Blessed Bean, the popular Best Street cafe that sells up to 500 cups of coffee on any given day, is giving away a free brew to anyone who sits down to conservation with a complete stranger in a radical project they call Project Connect.

Owner Simone Dowding launched the project yesterday in light of a growing number of people who opt for technology over talk when sitting down to a coffee.

Rebecca Squire and Michelle Falconer were among the first to slump on the couch, sip on a coffee and soak up the project. 

The cafe provides conversation cards to avoid meaningless and awkward small talk.