We’ve been slowly nudging the traditions of espresso forward since our first bar opened in Wellington in 1996. Right from the start, our intention has been to create a new kind of espresso experience – an uplifting moment in busy urban lives based around perfect espresso, jazz music and a special relationship between each customer and their barista.

In 2008, we took the first step in our grand scheme to link the espresso lovers of the world through Fuel Espresso bars in all the world’s great cities, and we opened in Hong Kong.

Espresso is Italian and we’ve always maintained close links to Trieste, the Northern Italian coffee port that is the world’s espresso capital. Trieste taught us the art of espresso. We designed our blends in Trieste and our roasting style is distinctively Triestian.

I’m the proud descendant of several generations of coffee planters, who have been growing coffee since the late 1700’s in Coorg, the premium coffee-growing region of India. Naturally, one of the essential green beans in the Fuel blend is sourced from my family’s estates. To me, that’s the note in the flavour of Fuel that’s the most heart felt.

Sanjay Ponnapa, Founder, Fuel Espresso