Hundreds of Northlanders have been surprised with free coffees after a customer handed $1200 cash to café staff and asked them to “pay it forward”.

Mats Wickbom, co-owner of Café Cinema in Kerikeri, said the regular customer left the bundle of banknotes about six weeks ago.

Wickbom wasn’t at the café at the time so he tracked down the donor to check exactly what he wanted done with the money, how he wanted it done, and why.

The man was adamant he wanted the cash used to “pay it forward” or, in other words, to pay for other customers’ coffees and meals.

“It was just a friendly gesture on his part. It blew me away a bit,” Wickbom said.

The mystery benefactor, who insisted on remaining anonymous, said the cash could be used for anyone. They didn’t have to be regulars or people who were struggling for money.

That left Wickbom to pick people at random. The recipients were young and old, men and women, couples and the occasional group, in most cases for coffee.

He hadn’t kept count of the number of people who had benefited but the cash would have covered more than 200 coffees. The money was now almost all used up.

Wickbom said customers’ reactions varied.

“Some people just stand there and stare at you. Everyone’s grateful, but surprise, in a positive way, is the most common reaction. I haven’t had too much abuse about it, put it that way,” he quipped.

“It’s a nice feeling. Even though it’s not from us, it feels good to pass something on.”

It wasn’t the first time a customer had paid it forward, but usually it was for one coffee at a time.

All Wickbom would say about the mystery benefactor was that he was a “very relaxed, cruisey” character.

Similar gestures have reportedly occurred at other Kerikeri businesses in recent weeks.

In 2017 another mystery man – or perhaps the same one? – left a pile of cash at Way Cup on Kerikeri Rd to pay for the next 30 customers’ coffees.