Beer & Blade fundraiser for Vanuatu cyclone recovery

The words "Vanuatu" and "Porter" aren't known to frequently cross paths, but we managed to fluently marry them up when we brewed our new Vanuatu Coffee Porter with the help of Mojo Coffee.

The 500-litre batch of porter was brewed with the last of the coffee beans that came from the island of Tanna in Vanuatu, before Cyclone Pam wreaked havoc on the its coffee growers and inhabitants last March.

Proceeds from sales of the Vanuatu Porter will be donated to Mojo Coffee's Vanuatu cyclone recovery fund.

The porter will be officially launched this Thursday (14 May) with a Beer & Blade fundraiser at The Third Eye (Tuatara's Temple of Taste on 30 Arthur Street). $20.00 will get you a pint of your choice and a trim (on your head or your dial) from the dapper gents from local barbers, Boar & Blade.

Steve Gianoutsos, founder of Mojo Coffee visited coffee growers on Tanna in 2014, with the aim to develop long term relationships with local growers and cooperatives. The cyclone has wrought devastation on this process and Mojo wanted to see what could be done to assist the growers in their efforts to rebuild.

Funds from the Beer and Blade evening will go towards the short term overall relief efforts, but the next steps are to work with local aid organisations to establish a project that will help get Tanna's coffee growers' businesses back up and running.

"They're local guys; individual farmers who have their own plots of land and sell their crops to a co-operative on the island. Beans are then sold onto the local market (including passing cruise ships), New Zealand and Australia," he said.

"It's very primitive, no one is working for a big corporation. They're working for themselves, and they were happy managing their own businesses."

"Now is a good time to start working alongside these farmers, to ensure that, as they replant, they can be assisted with some specialist expertise and knowledge with the horticulture, processing and replanting new varieties.

"By developing the coffees and processes on the island, world markets will open up, leading to improved sustainability of their business in the future."

Carl Vasta, Tuatara founder and head brewer, says despite the brew's tropical origins, it's a perfect one to ease into winter with.

"On making its acquaintance, you're really greeted with rich coffee and chocolate on the nose. It's a warming brown ale, supported by a full malt body, so it'll leave you with a balanced bitterness and maybe the desire to have just one more because it's a little cold outside," he said.

Pouring soon at…
The Third Eye
Tuatara Tasting Room (Kapiti Coast)
The Malthouse
Mojo Airport
Mojo Featherston
Mojo Poneke