Karin Stanton | Hawaii 24/7 Contributing Editor
The coffee berries were ready and so were the contestants at Sunday morning’s annual Kona Coffee Cultural Festival coffee picking competition.
Broken up into numerous categories by age and expertise, the contest offers prizes, cash awards and bragging rights as some family members squared off against each other.
Some pickers are not much bigger than their baskets and quite a bit younger than the trees they are tackling, while some veterans have won their age groups multiple times. Still others are trying their hand at the art of coffee picking for the first time.
And then there are those content to line the Ueshima Coffee Co. orchard yelling encouragement and sampling the brew and breakfast snacks.
When the final horn blew and the judges had done the weighing, here’s the 2009 picking hall of fame:
Senior Divison (ages 59 to 75)
1st: Wilfred Yamasawa, Holualoa
2nd: Anthony Caravalho Jr., Kona
3rd: Esther Jenkins, Holualoa
Pioneer Division (age 76 and older)
1st: Frank Mizoshiri, Kealakekua
2nd: Norman Sakata, Holualoa
3rd: Antone Caravalho Sr., Kona
Junior Division (ages -13 to 17)
1st: Bryan Mendez, Kailua-Kona
2nd: Shoyo Tsukamoto, Kailua-Kona
3rd: Sayo Tsukamoto, Kailua-Kona
Keiki Division (ages 8 to 12)
1st: Erick Mendez, Kailua-Kona
2nd: Sergio Garcia, Kealakekua
3rd: Claudia Vazquez, Kealakekua
Men’s Open Division (ages 18 to 58)
1st: Eric Mendez, Kailua-Kona
2nd: Maurico Magana, Kealakekua
3rd: Carlos Valdobinos, Kailua-Kona
Women’s Open Division (ages 15 to 58)
1st: Maria Nunez, Kealakekua
2nd: Nancy Cancino, Captain Cook
3rd: Angela Magana, Kealakekua
Pee-Wee Division (ages 5 to 7)
1st: Estenan Mendoza, Captain Cook
2nd: David Vazquez, Kealakekua
3rd: Jadyn Miyatani, Kailua-Kona
Akachan Division (ages 0 to 4)
1st: Chase Wilson, Captain Cook
2nd: Jada Keen, Kailua-Kona
Amateur Division
1st: Toshiki Sato, Japan
2nd: Abel Magana, Holualoa
3rd: Carol Hamada, Kailua-Kona
— Find out more:
www.konacoffeefest.com
Leave a Reply