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Your coffee machine might be electric, but your coffee beans probably aren't - unless you're buying them from Queenstown roastery Ryder.
Most coffee roasteries still rely on gas, but Ryder was the first in New Zealand to invest in a German machine called a Probat P05e, the electric version of one of the world’s most well known roasters.
As master roaster, relationship manager and founder Sam Bright says, quality has always been the most important thing and the electric tech now offers it.
"We've become immensely better at our craft by learning this technology to benefit our coffee at the other end and we think it's gone really well."
The roaster is basically like a hair dryer and offers on demand heat, unlike gas heated drum roasters which typically take 30-60 minutes to properly warm up. This saves energy and time. And, much like an induction cooktop, it also offers greater control, better air quality and lower emissions.
Ryder's electric roaster is fairly small and does 5kg at a time but, given how well the first machine has gone, Bright says they are currently looking at upgrading to something bigger.
It has also opened up a new all-electric espresso bar in Frankton's industrial estate (conveniently located right across the road from the Queenstown Electrification Accelerator office), so pop in and get a taste of the future and see the roasting in action if you're in the neighbourhood.
"We've lost the cops!" In our next instalment of Political Power, we managed to get David Seymour, deputy prime minister and leader of the Act Party, behind the wheel of a Zeekr 7x when he was in Queenstown recently. As is often the case when people take a new EV for a spin, there was much chortling as he gave it heaps up the Remarkables ski field road - and, if we take him at his word, we might even see him give Mike Casey's tractor heaps up Parliament steps in the future.
Read moreDownloadEVs are having a moment right now, so how can we get more people driving electric; Tom Selleck sums up how EV owners are feeling right now and staggering analysis shows the sun's prices have been unaffected by decades of geopolitical conflict; Scion goes solar to get off gas, while dairy farmers and homes go with solar and batteries to keep going; Saul Griffith takes his solar-powered scooter to Canberra and starts a fight with regulators; the Cancer Society's Lions Lodge in Hamilton gets some panels donated and will save $17,000 a year; and killing the Friday vibe with new studies on how fossil fuel companies made massive profits after the last energy crisis in 2022 and carbon emissions making our blood boil - perhaps quite literally.
Read moreDownloadAn electrification advocate says the rising price and falling supply of gas may not be a bad thing in the long-term. PwC research —commissioned by Gas Industry Co— has found New Zealand's gas market will need to shrink sharply as domestic supply declines. It warns this could mean business closures, job losses, and higher energy costs.