You cannot beat a barista made coffee, but it is becoming harder to find someone to make one.
Photo: 123rf
Head to Trade Me and Seek and it is there for all to see - more than 2300 barista vacancies around the country.
Ken Shi owns Aoraki Coffee Roaster and Cafe in Hampton Downs and has been in the industry for more than 12 years.
He said it had never been harder to find a barista.
"It's very difficult, it's a very difficult time and I've been talking to all my friends who run a business, they're suffering every day."
In the meantime, Shi hopped on the coffee machine himself or called on his family to help him out. And while he counted himself lucky he could do that, he said it was not sustainable.
Part of the problem was that New Zealanders were not willing to move to the area or commute for work, he said.
Training staff took time and money, and there was no guarantee they would stay on.
Shi said he offered pretty competitive pay - to retain staff.
"I think the the average hourly rate is around $25 to $30, some busy cafes or some experienced baristas will be over $30 an hour."
That was echoed by owner of The Barista Academy and cafe owner Rachel Berry.
She said numbers in her courses had been shrinking.
"There's definitely a shift in the quantity of applicants, there's definitely less people in the marketplace for people to be choosing from, which is predominantly the international cohort."
Berry said that meant most of her students were New Zealanders not looking for long-term work.
"Kiwi churn in these roles has traditionally been very high, Auckland is horrific.
"I would say most cafe owners would be lucky to get three to six months out of a Kiwi staff member, internationally you'd get a year or two years, depending on their work visa type."
She said despite wages going up more than 60 percent in the last three years, employers had to get competitive when looking for staff.
"As they're trained up, they're literally getting picked up before they even finish their class, so it's actually harder to watch people poach staff - that's hard, you know - there used to be a bit of an etiquette around that and that's really sad."
President of the Speciality Coffee Association Roz Cattell said most cafes and restaurants had been stretched thin.
"People are sharing roles more than than ever.
"We've got owners of course that may not have been as involved in the day-to-day running of the kitchen or on the espresso equipment - that's what's happening now, we're all actually jumping in more than ever."
With the border fully re-opening next week they were crossing their fingers for both tourists and workers.
"This could make us all busier and it's fantastic - as long as we've got the people to support that business... we'll have people that will be able to come and fill these jobs, hopefully."
A hope shared by plenty of cafes up and down the country.
