BP is passable and generally pretty consistent, the ability to get espresso 24 hours from them means I do occasionally drink their coffee.
Head to Coffeelabs cafe on the Shore for a very good coffee (several, in fact, given they usually have a selection of single origins blends that they have roasted and imported themselves). Espresso Workshop in town also well worth a visit.
The point was made earlier that usually the best coffee can be found in one-off cafes, not the "chain stores", and I'd agree with that - but also note that some of the worst coffee possible is also from such places.
My theory is that generally the coffee chains will produce a passable coffee - partly because they've probably idiot-proofed the production process, and hopefully because the staff have had to go through a minimum of training. This isn't the case in all cafes, that's for sure. The worst case I've heard of is - and this was closer to 20 years ago - a cafe in small-town South Island using instant coffee in the espresso machine!
Based on this theory, when I'm on the road and there aren't cafes I know to be good (or a good mobile cart such as Streetwise - and generally mobiles will produce good coffee, as that's their only selling point) I'll tend to get a coffee from somewhere like Wild Bean - not because I'll expect it to be great, but because I expect it to be acceptable. This is a better option than drinking the watery crud I've typically had in small-town cafes...
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