Kapiti Foodie Experience
In Wellington and the South Wairarapa regions we have a superb array of gastronomic delights but did you know on the beautiful Kapiti Coast there are also amazing Foodie experiences to be had?
The Kapiti Coast offers a diverse range of Foodie experiences from multi award winning Artisans covering Chocolate, Organic Extra-Virgin Olive Oils, Ciders, Craft Beers, Coffee, Limoncello, Gin and Vodka tastings.
How do you experience all these Foodie delights? You can of course self-drive however given you will be sampling alcohol that would not be the recommended and safe way to fully immerse yourself in the Kapiti Coast Foodie scene would it?
So what is the the best and safest way to experience the fabulous tastes of the Kapiti Coast? Take a private tour with Kaewa Tours. Your Guide Tom has been a local on the Coast for over 25 years and is a self-confessed Foodie so is ‘well qualified’ to lead you on your Kapiti Foodie tour!
What does a typical Kaewa Tours Kapiti Coast Foodie tour look like you may ask? We start off by visiting the Kapiti Chocolate Factory where the Owner Sarah Abaniel or one of her team takes us through an informative presentation on the history of chocolate, gain an understanding on what’s involved in producing Chocolate – from the Cocoa bean to your mouth and of course we finish with an extensive tasting of Kapiti Chocolates. Check out the magic Sarah and her team create at Kapiti Chocolate Factory.
What’s the next best thing to Chocolate? Yes – Coffee! We take a visit to The Roastery / Raumati Coffee Co in Paraparaumu where Owners Pete Evans and Serena Harper take us through a Beans to Cup experience. You will gain an in-depth knowledge of where Beans are produced and sourced from, what their sustainability policies are from determining where they purchase coffee from, how the coffee roasting process works, enjoy a cup of the freshly roasted coffee and take away a bag of your own freshly roasted coffee. Check out The Roastery and Raumati Coffee Co website for more information.
We take a drive north to Te Horo where we visit Brent Meldrum and Sally Murrey Owners of Totara Tunnel Olives for tastings of their multi award winning Organic Extra-Virgin Olive Oils. Our visit to Totara Tunnel Olives includes a walk through the Olive Grove where Brent will explain what is involved to maintain healthy Olive trees and what it takes to produce outstanding award-winning Extra-Virgin Olive Oils. After our tour of the Olive Grove we have our Extra-Virgin Olive oil tastings and enjoy a beautiful platter lunch prepared by Sally featuring local produce. At the 2021 NZ Olive Oil awards Brent and Sally took home the prestigious Reserve Best Boutique award for their Totara Tunnel Frantoio green label oil. Check out Totara Tunnel Olives to learn more about their fabulous award winning oils here.
After our Olive Oil tasting we head to Elemental Cider where Owner Carmen Gray will take us through her range of award-winning Ciders – ‘Dry As’ (Silver at the 2021 New Zealand Cider Awards), ‘Totally Oaked’ (Trophy and Gold at the 2021 Awards), ‘Orchard Fall’ (Bronze at the 2021 Awards) and ‘Pear Drop’ (Bronze at the 2021 Awards). Check out the award winning Elemental Ciders here.
After our Cider tastings we visit Koakoa where Owners Chris Barber and Bec Kay take us through their award winning Limoncello, Gin and Vodkas. Did you know that Koakoa in Te reo Māori means happiness? Speaking from experience I’m always happy after having Koakoa’s Limoncello! Check out the Koakoa story and award winning locally distilled Gin Vodka and Limoncello here.
What’s our last Foodie delight of the day? It has to be a drop of multi award winning Craft Beers at the Tuatara Brewery tap room in Sheffield Street Paraparaumu! Check out the awards Tuatara Brewery have won here.
