So far, we’ve talked about some people we met, described some things we’ve seen, shared some local food prep, showed some stuff that lives here, and, of course, showered love on TukTuk. Now it's time to get to some of the really important info about Fiji...how is the beer and the coffee?
Living in the Pacific Northwest for so long has really spoiled us. Fantastic beer from all over the area, including many great breweries right in Seattle, and amazing coffee from all over the world are readily available. Traveling is giving us an opportunity to seek out new thrills for the ol’ taste buds. I start the day with a nice cup of joe so let’s begin there.
First off, I am a coffee snob. I look for the good stuff. No Nescafé or Folgers or whatever else normal people drink. As Jimmy Dimmick once said, “I buy the gourmet expensive stuff because when I drink it I want to taste it.” I like to buy whole beans because pre-ground beans are a lot less flavorful. Coffee loses its goodness pretty quickly after it’s ground. The place we are staying has a grinder and a French press (it’s not a conical burr and Chemex system but you can’t have everything, right?). The gourmet expensive stuff is really expensive here. I found the good coffee at Savusavu Wines and Spirits, also known as Sally’s Delicatessen. They have a pretty decent selection. Or they did until I bought all of it.
Primitive coffee making supplies on Fiji.
I started with Bula Fiji coffee. I try to buy local so I gave it a shot. It was...not that good. It has a very thin, bland taste, more along the lines of a generic brand. After the first pot of that, I mostly used a small amount of the beans to fill out the other beans I got. The good thing about this coffee is that it is cheaper than the other ones, at about $17FJD for 200 grams. That is equal to about .44 lbs. For those keeping score, that’s about $16 USD for a pound. Not crazy but a lot for just meh coffee.
Next up, Havana Coffee Works from New Zealand. Both the Organic and the Blend were pretty good. Nice medium roast and good flavor. The bad news is that they were both $26.95FJD for 200 grams. That is some expensive coffee at about $25 US per pound. We are on a budget here but I’m not a barbarian so, over the month, I bought Sally’s out of this brand. And it wasn’t even my favorite!
My favorite was Jed’s. Also from New Zealand, this coffee was really rich and flavorful. A nice hint of caramel with a nose of chocolate. As their tagline says, “Just great coffee.” Jed’s was priced about right at $21.95 FJD for 200 grams. I started with the Number 3, then the 4, then ended with the 5. The reason for this was that they only had one bag of each of those and then they were out of it completely. I came to Fiji and drank all of their best coffee in a month! And I loved every drop.
I bought all the coffee. Mine. It is all mine.
Once coffee time was over, it was time to drink. The beer selection here is fairly thin, especially if you are a fan of dark beer. Drinking dark beer in such a warm place is kinda taboo (some might say stupid) but sometimes you just want it on one of those rainy nights. So I found some.
Again, Sally’s was the place to go for the best selection. Aside from the bottles pictured here, they had Fosters, Asahi, Heineken, a couple other standard imports (surprisingly no Budweiser), and various cider’s and mixed drinks in cans or bottles. Obviously I didn’t buy any of that crap. I went with small brewery imports and local brews.
I really enjoyed Monteith’s Black Beer. It wasn’t too heavy, more of a light porter, but it was definitely the most expensive at about $5.20FJD per bottle. I am going to visit the brewery in Greymouth next month and drink more of it. I only got a couple of these over our time here but they were a nice break from the mainstays, mostly Fiji Bitter and Fiji Gold. These are perfectly fine beers for a really warm climate and they are low alcohol so you won’t get blitzed and walk into the ocean and swim with the fishes with all your clothes on and your phone in your pocket. Bitter is $3.20FJD and Gold $2.90FJD each per bottle (375ml), so $9 or $10 USD for a six pack. Long necks will save you about 10 cents a beer.
I drank all of these several times.
Vonu was a small step up from Fiji Gold with a little bit more flavor and a bit higher price. I didn’t really care for Fiji Premium but I don’t really like pilsners. Tui and Cooper’s were OK pale ales. More on the sweet side and not that hoppy. Cooper’s is bottle conditioned so there will be a film settled on the bottom. Don’t be alarmed, this will not kill you. Unless you drink like 40 bottles in a sitting. Then you might die.
It should be noted that the new budget was just announced in Fiji which raised the tax on all alcohol and cigarettes to 18.5% so the prices about will probably be a bit higher next year. It’s a push by the government to get young people to stay away from these terrible things. And to promote healthy living for Fijians.
All in all, we drank some good stuff here and didn’t break the bank. We also had some Fiji Rum (both the coffee and coconut rum were amazing) and Bounty Overproof (58% alcohol) but we mostly stuck with the beer. I look forward to visiting some breweries in New Zealand and will report back my findings when I can.
Until then, keep on truckin’. Thanks!