Wedding Coffee!

Back in May, two of my favorite people married.  It was a beautiful weekend with an intimate ceremony at their home on Friday night followed by an amazingly fun party at Siren Studios on Saturday.  I was so delighted when they asked me to roast the party favors for all of their guests to take home and enjoy.  I happily purchased about 100 pounds of Brazen Hazen green coffee beans straight from the source in Holualoa, Kona, Hawaii, roasted it up and bagged it all in half pound bags.  The labels were designed by the truly talented groom, Justin Krietemeyer of National Forest.  It was such a fabulous event and I am so honored to have been included as a small bit of it.  Love you guys!

Brazen Hazen Kona Coffee

Brazen Hazen takes great pride in being a part of the Kona coffee tradition. Their 100% Kona coffee is grown on the western slope of the Hualalai volcano on the Big Island of Hawaii. Kona coffee comprises only 1% of the coffee grown in the entire world-and is some of the smoothest tasting coffee on the market.  Brazen Hazen supplies only the finest Kona coffee. All of their beans are top-quality Arabica, which comprise only 5% of the world’s coffee crop.

The Brazen Hazen Coffee Estate is located in Holualoa (just east of Kailua-Kona), on the western slope of the Hualalai volcano on the Big Island of Hawaii. At 1900 feet, the local climate includes seasonal rainfall and afternoon cloud cover that provides a splendid growing environment for naturally shade-grown coffee. Sheltered from the Pacific tradewinds, this area produces some of the best coffee in the world.

The Holualoa Inn Coffee Estate is located in the heart of Holualoa village, and is rich in history and heritage. The coffee on this estate is planted in the “Kona Style” (wherever a tree could be planted – it was!). Many of its trees are 90+ years old. 

Aloha Update Reviews MeloMelo Coffee Club, 100% Kona Coffee

We were recently contacted by MeloMelo Coffee Club to review a batch of their fresh roasted Kona Coffee. Since most of our meetings here at Aloha Update are held at Starbucks, and we practically run on coffee, we figured, why not!

First off, a little about MeloMelo. Neige LaRue, owner of MeloMelo, grew up in beautiful Kailua-Kona on the Big Island of Hawaii and has had a love for the regions most widely known export, coffee. Now residing in California, she’s able to bring in green Kona coffee beans from different farms around the region, roast them fresh, and ship direct to you on a monthly basis.

I spoke with Neige a little about how she develops her roast profile for each month since she’s working with different farms and this is what she had to say.

“Every month I get my beans from a different farm, so I do a sample roast and go through the whole cupping process to find the best profile before I roast it all for my clients… Kona is best roasted on the lighter side so I do my best to find the sweet spot between first and second crack, but never take it past second.”

The coffee was just that, roasted to a perfect light Kona roast. We tried it using drip and french press methods and the coffee tasted great both ways. We were able to get a little smoother taste out of the french press.

The coffee arrive in a great little MeloMelo box, quite quickly. The coffee bag was neatly wrapped in a burlap piece, an information card included to help you get the most bang for your buck and there was also a roasted date on the bag so you can gauge how fresh the coffee is.


For any coffee lovers, this is a great gift. The price is $34.95 for 1 lb with shipping if you buy a whole year, billed monthly. You can also buy multiple pounds per month at a reduced cost. There are also options for 3, 6, and single months.


Of course, being Kona coffee it’ll be a little on the pricier side, but to get a unique gift like this every month is pretty neat.

To see the full post please visit www.alohaupdate.com

Kona Coffee & Tea Company

In the winter of 1978, Dan and Jan left central California for the Big Island on a one-way ticket. Dan worked in construction and carpentry while Jan took various waitress and gift store jobs. They slept on golf courses and beaches at night, using left-behind grass mats from the airport as beds. Later they married and had three children: Malia, Danny, and Kirstina. Though they had little, Dan and Jan were diligent and fearless dreamers.

In 1985 they began a construction company, Bolton Incorporated, with Dan's family that followed the couple west. Bolton Inc became a springboard for many opportunities in the small town of Kona. Soon, ideas collaborated to birth The Kona Coffee and Tea Company. As a family, their goal was to create a unique company that reflects the hard work, passion, and community that is at the core of their history. 

First seedlings were planted in the summer of 1997 by Dan, Jan, and their children. Twenty acres were set aside for the development of a farm on Hualalai Mountain. Each year, another 20 acres would be added to meet the demand of coffee sales. Today, KCTC is one of Kona's largest producers: 120 acres of coffee of 2000-3200 feet elevation, producing over 300,000 pounds annually, the development of a second farm that is organic (Malia Ohana) and tea plantations. Coffee from both farms have won various awards, including first place multiple times.

