Today, we followed the coffee trail. Kona is famous for it’s coffee probably as famous as Juan Valdez for Columbia, and Jamica Blue Mountain.
saw the Painted Church (St Benedict’s), and toured 2 coffee plantations. Of course we brought back samples. We’re still trying them out to see which ones we like the best.
Probably the most interesting is Kona Joe’s. They have received a U.S. Patent for their method of espaliering the coffee trees the way the vintners in California grow their grapes. They found that they improve the yield and flavor of the beans by providing them with more even access to the sunlight. The beans also ripen more evenly so the trees don’t have to be visited as often for harvesting.
At the Kona Le’a plantation we got to follow the beans from the time they come in from the harvest till they are roasted, packed, and labeled for shipment. There are a couple of different kinds of roasters, that have a significant effect on the flavor of the resulting coffee. Also, while there are +/- 200 coffee growers on the island, there are only 15 or 16 processing plants. So the most of the growers contract with the plants to process and package their product.
This evening is the Luau on the lawn at the Sheraton. Really good diner, and nice show. We found out that if you like to be close to the stage you can pay extra to sit closer and have your food served at the table. But if you like to eat, you can sit further back, and get your food from the buffet (it’s all the same). The people eating on the buffet were doing desert and coffee while the people at the tables were still waiting for their main course.
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Published by Richard in: Hawaii December 2006
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