for organizing another fun and unique night!

This was a great event called ‘Meet the Makers’ put on by Unilocal.It was great hearing the success stories of how Kohu Road Ice Cream and Mt Atkinson originated. Kohu Road Ice cream focuses on using natural products without the use of additives. We were lucky enough to have a wee ice cream tasting and sampled the lemon curd, white choc and salted caramel. Everything tasted clean and pure with great flavour, without being too sweet. Mt Atkinson has teamed up with Kohu road having their café at The Tannery in New Lynn. We were fortunate to see the coffee beans being roasted and have a little take me home bag. Im not a coffee drinker. yet but was great to hear Jacob’s success story and how he came to be. Check out The Tannery for a great, NZ ice cream and coffee!

When Ice Cream is just iced cream, you are getting something very special. And Kohu Road does iced cream great justice!
I had a great time learning about how to roast coffee beans with Jacob, and got all the details about the ice cream from Greg. The Lemon curd is my favourite from the lot tonight.
All in all, great Unilocal event. Thanks a bunch Alex.
PS. my car smells bloody fantastic with freshly roasted coffee aroma

Its not often you get to stand in the presence of legends, Greg and Jacob were great in explaining the process that goes into divine coffee and the smoothest ice-​cream. Not only the mechanics but the ethics and principals that go into every food stuff that exits the shop.
A great evening was had, thanks Greg and Jacob and of course Alex.

What do you get when you combine AKL West Coast, black sand roasted coffee beans with all-​natural, handmade ice cream?
I’ll tell you: a little slice of heaven, with a truly local flair. Also known as: the Tannery — a beautiful little café created by Jacob of Mt. Atkinson Roastery and Greg of Kohu Road which serves best ugly bagels, coffee and, of course, ice cream.
A huge thank you to both Jacob and Greg for running us through the in’s and out’s of roasting and the world of ice cream. It was a pleasure to listen and learn from them. They are both vastly passionate about their products as well as back-​to-​the-​basics, PURE food production — a very important movement that has continued to gain momentum as consumers become more aware of the disturbing disconnect between food production and purity of ingredients.
Thanks Alex and Unilocal for this wonderful event (and of course for the wine, freshly ground coffee and a sampling of Kohu road’s delectable ice cream!)
My only complaint is that I left with quite the sugar high as there wasn’t much to balance my wine and ice cream intake. It would be great to know beforehand if any nibbles will be served at these events so I can prepare accordingly :)