Real Kona Blend

[MrJim]

I hate to sound like a radical nut...however, my 30+ years have taught me some things about coffee and about integrity. It would take way to long to tell the stories but in short: We live in a hurry up go for the buck society which those of us who don't understand the whole concept of dishonesty, can not fathom. I know a farmer who is a nut for perfection. He grew organic coffee and had a third party oversee the whole process, test everything, weigh the coffee at every point. There has never been such an organic coffee produced. It was certified positively!. When he couldn't sell it because he didn't have the "BIG USA CERTIFICATE" he went to the US company who certifies produce including coffee. There answer was plain and simple: "Sure, no problem, it's 10 cents a pound". The certificate would have meant nothing. This is one of many stories of coffee and integrity. I'm not a big fan of the fair trade certification either. There are tons and tons of coffee being sold that is mis -represented, of this I am certain. Maybe in a perfect world? Go back a few replys to the Kona Scam. It was huge, I (an honest roaster) probably got some of that coffee and sold it as Kona. Obviously not knowing. In order to be sure, you have to go to the source and that is very dificult.

 

[Coffee Guy]

Mr Jim:

You bring up some good points, however, any good roaster that is true to their craft will not try to screw their customer base. After all what purpose does that serve? Sure any of us can find a number of horror stories about bad brokers, bad roasters, and even bad customers. But in the long run, those that try to pull the wool over another's eyes somehow end up on the bad end of the stick sooner or later. I am not a big fan of having certificates for every coffee I roast, but it does make me feel better that at least I know that I can provide one for customers that may request one. And I know the company that you speak of that got caught in the "Kona Bust". And this company is still in business today. However, that does not discourage me from still providing the exotic coffees. One has to be careful of the claims they make especially in open forums like this one. You can sometimes paint yourself in a corner and find yourself defending yourself rather than providing help to others. With that being said, welcome to the forums. 8)

 

[rikoshay]

Roast your own

I've been drinking pure Hawaiian for many years; buying roasted beans that had been grown on the various islands there. It always surprised me that beans from the different islands, Kauai & Molokai, for example, had such different flavors. It seems that coffee is grown in most of the Hawaiian chain; nothing real big compared to some other countries, but involving many serious plantations just the same.

Last year, I followed a mini-dream & began roasting my own coffee. I started out using a particularly recommended air popcorn popper & was blown away by the flavor of my first brew! After a month, I bit the bullet & got one of the newly announced iRoasts, designed for small-scale, home roasting. Whoa-a-a. This was beyond my wildest expectations. I can roast 5 green oz. in about 11 mins., at a time, & it's programmable for three stages of roasting temps. Whoops, I forgot to mention that the price for any green coffee bean in the world is at least half of the roasted price. Finest kind pure & fresh Jamaican Blue Mt for $14 to $20/lb, pure, organic Kona Peaberry for $14-$16/lb. Organic Oaxacan (like the best Columbian) that acts as the premium blending bean, for $4.50-$5.60/lb.

So-o-o, for my favorite blend of Jamaican Blue Mountain & pure Kona Peaberry & maybe a scoop of organic Oaxacan, I shop mainly at Sweet Maria's, online. They only sell green beans; 1 lb. minimum. These folks are pros at buying beans, on location at auctions around the globe. Then, I set up outside on the deck, & roast beans for the next hour or two, watching the whole process through the enclosing glass side as the popping & browning occurs. When done, there's enough freshly roasted beans for 2-3 people for 7-10 days. Believe me when I say that you've NEVER had coffee this good. Buy whatever bean suits your taste & roast it as much & dark as you personally want. Wait a few hours to air out the CO2 & then grind up some beans for a FRESH pot o' joe like you didn't know existed. The Best in the World for your taste. Think about it...