July 21-22, 2012
During our time in French Polynesia, some things have met expectations, some have exceeded expectations, some have been a surprise, and some have been a disappointment. Coffee and coffee drinks have been disappointing.
I knew there would be no Starbuck’s but thought the Society Islands, being a French territory, would excel in coffee and coffee drinks. Sadly the coffee has been, to put it bluntly, terrible. We have tried several brands from the store and at best they are tolerable. Coffee drinks (cappuccino, lattes, cafe au lait, etc.) are practically nonexistent. We actually resorted to, horrors, a Mc Cafe (a Mc Donald’s with coffee drinks) in Tahiti. Desperate times call for desperate measures, and after weeks of almost no coffee drinks, it hit the spot.
When we got to Moorea and had access to a couple of hotels in Cook’s Bay, we hoped that in catering to tourists, they might have acceptable coffee drinks. They did serve “cappuccino” but here it’s often espresso coffee with whipped cream on top. Well, it’s better than no cappuccino and actually isn’t bad. I will say one thing that spurs us on to brave what might be a rough passage to New Zealand is the fact that they have Starbuck’s. I think perhaps I’ll tape all our Starbuck’s cards to the wall and if the weather gets rough I’ll stare at those cards to remind myself of why we’re enduring this particular ordeal.
Until then, we’ll continue to look hopefully whenever we see a green awning over a restaurant (always to be disappointed), keep trying different coffee from the stores (can they all be this bad?), and keep seeking out an eatery that might make a good cappuccino. There must be one here somewhere! -Cyndi
Bali Hai Restaurant in Cook’s Bay
From the deck of the Bali Hai.
Hotel Kaveka in Cook’s Bay – at least the scenery was beautiful!
Cappuccino here = Espresso with whipped cream.
