Two different Tauranga residents have reached the same conclusion: if te reo Māori is to thrive, people need opportunities to use it in everyday life.

Graham Hoete’s group using the language comes from his own reo journey and Māori identity, while John Hodgson’s has emerged from more than 60 years as a Pākehā learner.

Both have ended up around a cafe table.

Hoete, widely known as Māori artist Mr G, started Kawhe Kōrero at Blended Cafe in Pāpāmoa in November 2025.

The weekly gathering grew from an idea sparked by Ngairo Eruera, Hoete’s teacher in a full-immersion Māori language course at the University of Waikato last year.

The group meets Wednesdays from 7am to 8am.

“In its simplest form, it’s just having a coffee and practising speaking te reo Māori with each other who are on that same journey,” Hoete said.

The group welcomes everyone, from fluent speakers to beginners. “The important thing is just creating a safe and relaxed environment for people to have a go.”

Graham Hoete started a weekly Kawhe Kōrero group at Blended Cafe in Pāpāmoa to encourage people to speak te reo Māori.

Hoete had seen participants’ confidence grow.

“One of our group – Laura – didn’t really have any te reo Māori when she first started, and now she can stand in front of everyone and share where she’s from and her name,” he said.

“She has since begun a Level 1 and 2 te reo Māori course.”

Hoete said people from around the country had contacted him after seeing his social media posts, asking for advice about starting similar gatherings in their communities.

For him, strengthening te reo Māori is deeply connected to identity.

“One of the main things that makes us unique in the world is te reo Māori,” he said. “It’s part of our identity, who we are.”

Across town, Hodgson started his weekly Coffee Korero at Grindz Cafe in First Ave in January.

Hodgson began learning te reo Māori in 1962, when he attended classes in Hamilton. More than six decades later, he said he was still learning and looking for opportunities to speak.

As a Pākehā living in what he described as a predominantly Pākehā world, Hodgson said finding opportunities for conversation had not always been easy.

“There were never any of those in the old days,” he said of the informal coffee groups now emerging around Tauranga.

At his Tuesday Coffee Korero, people of different abilities meet in the upstairs meeting room and talk about everyday life.

“Mostly it’s about things that they’ve been doing,” he said.

Some participants are close to complete beginners, but Hodgson said the group is supportive.

“The more mistakes you make, the more things you can learn if the environment is supportive,” he said.

John Hodgson has started a Coffee Korero group at Grindz Cafe. Photo / Jo Jones

Hodgson also attends another reo coffee group at Hey Jude Cafe in Brookfield.

He sees the growing number of informal groups as another step towards making te reo Māori part of everyday community life.

“I think it’s just another step to making it a community language,” he said.

For both men, the point is simple: te reo Māori does not need to remain something encountered only in a classroom. It can be spoken over coffee, while talking about everyday life or simply introducing yourself.

As Aotearoa celebrates Te Wiki o te Reo Māori from September 14-20, this year’s Te Reo Towns theme recognises communities that have helped keep the language alive.

Hoete believes the best thing people can do is try.

“Don’t be afraid, just to give it a go,” he said. “Attend your local Kawhe Kōrero.”

He is not looking to turn his Wednesday gathering into something grand or formal.

“The important thing is just keeping it relaxed, keeping it chill.

“The most important thing is just providing an opportunity for people who are on the journey of learning te reo Māori to have a coffee and a safe space to practise speaking te reo Māori.”