Good shout: Special Mention, Mt Maunganui
Getting the goodness out - one cup at a time
Welcome to Good Shout! A shout out series calling out great cafes and coffee experiences.
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Special Mention Cafe, Arataki
399 Oceanbeach Road, Arataki, Mt Maunganui
Away from the crowds of the Mount Main Beach, sits a awesome little patch of sand and surf, called Arataki.
On this typically warm Bay of Plenty morning, the waves were a crumbly waist-to-head high. So I took the Bliss Stick Rad 195 out for a dawn surf.
The problem with a dawn surf is that it’s too early to crank the grinder at home, for fear of waking up the house. So I paddled out without the glorious nectar of caffeine pumping through the veins.
I didn’t need to be a sad sack of caffeine withdrawal for long though. Just around the corner from one of the more fun breaks on the coast, sits Special Mention Cafe.
Special Mention brings a laid back vibe to specialty coffee. Lots of tanned skin, salty blonde-locks and smiles from ear-to-ear. This place has to have the best location on the Coast.
Wellington’s Coffee Supreme supplies the coffee, and the baristas take a solid coffee to the next level. Creamy, sweet and velvety flat whites await you.
If ‘spro isn’t your jam, they’ve got batch brew filter (a Kenyan on the day of my visit), cold brew (thanks to Coffee Supreme’s Holiday Resort), and a bunch of other great options to try.
The food is excellent as well, with the toasties and scones being well worth the wait.
They stock a range of coffee accouterments - filter paper, AeroPress, mugs and bags of coffee. They also stock a small selection of local hawt sauces, gourmet choc and other great treats.
This place gets busy and attracts a great range of people.
Surfers and beach goers fresh off the sand mix with new Mums with kids in tow. Remote workers sitting in the sunny courtyard with their laptops out, blend in with the blue-rinse brigade that Tauranga is famous for who sit near-by complaining that their grandchildren never call.
Also - there have been good doggos every time I’ve been there.
It’s a great vibe.
Five stars.