In 2003, KCTC opened a retail coffee shop and won First Place in Gevalia's 2003 Cupping Contest.

KCTC received Honorable Mention in Gevalia's competition in 2007, and in 2009 won First Place again. Coffee from the Hualalai plantaion was paced 6th and coffee from Malia Ohana was placed 10th among 69 Kona Coffee participants for the Hawaii Coffee Association. 

Congratulations Jaque!

Congratulations to Jaque from Phoenix, Arizona for winning a free three month subscription to MeloMelo Coffee Club, 100% pure Kona coffee!   To learn more about this giveaway visit An Island Life.

Lehuula Farms

MeloMelo is proud to feature Lehuula Farms!

Lehuula Farms is centrally located in the Kona Coffee Belt in Kealakekua.  You may have heard of this town as it is the subject of the 1933 popular song, "My Little Grass Shack in Kealakekua, Hawaii".  Kealakekua is translated as pathway of the gods and is one of the most significant cultural and historic places in Hawaii.  Settled more than 1,000 years ago, the bay offered a safe place for anchorage and an abundance of marine resources.  Early settlers cleared the forests and cultivated crops of sweet potato and taro.  As the social and political system of Hawaii developed in the 1600's the chiefs and priests established Kealakekua as one of the chiefly centers of Kona.  

ariel view of Kealakekua Bay

Lehuula Farms was started by Bob Nelson, originally a farm boy from the mid-west.  In the mid-1960's he moved to Alaska to study Wildlife Biology and after a long career with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game he moved to Hawaii with his wife Mae to become full time coffee farmers. 

the drive into the farm

Coffee was first planted on their land in the early 1900’s but the farm was abandoned sometime around the beginning of WWII.  The land was not maintained until the the early 1980’s when a couple bought it to turn it back into a working coffee farm.  They soon realized this task was more than they had bargained for and put the property up for sale in 1984.  Bob and Mae purchased their 3.8 acres in the spring of 1986 and began the arduous task of finishing the clearing process.

pulper

Many of their more than 4,000 coffee trees are 90 or more years old.  Much like grapes, older coffee trees produce a bean of exceptional taste.  Their trees are pruned with the Beaumont-Fukunaga method where all of the verticals on a tree and in a row are the same age, and each row of trees are a different age.  For example, one row contains trees with 1 year old verticals, the next is 2 years old, and the next row is 3 years old.  Looking across the field you would see a system of 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3 etc...  This system of pruning not only produces fantastic coffee beans but it is much easier for farmers to move through the rows to spread fertilizer, control ground cover, pick, etc...  

keiki trees planted next to mature trees

As the success and production of the farm has increased Bob and Mae brought on Brian and Amy Axelrod (also mid-western kids) to manage the business and operations of the farm.  The team has achieved great success as Lehuula Farms continues to produce award winning coffee.  This past year they were selected as finalist in the Kona Cupping Competition.  We are certain that you will enjoy this exceptional coffee as our February selection.

huge green cherry

coffee drying on the hoshidana

coffee ready to head to the mill

Moki's Farm

MeloMelo Coffee Club is proud to feature Moki's Farm!

Moki's hoshidana

Sunset at Moki's Farm

Moki's Farm is located in Kona in the town of Captain Cook, a region whose name comes from the British explorer, Captain James Cook.  Captain Cook was killed in Hawaii while fighting the Hawaiians during his third voyage to the Pacific.

Prior to the 1960's, most of Captain Cook was a part of Kealakekua Ranch, founded in 1850's by Henry Greenwell.  Greenwell's  decedents have gone on to become one of the largest coffee growers and producers in the Kona region.

Roger showing us his pulper

Moki's farm is at an elevation of 2000 feet in the heart of the Kona coffee belt.  The farm is 2.1 acres and has been a small private family owned and operated farm for over 100 years.  Previous owners farmed the land as lessees and were eventually able to buy it for themselves.  Unfortunately a death in the family put the farm lands into neglect and during the 1980s and 1990s the farm became overgrown and the coffee trees diseased.

In January of 2000 Vivan and Roger Rittenhouse purchased the farm.    They were able to save about 50 trees that are 100 years old, or older, but a vast majority of the land was uprooted and they had to start over.  In 2001 they planted 900 new trees in the "new style" allowing for better weed control and picking conditions.

Moki's Farm produces around 1500 pounds of coffee per year and they sell almost all of it to Sweet Maria's.  The farm has been a finalist in the Kona Cupping Competition 8 of the 9 years they have entered.

Coffee trees planted in the 'new style'

Moki's Catchment Tank