Hawaii's Kau coffee joins ranks of elite
By Sean Hao
Honolulu Advertiser Staff Writer
Hawai'i coffees ranked among the top brews in the world in a recent international competition. The state's high ranking may not be surprising. Rather, what's raising eyebrows is where the coffee was grown — the Big Island's Ka'u region. Ka'u coffees ranked sixth and ninth in a major annual international taste test in Long Beach, Calif., in May.
Here are the best specialty coffees in the world, according to the Specialty Coffee Association of America's 2007 cupping contest:
1. Hacienda La Esmeralda, Panama
2. El Injerto, S.A., Guatemala
3. DeliCafé S.A., Costa Rica
4. Jesus Mountain Coffee Co., Nicaragua
5. Oromia Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union, Ethiopia
6. Ka'u Farm & Ranch Co. LLC, USA (Will & Grace Rising Sun)
7. Carmen Estate, Panama
8. Café Importa, Colombia
9. Ka'u Farm & Ranch Co. LLC, USA (Aroma Farms)
10. Volcafe Specialty Coffee, Ethiopia
11. C.I. Racafe & Cia S.C.A., Colombia
12. Café de El Salvador, El Salvador
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posted by Robert @ 7/02/2007
2 Comments
2 Comments:
Just to be clear, no Kona coffee was entered. I personally wondered how Kau won and it is probably great coffee, but I think knowing no Kona was entered in this contest, is part of the whole picture. Perhaps the information about "no Kona" was only written in the Kona paper. I say congratulations to Kau! aloha, from down the road
I just did a whirlwind tour of east Hawaii and was able to visit about a half dozen coffee farms in Kona, as well as taste some Honoka'a and Kau coffee. The quality of the brewed coffee was definitely influenced by the skill of the roasters. My two favorites were Blue Sky from Kona and Long Ear from Honoka'a. The Kau coffee was on par with the other Kona coffees.
Even though I'm from the Big Island, I still prefer South American and African coffees, but I will probably order more Long Ear and Blue Sky and try the Kau coffee mentioned in the article to support the West Hawaii Coffee industry.
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