When Hawaiian Coffee is
mentioned one usually thinks of Kona coffee.
A truly remarkable coffee but not the only coffee from that
country. The Hawaiian Islands are a
group of islands, much like BC’s Gulf Islands, the biggest island is called
Hawaii. On Hawaii there are 6 different
regions that reflect different micro-climates, very similar to Guatemala. Kona is but one region. Ka’u where our new Reserve is from, has in a
short time begun to challenge Kona in terms of cup quality.
Coffee came to Hawaii in
1825 when Chief Boki introduced some plantings from Brazil to the island of
Oahu. Cuttings were then planted on the
other Hawaiian Islands. In 1828 a
missionary, Samuel Ruggles introduced a Bourbon variety to the larger island of
Hawaii. In 1996 the Ka’u Sugar Plantation closed, opening up an opportunity for
coffee. The
first years of the fledgling Ka‘u coffee industry were rife with challenges as
the farmers struggled to acquire the daunting array of agricultural, processing
and business skills required to succeed in the modern coffee industry. In the
early years, Ka’u coffee was largely sold into the Kona market with little
recognition for Ka’u growers. Ka‘u coffee slowly began to develop its own brand
identity among local coffee buffs but remained virtually unknown outside the
region.
That changed in 2007
when Chris Manfredi, founding president of the Ka’u Farm Bureau entered some Ka’u
coffee in the Specialty Coffee Association of America cupping competition. Not expecting much, Manfredi saw the regions
coffee win three different awards. Since
then Ka’u coffee has consistently placed in the top ten in competitions around
the world. Manfredi was also responsible for brokering a deal with Starbucks,
that saw Ka’u coffee in our Reserve Stores.
Three years ago, Starbucks doubled the amount we purchase from this
region.
At a recent seminar we
talked about terroir. Terroir are the environmental conditions that affect
coffee. Soil, temperature, moisture, wind, altitude are some of those
conditions. Although Kona coffee is world famous, Ka’u coffee is just as good
Whenever we receive a
coffee, whether it is Single Origin or Reserve, I like to determine what
varietal it is. When it comes to
determining the varietal of our Reserve Ka’u, you soon see an interesting
problem. Let me explain. When coffee first came to Hawaii, it was
Brazilian and Guatemalan Typica. In the
1960s Red Caturra was introduced into some orchards. Around 2000 Progeny 502 grafted onto Liberica
rootstock (btw Liberica is a coffee species we are tasting at our next seminar). Bourbon is present. Also found are 9 other varietals, including
Blue Mountain. Determining the varietal is difficult without DNA testing, but
one advantage is the Hawaiian coffee gene pool is widespread and that means
better resistance to various coffee plant diseases.
So, after all this, let’s
turn to something really important. How
does the Reserve Ka’u taste? When I
opened the bag a sweet molasses smell seemed to envelop me. I also smelled sweet bread pastry. Now this triggered something that has only
happened one other time with a coffee. It triggered a memory. Smelling the
whole bean Ka’u, I was transported back to my Mom’s kitchen and I was reminded
of the delicious smell of her baking. The
other time this happened was with last year’s Anniversary. Tasting the Ka’u I also sensed a sweet
molasses, sweet pastry, cranberry and nutmeg.
I found the Ka’u to have a medium body, very smooth, vibrant and
bright. I found brewing the Ka’u on the
Chemex resulted in the tastiest cup, even over the Clover.
We have just been blessed
with three amazing Reserves, all standouts.
Any one of these coffees could be the best of 2018.
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