EMBASSY COFFEE

On a side window of Coffee Embassy’s roastery in a white blocky font are the words: “Because life’s too short for bad coffee.” Quippy as it is, the beliefs underneath this idea spell out a deeper philosophy for founder and owner, David Pai. Delicious coffee shouldn’t be a luxury, and a positive atmosphere for workers and consumers alike should be a baseline expectation, because life–as you guessed it–is indeed too short for anything other than that. As David casually details the history of his business, it becomes obvious that he prioritizes creating a work environment that is sustainable for his staff, with a number of employees choosing to return to work at Embassy after moving away for a few years or having a couple kids. 

Unwilling to brag about his influence over the coffee scene in Christchurch, David evades a question about his leadership in the collaboration between baristas and business owners across the city by saying that he just wants to see more people sharing what they know with each other. As he sees it, when people are given the opportunity to do what they’re best at, everyone benefits. The difference between holding this belief and structuring a business around it is best illustrated by his community involvement which has fostered camaraderie among teams with a similar ethic to his own. From hosting trainings for baristas around town to organizing latte art throwdowns to cultivate a sense of togetherness in the hospo space, Embassy exists in a way that’s refreshing in contrast to the massive coffee companies in New Zealand who use their size and buying power to squash local competition.

In how he understands the difference between his business interests and those motivating large corporate coffee companies, David alludes to a background entirely unrelated to coffee. Before his career at Embassy, he was a trained musician and music teacher. He recalls the competitiveness among his fellow pianists: “They were selfish and cutthroat, fighting for their part to be heard over everyone else. But I remember in practice looking over at the guitarists and seeing how they were all just hanging out and playing together.” He then gestures around at the cafe and roastery at the end of his anecdote, as if it couldn’t be more clear that his business model prioritizes the connection between individuals, and that neither competition nor the bottom line drives his biggest decisions. Accentuating this point, he goes on, “If I can’t get in my car and drive to a place within an hour, I don’t sell my coffee there.” Ultimately, Coffee Embassy is a means to connect the community, and to make reliably excellent coffee in the process for the people of Christchurch, because for David Pai, life is just too short not to.