Pavaraga Espresso Bar

In the tiny Bonita Plaza, not  Plaza Bonita the mall, but the strip mall that is also home to the original location of TJ Oyster Bar is a new, as in opened two weeks ago new coffee shop...

Pavaraga hails from Hawaii and the Bonita location is their first on the  mainland...

We had to give it a looksee earlier this afternoon...

It's in the corner, a few doors down from TJOB. They already have their signage and photos on their window with photographic endorsements from the President himself, several Iron Chefs and the former Governor of Hawaii.

There is a lot of seating and photos from their coffee farm in Hawaii, established in 1908. The other wall (not shown) has blown up vintage photos from the coffee farm's early days, including donkey labor since horses were not available. They serve various coffee drinks iced or hot where you can choose your own method of brewing (Chemex, siphon, Kyoto drip, and a few others I can't think of), type of coffee (some are aged up to 10 years) as well as blended drinks. There are also some desserts like Hawaiian cookies, shortbread and cheesecake slices. Sorry my menu photo isn't that clear...

The young man working there was very friendly and went into detail explaining the menu and the company's history. The owner, Leo Javar came out a few minutes later and also went over the roasting process and answered more questions that Bert had.





We didn't realize our stay would be longer than anticipated. The reason for this...no roasted beans on hand, so the owner had the worker use a vintage contraption (over 100 years old) to handroast the beans. Bert correctly surmised that the only way to find out the beans were done was by sound. The owner explained that there were certain sounds that indicated when the roasting was done. I don't remember the details, but it seemed intricate.


Bert's Ka'ele coffee (hand roasted beans and prepared via siphon), only $3.00.

Technically if everyone in line wanted to wait for coffee beans to roast, it would take FOREVER, but it was dead when we went and maybe they figured we had time to kill. In the future, they should have roasted and ground beans at the ready.

My Doppio, $2 (before I added sugar and half and half). Holy $%##, this was quite strong but good!

TC's Mango Iced Tea (very sweet)....

We figured we would try their cookies (flavors were chocolate chip, gava, macadamia nut, taro, poi). I forget the brand but I remember seeing these at the Wal-Mart in Hilo. They also sell big tubs of these at the Costco in Hawaii.  They were 10 pcs for $2.50. Kind of pricey since these cookies didn't really have that much flavor. They look cute but they tasted, maybe...old? I only had a few bites and stopped.  We hadn't had lunch yet and I didn't want to kill my tastebuds. In addition, we got a couple of shortbread cookies ($1 each/they threw in an extra for free), two were chocolate dipped. Again, only had a bite. Super sweet but goes well with the hot coffee says Bert.

A better look at their menu (postcard sized, located at their counter).

There was the usual long line at TJOB. We originally were going to get some fish tacos there but we didn't realize it would take this long to get coffee (about half an hour; I hope this isn't a normal thing here). We would end up going to another taco shop nearby.

Pix on their front window.



We'll have to go back to try their other coffees, including their iced.

Pavaraga Espresso Bar

4240 Bonita Rd,, Suite A

Bonita, CA 91902
(619) 490-6925

www.hawaiiusa.cc + reviews from you know where

I had coffee soda earlier this morning plus this doppio so I am mega-wired. I probably won't sleep 'til 2 am, if I'm lucky. Yikes. Bert enjoyed his coffee. He drank half of it black to savor the flavor, which was very strong, then added in the half and half plus sugar.

While we were there, a group of five people came in, all ordering frapps.  This seems to be Bonita's first "nice" coffee place. It is NOT a hipster coffee bar, but one that does offer more than what the normal coffee kiosk would. The other local coffee places (Donny's Cafe next to the Mission Cyclery and JETS Espresso, a drive thru) are fine for what they are, but Pavaraga's steps it up a notch with their Hawaii-sourced beans and various methods of preparation, for those who want a different coffee experience. They do need work on their sweets offerings. Too bad they aren't made in house. Crappy store bought cookies that aren't that great does the coffee a disservice.