Story and photography by Karin Stanton | Hawaii 24/7 Contributing Editor
Kona coffee’s best brews this year belong to Wolf Farms and Kona Coffee & Tea Company.
Judges awarded the blue ribbons to Mark Wolf and Malia Bolton following the final round of tasting Thursday at the Gevalia Kona Coffee Classic Cupping Competition and the Gevalia Crown Competition.
In the classic division – which included 61 entries – second place went to Hawaiian King Coffee, owned by Christopher Kim, and Healani Farms was third.
In the crown division, Greenwell Farms and Aloha Hills Kona Coffee placed second and third, respectively.
“Overall, the quality was really pretty good this year,” said judge Sherri Johns, of WholeCup Coffee Consulting, LLC. “The scoring was tight in the fist round, but once we narrowed it down to the finalists, the first, second and third places were clear.”
Johns said farmers should be proud the quality of Kona coffee continues to rise.
“The average is getting better every year and that’s good for the whole industry,” she said. “That means whenever anyone tastes Kona coffee, they know they are getting quality.”
John King, Harold L. King & Co. judge said, “The balance and pleasing aftertaste made this Kona coffee the obvious winner. The overwhelming final fragrance was the tipping factor.”
In the classic division, farmers submit 50 pounds of this year’s harvest, from which judges sample 5 pounds
Farmer Mark Wolf, who with wife Denise, owns and operates the 4-acre Wolf Farm in Honaunau at the 1,400-foot level.
While the farm in not yet organic, Wolf said he is working toward it.
Wolf also said he was pleased to capitalize on last year’s honorable mention.
After 30 years experience farming Kona coffee, he said he has yet to identify the secret to great coffee.
“I do all the work myself and I didn’t do anything different this year,” he said. “I think it’s just being dedicated to your farm. And doing all the hard work when you are young.”
Any other advice?
“Yes,” he said, “always drink 100% Kona coffee.”
The competition is a blind tasting – each entry is accepted, it is simply assigned a number to protect its anonymity. These numbers are changed midway into the cupping, between the preliminary and final rounds, to keep the judges’ palates alert throughout the competition.
The coffee samples, both green and roasted, are placed on a long table for the judges to independently evaluate. The judges look for high marks in these six categories: fragrance, aroma, taste, nose, aftertaste and body.
Crown Competition
Larger estate farms may submit 3,000 pounds into the Crown Competition. The crown category was added in 2007 to showcase bigger roasters and processors, and award an exclusive contract with Gevalia Kaffe to buy and market their coffee.
Judges selected Kona Coffee & Tea Company as this year’s winner from 11 entries, with Greenwell Farms and Aloha Hills Kona Coffee as the runners-up.
Malia Bolton, of Kona Coffee & Tea, said she was shocked to hear her company announced as the winner. As a previous winner of the classic competition, Kona Coffee & Tea now is the first farm to win both divisions.
The farm in Waiono Meadows in Holualoa, at the 2,000-3,300-foot elevation, include 122 acres, which were planted beginning in 1998.
“We’re doing the whole process,” Bolton said, from growing and harvesting to roasting and packaging.
Tommy Greenwell, of Greenwell Farms, said he was pleased with his farm’s second place showing.
Greenwell, for the first time, entered coffee plucked from trees first tended by his grandmother.
“That’s the first time I’ve separated it out like that,” he said. “She’d like that. It’s quite good.”
This year’s judges included Gevalia’s Master Taster, Dave Holfve; Mashiro Yamamichi from Japan’s UCC Ueshima Coffee Company, Ltd.; world-renown coffee expert John King with Harold L. King & Company; and Sherri Johns, president, of WholeCup Coffee Consulting LLC.
Coffee label and Web site competition
Kona Historical Society was awarded best label in the 10th annual Keauhou Resort Kona Coffee Label & Website Competition while www.kahulafarms.com took the top honors in the Web site category.
A total of 137 entries competed in the two divisions in the Keauhou Resort Kona Coffee Label & Website Competition for cash prizes and awards valued at more than $3,000.
“This year the entries were over the top in the quality of artwork. Also noteworthy is that Kona coffee farmers have elevated the overall graphic quality of their product labels and Web sites. The marketing side of the industry has really raised the bar,” shared Valery O’Brien, event co-chairwoman.
Winning Kona coffee labels must promote 100% Kona coffee, use art or graphics, express the message clearly and comply with the Hawaii State label laws.
The Web sites were similarly judged, and were also required to be dedicated to the promotion of Kona coffee only, have a strong identification to Kona and provide for a simple, secure ordering process.
