When we were last in Fiji, we stayed at JJ’s on the Park which is a boutique hotel in the heart of Suva. We quickly learned that coffee here is made from powder and water and is not real coffee as we know it. At JJ’s, there is a small French Press in the room so we knew that if we could snag some beans, we’d have the real deal.

In our explorations, we soon found Gloria Jean’s where we purchased enough coffee, ground coarsely, to keep us real.

This time after we landed, our first order of business was to assess the coffee situation at a different hotel. The hotel website said that they offer complimentary coffee so we had to see what exactly that meant.

Powder. No, thanks.

The room already had an electric kettle so we grabbed a cab, and went to Suva with the sole purpose of locating a French Press. After much searching we found this cute little set in the New World grocery store.

We purchased it and because my total was over $30 they gave me a free bag of okra! Wowza. Okra. My least favorite veggie in the world. (I was traumatized by it as a child but that’s a whole other post. )

I graciously accepted my okran gift and gave it to the cab driver who seemed thrilled to receive it. Kinda how I would react if someone gave me cookies. Seriously.

We then went to Gloria Jeans and got a bag of French Breakfast Blend and we were set.

After many hours of being awake drinking coffee and trying to get used to the radical time change, I was afraid that we would run out of coffee before Monday evening rolled around and we could get back to Suva. And I wasn’t sure what time Gloria Jean’s closed so wasn’t sure if we would make it there on time after David finished work.

The complimentary hotel coffee, comes in the form of these little packets that you are to add water to. But how much water? Would two packets work better than one? I’m pretty adventurous but not willing to try this form of “coffee”.

In the restaurant, there is a machine that puts the water and the powder together in the proper proportions. In a pinch, it might be drinkable but on a normal basis, I wouldn’t drink this either. Still, we might be headed for a coffee emergency and….

…the machine is broken. For real! Now everyone has to guess how much powder to add to their water, or how much water to add to their powder to make “coffee”. Ummm no.

I saw an espresso machine behind the bar. So I decided to order a cappuccino this morning. There ARE coffee beans in this hotel! I heard them being poured into the machine and I tasted them in my cappuccino which was mostly foam but, hey, beggars can’t be choosers.

After breakfast, I caught a cab to Suva, hustled into Gloria Jeans and loaded up on real coffee. I also learned that they are open until 9 p.m. each night so we shouldn’t have any more close calls in the future. Whew!

Crisis averted! 🙂

Note: It is Monday, May 3rd here in Fiji.