Our Story

Southern Sky Roasters is a proudly family-owned artisan coffee roastery, founded and run by John and Martina.

Our coffee roasting journey began in the alpine village of Lake Tekapo, where a love of great coffee and a desire to create something of our own quickly turned into a hands-on family project. We rolled up our sleeves and transformed a shipping container into our very own purpose-built roastery — creating a space where we could roast our own beans, experiment with different coffees and develop our craft. From the very beginning, it has been a family effort, with Philippa helping bring our vision to life through the branding, logo and creative design behind Southern Sky Roasters.

Wanting to support local businesses and craftsmanship, we partnered with Stonker Roasters, a Christchurch-based company, to handcraft a bespoke coffee roaster specifically for Southern Sky Roasters. The roaster has since become the heart of our business, allowing us to roast every batch ourselves and carefully bring out the best in each coffee.

Great coffee starts with great beans. That's why we source organic, Fairtrade coffee through Trade Aid importers, supporting farmers and communities around the world while keeping sustainability and ethical sourcing at the heart of what we do.

We artisan roast each batch with care, bringing out the natural flavours and unique characteristics of every bean. It's a hands-on process that combines quality beans, careful roasting and plenty of passion — resulting in coffee that's made to be enjoyed.

Now based in Māpua in the beautiful Tasman region, we're excited to continue growing Southern Sky Roasters and sharing our coffee with even more people. What began in a shipping container in Lake Tekapo has grown into a family business we're incredibly proud of — and we're excited for what comes next. ☕️