4e Vague Café

Damien Ricard, who was born in Bordeaux to a Hawaiian family, discovered the modern coffee shop while living in London and brought the idea home, opening 4e Vague Café in the Chartrons district in May 2019. The name plays on two things at once, a nod to his own surfing background and to the fourth wave label some baristas use for a style of coffee that pairs grand cru quality with a closer look at the environmental cost of getting it to a cup.

Every espresso, macchiato and flat white here runs through Hawaiian beans imported directly from the islands, either a blend of ninety percent South American coffee cut with ten percent Hawaiian, or a single origin pour that rotates monthly between Kona, Kaʻu and Maui. Bulk beans are sold on site for anyone who wants to bring the same coffee home, inside a small espresso bar built around that one distinctive backbone rather than a wider food menu.