The summer rains seem to be here. At least in the evenings. The last few nights we've been getting some light rains and the beans love it. Our beans are in their growing stage and need to be juicy to pull in all those delicious Kona coffee flavors. Today we looked at them and they are green and glossy. Their next step is just to grow larger and keep taking on the moisture that our summer rains give.
This is always the watch and wait season and also the season that we can take a little time off the island to visit with family. So we are doing just that. Because of the dryness of our past winter and spring we are expecting our crop to come in later this year. Normally when we return from the mainland we have a small first crop to pick but this year we think the ripening of our crop is set back at least a month. So those beans we looked at today have awhile to grow and ripen, probably 4-6 weeks. Grandchildren are coming back with us. So they will be just in time to learn how to pick wonderful red Kona coffee beans.
Friday, June 18, 2010
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Kopi Luwak
Kopi Luwak coffee now seems to suffer the same problems that Kona coffee has endured for many years, fake and misleading labeling and packaging. First, what is Kopi Luwak anyway? You know, the coffee that sells for $120.00 per half pound and is retrieved from the excrement, or for a more pop culture word 'the poop', of a civet. Kopi Luwak has become popular in upscale coffee shops and resturants not only in the mainland USA but worldwide. You saw Jack Nicholson drinking it in 'Bucket List'.
One attribute of Kopi Luwak coffee is purported to be that the beans are fermented in the civets digestive system which gives the coffee it's delicate flavor. Our Kona coffee is also fremented but we do it the old fashioned way. After hand picking the cherry (ripe beans) and pulping them, we give them a warmish water bath, letting the sugary substances ferment overnight, something like how fine wines get fermented. The beans are then rinsed and set out to dry.
On a search on Amazon I found a 7oz package of Kopi Luwak coffee for $45.00. Upon reading the package label it said 2% Kopi Luwak and the rest other arabica blends. Aha, BLENDS!! Sounds familiar to me. A 10% blend of Kona coffee (with the rest other arabica blends) selling at $8.00 for 7oz is no more a bargain than the fake Kopi Luwak.
Kopi Luwak is supposed to be marvelous but I don’t have the fortitude to test it. I’ll just stick with my 100% homegrown gentle hand processed Kona Lisa Coffee.
One attribute of Kopi Luwak coffee is purported to be that the beans are fermented in the civets digestive system which gives the coffee it's delicate flavor. Our Kona coffee is also fremented but we do it the old fashioned way. After hand picking the cherry (ripe beans) and pulping them, we give them a warmish water bath, letting the sugary substances ferment overnight, something like how fine wines get fermented. The beans are then rinsed and set out to dry.
On a search on Amazon I found a 7oz package of Kopi Luwak coffee for $45.00. Upon reading the package label it said 2% Kopi Luwak and the rest other arabica blends. Aha, BLENDS!! Sounds familiar to me. A 10% blend of Kona coffee (with the rest other arabica blends) selling at $8.00 for 7oz is no more a bargain than the fake Kopi Luwak.
Kopi Luwak is supposed to be marvelous but I don’t have the fortitude to test it. I’ll just stick with my 100% homegrown gentle hand processed Kona Lisa Coffee.
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