Kona: 2007 Gevalia Cupping Competition

David and I have just returned from our week in Kona. It was David’s first trip to the Big Island of Hawaii, and my eighth, and we had a marvelous time. We were shown tremendous island hospitality by everyone at the coffee festival and by our friends like Trent Bateman and Tommy Greenwell, two of Kona’s coffee growers. Over the next few times I write to you, I am going to share our experiences in Kona: cupping, farms, people and David’s experience at his first cupping competition, where he served as a guest judge. Today, I’d like to share this year’s competition winners.

For the first time this year, Gevalia hosted two coffee competitions: the Classic Competition and the Crown Competition. The Classic Competition is open to all Kona coffee farms, and entrants must submit 50 pounds of coffee to be considered for the prize. This year’s winner was Kona Old Style, a 2 ½ - acre organic farm in Kealakekua, Hawaii, owned by Una Greenway and her husband, Leon Rosner. Although David and I and the other three judges sampled 66 submissions, there was simply no comparison: Una and Leon’s Kona coffee was a clear winner. Second prize was awarded to Malia Ohana and third prize went to J. Yokoyama. Talking with these winners was a very special part of the competition, and I will tell you more about each farm in upcoming posts. I’ll also let you know how you can visit them on the Web or in person when you find yourself in Kona.

This year, Gevalia introduced the Crown Competition, open to larger farms that were required to submit 3,000 pounds of Kona coffee to be considered. This year, David and I sampled the coffee from eleven finalists in this competition, and were delighted to award first prize to Ono Kona Coffee of Holualoa, Hawaii, owned by Sharon and Bob Wood. The Woods were awarded an exclusive contract with Gevalia, which will purchase their 3,000 pounds of coffee and create a limited-edition Kona coffee from their beans.

In my eight years at Kona, this was the best coffee I have tasted. Since the crop was early this year, the beans had plenty of time to reach optimal maturation, and the taste was reflective of this. I’ll share more soon, but in the meantime, please let me know your thoughts and questions – or, even better, please let us know if you were able to visit us this year in Kona. We would very much like to hear your thoughts on the coffee and the competition, and to share our photos with you.

Leadup to Kona: Current Climate Conditions and Preparations for the 2007 Kona Coffee Cupping Competition

In a little more than a week, David and I will be working hard to choose next year’s Kona coffee for Gevalia. After last year’s competition, in which over 70 farms participated, we are very excited to sample this year’s Kona crop. From the moment our plane touches down in Kona, we will be on the move, visiting Kona farms and catching up with our friends, the growers. We will also become acquainted with the other members of the judging panel for the Kona Coffee Cupping Competition, and prepare for the two-day tasting.

I look forward to introducing David to Kona, since this is his first visit to Hawaii and one of the most important parts of his role as Master Taster Apprentice. After many years of judging the competition and working with the growers, it is a privilege to be able to introduce them to David. Although I have worked with generations of growers, this is the first time the next generation of Gevalia Master Taster has been introduced to the coffee community, and is truly a unique occasion.

Throughout the year, our growers in Kona have kept us abreast of weather and climate news. We are in for a wonderful trip: temperatures are about 75-85°F during the day and there is a light breeze of up to 10MPH. There have been some rainstorms, but this should not impact our trip or the Kona crop in the slightest.