Hooboy, have you struck a nerve here! As you may recall, I am a coffee geek and have been roasting my own beans for I-don't-remember how many years. 1) Kona's coffee growers are 100% correct in their gripe. Mislabeling is just wrong. 2) When I buy Kona, I get it from Purple Mountain Coffee - and it is always very nice and beautifully prepared. I probably would not be able to tell it apart from other quality Konas. 3) BUT in my opinion, Kona, as nice as it is, does not compete in taste with good Colombian, Guatemalan, Panamanian, Kenyan, Ethiopian and other origins. My opinion only. Coffee preference is highly personal. It's just a good, mild coffee. 4) Kona is expensive... but there are others even more expensive. (Google "The 10 Most Expensive Coffees in the World"). My pick, for taste, is Hacienda Esmeralda in Panama, which grows a variety called "Gesha" (not Geisha) that can be fabulous... but as an agricultural product, varies in taste from season to season.
....... there. Don't roast your beans too dark (Charbucks, do you hear me?) and enjoy. I won't bore you further.
I love Kona Coffee. I save it for special treats days because it's so pricy, and I understand why. Your article has really opened my eyes on this Jane, Thank you!
I bought some Kona coffee from this guy in February while visiting the big island. He was at a farmers market and told me about his one and a half acres of coffee trees!
Very good article! I’m a little embarrassed to say that I haven’t found a Kona coffee yet that is worth the price. It seems every time we try a new one, it just isn’t that good. Maybe having someone brew us a cup at a stand is not a right way to try. We have found very tasty coffee from the Hamakua Coast and the Puna/ Kau areas. All on Hawai’i Island. Aloha 🤙
Great story. As someone who has the luxury of visiting the BI once every couple of years (one of the benefits of living on the West Coast-as you know, its a very easy flight) a trip to our favorite island is never complete without stopping at Greenwell Farms for some coffee to bring back to Sacramento. To your point, Kona coffee is not cheap and thats why for our morning cups in the condo, I will pick up a less expensive bag at the KTA. I honestly just assumed the local chains had the benefit of volume discounting. Consider myself informed-when I know better, I do better. Mahalo!
Oddly enough I am one of the world's foremost experts on Ethics in the Specialty Coffee Industry. I did a un updated international survey back in 2003 and these were strong indications about unethical practices. Universally, you should only by from companies with published Codes of Ethics.
"Average Rating Given to Each Situation
(where 1 = no damage and 10 = extremely damaging)
Ranked in Order from Most to Least Damaging
Selling products deliberately mislabeled 9.62
Selling products that are short weight 9.10
Applying origin labels to blends when less than
half is from the designated origin 8.62
Spreading rumors about the quality of a competitor's product 8.56
Producing inconsistent products while ignoring
cupping, roasting, color, and blending standards...."
Ethics in the Specialty Coffee Industry by Marty Milner for the SCAA
wow! i learned of some kona details on my only trip to hawaii 8+ years ago. I hadn't thought of the "blending" but saw signs there to help remind consumers of that concept. and i got what i thought was 100%. regardless i really liked it while i certainly didn't like the cost. since then i "agree" when i buy blends (amazon) but now just don't know what trickery is in the bags i get? maybe i can find a REAL farmer and buy direct? did you happen to find any of them? that would be a cool thing to announce to us! i don't mind buying direct from the REAL farmer! i do that at street fairs and art shows. farmers' markets - to me - truly suck and aren't usually very different from the big stores. but for "real" kona coffee i don't mind helping in the cause
Hooboy, have you struck a nerve here! As you may recall, I am a coffee geek and have been roasting my own beans for I-don't-remember how many years. 1) Kona's coffee growers are 100% correct in their gripe. Mislabeling is just wrong. 2) When I buy Kona, I get it from Purple Mountain Coffee - and it is always very nice and beautifully prepared. I probably would not be able to tell it apart from other quality Konas. 3) BUT in my opinion, Kona, as nice as it is, does not compete in taste with good Colombian, Guatemalan, Panamanian, Kenyan, Ethiopian and other origins. My opinion only. Coffee preference is highly personal. It's just a good, mild coffee. 4) Kona is expensive... but there are others even more expensive. (Google "The 10 Most Expensive Coffees in the World"). My pick, for taste, is Hacienda Esmeralda in Panama, which grows a variety called "Gesha" (not Geisha) that can be fabulous... but as an agricultural product, varies in taste from season to season.
....... there. Don't roast your beans too dark (Charbucks, do you hear me?) and enjoy. I won't bore you further.
I love Kona Coffee. I save it for special treats days because it's so pricy, and I understand why. Your article has really opened my eyes on this Jane, Thank you!
I bought some Kona coffee from this guy in February while visiting the big island. He was at a farmers market and told me about his one and a half acres of coffee trees!
dis is local reporting 🤙🏽
Very good article! I’m a little embarrassed to say that I haven’t found a Kona coffee yet that is worth the price. It seems every time we try a new one, it just isn’t that good. Maybe having someone brew us a cup at a stand is not a right way to try. We have found very tasty coffee from the Hamakua Coast and the Puna/ Kau areas. All on Hawai’i Island. Aloha 🤙
Great story. As someone who has the luxury of visiting the BI once every couple of years (one of the benefits of living on the West Coast-as you know, its a very easy flight) a trip to our favorite island is never complete without stopping at Greenwell Farms for some coffee to bring back to Sacramento. To your point, Kona coffee is not cheap and thats why for our morning cups in the condo, I will pick up a less expensive bag at the KTA. I honestly just assumed the local chains had the benefit of volume discounting. Consider myself informed-when I know better, I do better. Mahalo!
Now I want to go back to Hawaii specifically to find a pure cup of authentic Kona coffee! As usual, Jane, your essay here has taught me something
Oddly enough I am one of the world's foremost experts on Ethics in the Specialty Coffee Industry. I did a un updated international survey back in 2003 and these were strong indications about unethical practices. Universally, you should only by from companies with published Codes of Ethics.
"Average Rating Given to Each Situation
(where 1 = no damage and 10 = extremely damaging)
Ranked in Order from Most to Least Damaging
Selling products deliberately mislabeled 9.62
Selling products that are short weight 9.10
Applying origin labels to blends when less than
half is from the designated origin 8.62
Spreading rumors about the quality of a competitor's product 8.56
Producing inconsistent products while ignoring
cupping, roasting, color, and blending standards...."
Ethics in the Specialty Coffee Industry by Marty Milner for the SCAA
Typical, where the "Real Winners" of such a case are the Lawyers.
What an entitled bunch of Non-Producers.
They make the rules, and then find themselves to be the beneficiaries of these very same set of Rules.
Hmmm.
Seems an odd bunch with whom to assign the well-being of Truth and Justice....And in this context, they have failed miserably at their task.
Regarding the matter of Self-Interest, however, they have excelled beyond all measure.
Disgusting.
wow! i learned of some kona details on my only trip to hawaii 8+ years ago. I hadn't thought of the "blending" but saw signs there to help remind consumers of that concept. and i got what i thought was 100%. regardless i really liked it while i certainly didn't like the cost. since then i "agree" when i buy blends (amazon) but now just don't know what trickery is in the bags i get? maybe i can find a REAL farmer and buy direct? did you happen to find any of them? that would be a cool thing to announce to us! i don't mind buying direct from the REAL farmer! i do that at street fairs and art shows. farmers' markets - to me - truly suck and aren't usually very different from the big stores. but for "real" kona coffee i don't mind helping in the cause