2009 Kona Coffee Label Winners
1st place:Â Kona Historical Society; Owner: Kona Historical Society; Designer:Â Mark Miller
2nd place: Holualoa Inn; Owner: Cassandra Hazen; Designer: Wowizowi Productions
3rd place, Tie: Luana Farms; Owner: Timothy Bruno & Karen Krielbl; Designer: Timothy Bruno & Karen Krielbl
Night Owl Kona Coffee; Owner: Sarah Fogelstrom; Designer: Elisabeth Boutelle
Sponsors’ Award: Lyman Kona Coffee Farms; Owner: Hans F. Eckert; Designer: Mark Miller
2009 Kona Coffee Website Winners
1st place:Â www.kahulafarms.com; Owner: Beverly White; Designer: Jas Marlin
2nd place: www.konamountaincoffee.com; Owner: Everett Hesia; Designer: Bill Dwyer
3rd place, Tie: www.hawaiiankingcoffee.com; Owner: Christopher E. Kim; Designer: Andrew Nisbet
www.mrbeankonacoffee.com; Owner: Colleen Gedeon; Designer: Colors of Hawaii Printing
Sponsors’ Award: www.aikanekonacoffee.com; Owner: Sarah Nichols; Designer: Aikane Coffee
Art Awards
3-D art (Gourds, quilts)
1. Ann Guth
2. Barbara Denman
2-D art (Painting)
1. Bobbie Caputo
2. Lori Hight
People’s Choice
1. Mary Lund
2. Bobbie Caputo
3. Carol Davenpoirt
After Wednesday’s preliminary cupping rounds:
Classic Finalists:
* Aerie Farm, LLC dba “Hawaiian Hawkâ€
* Brocksen Gate Estate
* Hawaiian King Coffee
* Healani Farm
* Hubbard & Sons Coffee Company
* Keke Lani Estate
* Kena Coffee Farms
* Kona Lea Plantation
* Kuaiwi Farm/Kona Oldstyle
* Mahina Mele Farm
* Malia Ohana
* Moki’s Farm
* Mongoose Mountain Farm
* Pearl Estate Organics
* Wolf Farms
Crown Competition Finalists:
* Aloha Hills Kona Coffee
* Greenwell Farms
* Kowali Farm
* Kona Coffee Connection
* Kona Kulana Farms
* Kona Coffee & Tea Company
—-
Gevalia Kona Coffee Classic Cupping Competition Winners
2009 Wolf Farms
2008 Hoshide Farms
2007 Kona Old Style/Kuaiwi Farm
2006 Pearl Estate Organics
2005 Rancho Aloha
2004 Lafayette Coffee
2003 Kona Coffee & Tea Co.
2002 Koa Coffee Plantation
2001 Wood Captain Cook Estate
2000 The Other Farm
1999 Dragon Roast Coffee
1998 Brockston Gate Estate
1997 Terry Fitzgerald Estate
1996 Keokea Kona Farm
1995 Kona Kulana Farms
1994 Perry Estate Farms
1993 Keopu Mauka Lani Plantation
1992 Kona Kulana Farms
1991 Wailapa Farms
1990 Island Girl Coffee
1989 Wailapa Farms
1988 Faye Takashiba
1987 Tojiro Motoki
Gevalia Kaffe is built on a tradition of fine craftsmanship encompassing 150 years. Gevalia carries more than 40 varieties of coffees and teas ranging from distinctive varietals, European and limited edition blends as well as seasonal flavors.
Gevalia is not sold retail and is available in the U.S. exclusively at www.gevalia.com
The Gevalia Kona Coffee Classic Cupping Competition and the Gevalia Crown Competition are signature events of the 39th annual Kona Coffee Cultural Festival.
The Kona Coffee Cultural Festival is recognized and supported as a ‘Major Festival’ by Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA) as the Festival showcases Hawaii’s unique culture and diversity. HTA was created in 1998 to ensure a successful visitor industry well into the future. Its mission is to strategically manage the growth of Hawaii’s visitor industry in a manner consistent with its economic goals, cultural values, preservation of natural resources and community interests.
— Find out more:
Kona Coffee Cultural Festival: www.konacoffeefest.com
Wolf Farms: 328-8588 or wolfden55@msn.com.
Kona Coffee & Tea Company: 329- 6577or www.konacoffeeandtea.com
Additional photography courtesy of Colin Gould:
You really can’t call it Kona coffee unless it is 100 percent Kona, like the article says. Anything else will not taste as good and won’t have the same quality.
Congratulations to the winners. I think this article says it best “always drink 100 percent Kona Coffee”
Don’t settle for anything less.