No Kona Coffee In Kona

I mentioned earlier this week how much I enjoyed touring one of the coffee plantations in Kona during our recent trip to the Big Island of Hawaii. Prior to this trip, I had visions of dropping by local coffee houses around Kailua each morning and slowly sipping rich Kona brew as the waves gently crashed against the rocks. It would be a week of island coffee bliss. Well, FAT CHANCE.

Other than Lava Java (right on the beach with an incredible view), there just wasn't much to crow about in the way of Kona coffee houses. There are very few coffee shops around the town and the ones that are located along the main tourist strip, really don't do the best job brewing the beans that these hardworking farmers spend years trying to perfect. I found it rather odd and a little disappointing.  As a result, we drank Nespresso cappuccinos  most mornings (thank goodness I packed that machine with us. See previous blog post) and only drank Kona coffee in Kona a few occasions.

I guess it's like anything else, you send your good stuff elsewhere.

 Lava Java in Kailua

 View from Lanai at Lava Java

Visiting the Family Farms of Kona

No visit to the Big Island of Hawaii is complete without a stop at one of the family-owned coffee plantations that cover the hills of the Kona district providing some of the most sought after beans in the world. According to the Kona Coffee Council:

The Kona region contains approximately 600 independent coffee farms. Most are small, usually three to seven acres in size. Traditionally, as with most farms, they are a family concern. In 1997 the total Kona coffee acreage was 2290 acres and green coffee production just over two million pounds.

You can't help but enjoy the charm of these small-scale operations. We chose to visit the Kona Lea Plantation, the home of Holualoa Kona Coffee company about 10 minutes up the hill from Kailua Kona. The self-guided tour of this plantation allows you to freely wander their grounds and milling operations while they are creating the final product. At the end of the tour, you are greeted by the friendly staff (thanks Nancy) back at the roasting and packaging house. 

In addition to their own coffee, Holualoa also roasts and bags for 100 other nearby farms. We enjoyed their coffee and purchased a variety of dark-roasted blends to bring back for friends. We even got a pound of the peaberry from Holualoa (pricey at $55 a bag, but well worth it.)

If you are on the island, I would highly suggest taking one of these tours. On a pleasant day, there is little more relaxing than walking through the coffee plantation and enjoying the sun with your family

In my next post, why is it hard to find Kona Coffee in Kona.  

  

Inspecting the roasting process

  

The drying deck

  

In the tasting room

 

Beautiful coffee cherry right off the branch

  

Deep in the coffee forest

 

Beans on the tree

Hey Conference People -- Where's My Coffee?

So, have you ever been at a conference that goes on all day and requires mass amounts of coffee to survive? I am at one of those events right now. And at about 3:00 p.m. yesterday, I left the main room to refill my cup. Low and behold there were a mountain of cups but no more coffee decanters. Please explain to me the reason to ever remove the coffee from the lobby area. Later in the afternoon the coffee decanters magically re-appeared, but the damage was done -- lack of coffee crankiness had set in.

I realize that many people don't drink coffee after a certain time in the morning. However, there are also many of us who need to mainline it throughout the day in order stay upright. All I am saying is... help a brother out and keep the coffee flowing all day long.

Finally, I am back from vacation and over my post-vacation illness, so I hope to begin a series of posts throughout the weekend and into next week about my Kona coffee experiences on the Big Island. Please keep me on your radar until then.

Traveling With My Nespresso Maker

I assume that this post will receive many jeers about my coffee disease, but here goes anyway.  We leave tonight for a week in Hawaii and I am looking forward to many great Kona coffees during our stay. However, I am still going to need a good base coffee maker for each morning and there are few coffees better than my Nespresso makers morning espresso shots. This is the first time I admit this publicly, but I recently purchased Nespresso's travel carrier and will be taking the whole system with me to Hawaii.

Perhaps even more embarrassing is the fact that this will be the second trip my Nespresso pod system has taken with me (I took it to Montana for Christmas as well.) What can I say, it is sometimes nice to have the comforts of home along for the ride and this system is easily packable. I just throw it over my arm and walk through the airport with my pet machine at my side. I get some looks when I go through security but it is all worth it.

I look forward to posting from Hawaii. I plan on doing one of the mom-and-pop coffee plantation tours while there and will report back with pictures and reviews. Until then, Mahalo.

Coffee Face

I am not sure how much coffee during a day is too much, but I think my body gives me a hint from time to time. Yesterday, I reached 4:00 p.m. and my sixth cup of coffee for the day and I noticed that my face was flushed and I seemed to have an insatiable desire for water. Of course, this is the result of dehydration likely brought on by the diuretic properties of the coffee. There are certainly ways to avoid this condition. Examples include:

• Stopping after one cup in the morning (sounds lame)
• Pacing myself throughout the day (different shade of lame)
• Switching to decaf in the afternoon (what is the point of drinking that swill)
• Stopping my habit all together (I can't believe I even typed that)

No, I think I have settled on a solution. I am going to keep drinking coffee until I get that flushed coffee face and then I will binge on water to recover. I realize this may not sound like the healthiest solution, and my doctor may one day suggest it's time to make a change. Until then, coffee face it is.

What about you?

Coffee for Haiti?

Just saw this on the Brewed Coffee blog and thought I would pass it along. It is a quick story about Haitian Coffee for purchase as another way to support this country that has suffered so much recently.

Take a look for yourself at  http://www.brewed-coffee.com/blends/haitian-bleu-coffee/

To Chicory or Not To Chicory

I spent most of the week at a conference in New Orleans and it was my first time to experience chicory coffee – a bayou favorite. This brew is so thick that it clings to the side of your cup and delivers a taste unlike anything else I have ever tried. Ms. Darkroasted and I discussed the merits of chicory as we munched on shrimp and grits and Creole surf and turf at the Commanders Palace (I highly recommend it if you are near the Garden District of New Orleans.) The bottom line, I like chicory, she does not. She says it tastes like, “Coffee soaked in a wood sponge and then wrung out into your cup.” I have a more enlightened view. (Ms. Darkroasted rolls eyes as I type this)

 I think it is like taking rich coffee and carefully-aging it in a wood barrel similar to fine wine. As you take your first sip, you can savor the woody and pleasant finish that is strong without a harsh acidic bite. I drank the stuff all week and brought some home as well to use in my French press.

 The real test of this coffee will be whether or not I still like it away from the ambience of New Orleans. I am a big believer that experience can affect taste as much as the actual properties of the product. For example, will I like it quite as much when I am not drinking it while simultaneously stuffing beignets down my throat at the Café Du Monde?  We shall see. I would love to know your thoughts for those of you who have tasted this Big Easy delight.

 I also included below some pictures of me at the Café Du Monde, the view of the Mississippi River from our hotel room and some street musicians who were lighting up a version of “When the Saints Go Marching In” complete with a “Who Dat Say They Gonna Beat Dem Saints” bridge.