I have been getting mine from Prima Roastery for years. They are based in ChCh but pretty sure they ship all over NZ. I find them very good.

@michaelmurfy has recommended me https://killercoffeeco.com.au/ - they supply beans, plunger and espresso grinds as well as capsules for Nespresso machines. Free shipping too.

It's difficult to find better-value (given you're emphasising price) beans than what you'll get from the supermarket - eg, brands like Supreme, with Countdown selling this at a really good price recently.

That said, in practice buying directly from a decent roaster will mostly result in being provided with a better product than a supermarket - from the supermarket there's little assurance of the age/quality/storage of the beans. Part of the problem is even being able to have any idea of how old the beans are - most companies provided a 'best before' date, but none seem to agree how this should be measured. This means comparison between brands is well-neigh impossible, and the date's really only useful to find the freshest in relation to the same brand.

A number of roasters sell on-line, but they typically won't be cheaper than supermarkets. I used to buy online from People's Coffee, which didn't charge much for delivery and were really quick, but the beans aren't cheap.

Have you looked to see if there are any local roasters that are worth trying out? Often their local prices are cheaper than what they charge on-line - eg, the roaster I buy directly from here in PN sell a large Agee jar-worth of beans for $20, which works out at about $30 a kg, but they charge $40 a kg online.

Thanks, was looking for better value really. But, online prices I have seen , are usually even more than the supermarkets. 

I'll check out those websites though, thanks. 

I always just buy direct from Havana.

Havana used to be $4 delivery for 1kg (about $37 a kg for beans) , and pretty easy to order off (even easier after I suggested they implement a reorder last button).

Main advantage over the supermarket is they're roasted that day....not whenever the supermarket took delivery and decided to put it out on the shelf.

If you were serious about coffee you wouldn't buy beans from the supermarket. How much coffee are you going through? Is going cheap worth it because you probably will taste the difference. You are much better going to a local roaster to buy, never hurts to support local businesses even if its a few $ extra.

I understand that it's not typical to use beans the same day they're roasted; the local roaster I buy from doesn't sell/use their beans for 4-5 days (the organic one I buy a day or two more than that). Here's a link that goes into finding that 'peak' of quality - https://clivecoffee.com/blogs/learn/is-your-coffee-too-fresh

Yep, if you're not comfortable paying more than supermarket prices then it'll be hard to find something cheaper AND similar/better quality elsewhere. Your best option, then, is probably finding a supermarket brand you like (and supermarkets do sell acceptable/decent brands like Havana, Supreme, Hummingbird...), and contacting the roaster to find out the gap between their roast date and stated best before date so you can assess which beans in the shop are of acceptable freshness before you buy them. You're not going to hit the issue of 'too fresh' mentioned in the previous para with supermarket beans!

I agree, though, it's worth trying your local roaster - I appreciate buying my beans from the very people that roast them and, as Nate001 says, supporting a local business.

Or a roaster with walk ins.  Most will do that as well.  But depends where you are.  Like craft breweries, roasteries are turning up all over the place now.  And some are suburban, or central city.

MadEngineer: Best: http://www.ebonycoffee.co.nz/Shop

 

These are the guys I buy from too, who do the $20 large Agee jar (or same-sized packet) deal if you're buying in-person (PN); I think the OP is in Tauranga, so it may be worth checking out the local roasters there as well.

Nate001:

 

If you were serious about coffee you wouldn't buy beans from the supermarket. How much coffee are you going through? Is going cheap worth it because you probably will taste the difference. You are much better going to a local roaster to buy, never hurts to support local businesses even if its a few $ extra.

 

I reckon we spend about $15 a week on coffee beans. Or maybe a bit more, as our son likes to make coffee for his friends now. 

Usually we can brew a better cup of coffee at home using supermarket beans, than we can get from 'most' coffee shops. I dislike milky coffee, or , a slightly 'off' taste. 

We have been moving to online food delivery lately, and are saving quite a lot of money. 

I was wondering if we could reduce the coffee bill, somewhat.   It seems coffee is the one product you can't buy cheaper online :)

davidcole:

 

Or a roaster with walk ins.  Most will do that as well.  But depends where you are.  Like craft breweries, roasteries are turning up all over the place now.  And some are suburban, or central city.

 

just follow the smell of burnt toast :)

we purchase from these guys every month and they are pretty quick at delivering, we do order by the box which is 10 bags i think

https://www.essenzacoffee.co.nz/

surfisup1000:

 

Nate001:

 

If you were serious about coffee you wouldn't buy beans from the supermarket. How much coffee are you going through? Is going cheap worth it because you probably will taste the difference. You are much better going to a local roaster to buy, never hurts to support local businesses even if its a few $ extra.

 

 

I reckon we spend about $15 a week on coffee beans. Or maybe a bit more, as our son likes to make coffee for his friends now. 

 

Usually we can brew a better cup of coffee at home using supermarket beans, than we can get from 'most' coffee shops. I dislike milky coffee, or , a slightly 'off' taste. 

 

We have been moving to online food delivery lately, and are saving quite a lot of money. 

 

I was wondering if we could reduce the coffee bill, somewhat.   It seems coffee is the one product you can't buy cheaper online :)

 

IMO cheaper coffee doesn't equal better value. I'm not the biggest fan of supermarket coffee.

Just be thankful boutique coffee is relatively reasonably priced in NZ. In Dubai it's NZD$40 for 500gms of decent coffee and a flat white is $7.50