From the Boardroom to the Bean: A New Brewed Life on the West Coast

For Kelly Lee and Ash Baillie, the move from corporate life in Scotland to running a small-batch coffee roasting business in Greymouth wasn’t just a career change—it was a homecoming, and the start of a long-held dream.

Kelly, who grew up in Greymouth, left at 17 and eventually settled in Scotland after what was meant to be a brief time overseas. But Aotearoa was never far from her mind.

“I thought about New Zealand every single day,” she says. “I never felt at peace. I knew I was meant to be home.”

While working in Glasgow’s banking sector, Kelly met Ash—and it didn’t take much convincing for her to consider life on the Coast. “She didn’t take much convincing,” laughs Kelly. “I’d brought her to the Coast before, and by her second visit, she was hooked.”

During the Covid lockdowns, their love of coffee deepened into something more. They spent weekends in a campervan, travelling to coffee roasteries around Scotland—tasting blends, talking to roasters, and dreaming up a future business. “We’d always say, ‘Wouldn’t it be amazing if we did this ourselves?’” Kelly recalls.

That vision followed them all the way to Greymouth. Just a week after moving back, a serendipitous encounter changed everything. While picking up a houseplant from a woman in Blackball, they learned her husband was selling his coffee roasting business.

“We pulled over on the drive home and just looked at each other. It felt like a sign—everything was falling into place.”

After a few weeks of hands-on training with previous owner Will Cleaver, they launched WEST Roastery in late 2024—roasting small batches of beans by hand from their new base in Greymouth.

“There are no machines telling us what to do—we roast by sight, smell, and taste,” says Ash. “We take pride in every single batch.”

The pair now source green beans from Guatemala, Papua New Guinea, and Sumatra, offering two signature blends—Blaketown Batch and Coast Roast. They sell their coffee online and via social media, with orders reaching as far as Wellington and Australia.

For Kelly, it’s about more than just a good cup of coffee.

“There’s something about the aroma, the ritual—it warms your puku and lifts your mood. It’s social, it’s comforting, and we get to be part of that moment in people’s day.”

While Ash may eventually return to full-time work, Kelly is focused on keeping WEST Roastery small and sustainable.

“We’ve had investment offers, but we’ve turned them down. We want to stay in control, grow slowly, and keep doing it our way—right here on the Coast.”