Fast growing local company Celcius Coffee has been named among the cream of the country’s roasters with a double triumph in the 2008 New Zealand Coffee Festival.

The Hutt Valley/Wellington based coffee roaster took gold and silver medals in the prestigious competition – just 15 months after being launched.

The Celcius certified organic Fairtrade blend Capital, named in honour of Wellington, won gold in the plunger/filter category of the Auckland based festival.

Certified organic Fairtrade blend Booster won silver in the Fairtrade espresso class. The awards followed the success of the company’s Firehouse blend which won bronze in the flat white category last year.

The judging panel of international experts assessed 240 coffees from across New Zealand, in eight categories, under stringent, audited, blind tasting conditions.

Celcius Coffee Owners Nick and Stephanie Fry said the company was delighted to have achieved such success in so short a time.

“As a business, our first priority is our coffee,” said Nick. “We have a small team focused on providing consistently great coffee.

“All our blends are the result of a lengthy selection and refining process. That process of refining never stops. We continually monitor our coffee and roasting process to ensure our coffee is always at its best.

“This has confirmed our belief that our coffees are truly unique and some of the best available in New Zealand.”

Celcius Coffee will soon be available in supermarkets and organic retail outlets throughout Wellington.

For more details see www.celciuscoffee.co.nz.