Coffee & Tea Lovers owner Paolo Aryan loves nothing better than roasting coffee and tasting tea.

He has been serving great coffee and speciality teas to Aucklanders since moving to NZ from Tehran over 30 years ago.

His first café was “Groovy” on K’Road, and he opened his first Coffee & Tea Lovers store at 12 Amera Place, Botany Downs, 18 years ago. 

There are now five Coffee & Tea Lovers’ café and retail shops in Auckland, including Cook St., in Howick.

Matt Greenwood, creator of Blend 175, has known Paolo since meeting him in his Newmarket café “Darjeelingz” over 20 years ago. “Paolo has been my go-to guy for top quality premium teas since I moved to New Zealand. 

He is talented, generous, incredibly humble and a dear friend”.

Paolo has donated the tea for Blend 175 adding, “I wanted to participate in the Blend 175 tea project and give something back to the local community which has been home to my wife Alison and I for over 20 years.”