Kaūa'a Coffee

Overview

Kaūa'a opened in November 2022 in central Papeete on Avenue du Prince Hīnoi as French Polynesia's first dedicated specialty coffee roaster and cafe. The operation positions itself as a 'from bean to cup' benchmark in a Tahitian market historically dominated by supermarket-bought instant and ground coffee, and pulls morning queues of in-the-know expats and tourists fleeing weak hotel coffee.

Known for

• French Polynesia FIRST 2022
• Papeete benchmark for specialty
• ethical and accessible bean-to-cup framing
• refined dishes alongside refined coffees and teas
• central Prince Hīnoi flagship

Why it matters

Tahiti's coffee scene has historically been French-influenced (Malongo, simple bistro espresso) plus a few small local producers in the Australs and Marquesas. Kaūa'a is the first operation framing the experience around the third-wave 'specialty coffee' framework — Tahiti Tourisme treats it as a destination, and travel-blog coffee chasers (Live and Let's Fly, Chefs de Tahiti) profile it as the specialty entry point on the island.

Production

destoning

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head roaster

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color sorting

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roaster machine

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filter equipment

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cupping frequency

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roastery location

Papeete, Tahiti

espresso equipment

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annual volume tonnes

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Café

23 Avenue du Prince Hīnoi, Papeete, French Polynesia

Sources

• https://www.tahititourisme.com/restaurant/kauaa-cafe/
• https://chefsdetahiti.pf/en/coffee-a-moment-of-sharing/
• https://liveandletsfly.com/great-coffee-papeete-tahiti/
• https://www.facebook.com/KauaaTahiti/