Coffee Brewing Tips

A customer at our Saturday market asked us how we brewed our coffee because she didn't think her coffee tasted as good when she brought it home and brewed some up. It would have been nice if I could have told her about the magic potion I sprinkle in each pot to make tastings to our Saturday morning crew so delectable, but this is really what I suggested.

Eventhough Hawaii has very good tasting water in most parts of the island, I use filtered water right from my refrigerator door. Coffee is very delicate and some water components can interfere with the flavors you like. So, if you are not experiencing rich coffee flavors in your brewed pot try clearer fresh cool water.

Keep your pots and brewing equipment fresh and clean. Build up accumulates rather quickly and can also interfere with a great tasting cup of coffee. The good news is that it's really easy to keep your pots ready to accept a fresh brew. Just a drop of Ivory liquid swished in the pot and rinsed is good after daily use.

Today I did the thorough clean of all our brew and pump pots. We take 4 pump pots to the Market every Sat. so today I ran a mixture of my favorite easy cleaner, BrewRite, thru our brew pots. I, then, poured that hot solution into our four pump pots and let it set for no more than 5 minutes. After pressing the pumper a few times and swishing the solution around I rinsed them and they are now air drying. I love how the pots look like new again inside and out and sparkle as they will be ready to accept our fresh brews next Saturday morning.

It makes it all worth it when our first customer arrives and sips that great 100% Kona Lisa Coffee and goes "just what I needed, this is definitely the best coffee I have ever had".

Our Kona coffee is so smooth, slightly sweet with a nutty flavor and absolutely no bitterness that you don't want to confuse the senses with any extraneous matter. So those pots get washed and wiped down after use and I do a thorough clean about each month.

Remember your Kona Lisa coffee now gets brewed the way you like it and I suggest that you may not need as much coffee as you are used to using from mainland store bought coffees. So try using less and adjust until your taste buds tell you you've got it right. My measurments consist of 2/3 of a cup of ground coffee to a twelve cup pot. Tell me what works for you.

Facebook

You can now text "like KonaLisaCoffee" to 32665 if you are not already a fan.
You can see us on facebook by logging in at www.facebook.com/KonaLisaCoffee.
Just a few ways for you to interact and see what is going on at the farm and how each delicious crop is progressing.

Our facebook page

An easy way to keep updated on Kona Lisa'a coffee is to join in with other fans on our facebook page. www.facebook.com/konalisacoffee
Also today there is a newer easier way per the facebook gang
Introducing the Like button
Starting today people will be able to connect with your Page by clicking “Like” rather than “Become a Fan.” We hope this action will feel much more lightweight, and that it will increase the number of connections made across the site.
Just thought I'd pass this on.

New visitor to the farm

 
 
We get all kinds of visitors to the farm but this is the first time we have seen him and amazingly were able to photograph him too. Yes, the Jackson chameleon paid us a visit today. Doesn't he look smashing in his lime green suit as he inspects our coffee trees.

Rain

Being away from the farm can cause a bit of anxiety. Watching all the foliage in the western side of the island disappear also underscores how important rain is for our tropical environment. Those facets were preying on our minds as we wondered if the dryness would continue while we left the farm in others hands. So, today it was nice to see this gentle rain dampening all around us. Weatherman, Guy Hagi, had said the high pressure area north of the state would not make it down to this island. Guy, we are glad you were wrong just this once. The whole state is in a drought but I hear that Maui and the Big Island are experiencing the worse of it. It's nice to leave knowing that there is such a thing as rain on the Big Island or was that just a practice for what we will see in New Zealand?

Our trees will be ready for pruning when we return and Ron has been faithfully irrigating. Mother Nature just needs to let loose of her moisture more often.

Fire!!

It's over now but that was about tooooo much excitement for me. Ron was finally taking some time to relax between drying and raking coffee. He was looking towards the ocean for whales when smoke arose from the fields below. He yelled at me that he was taking the Gator down for a look. When he phoned me back we decided a 911 call to the fire department was next. There are houses down there but you enter from another road about 1/4 mile down and I was having a hard time explaining to dispatch how to get there so I met the fire truck at the corner and directed them. Meanwhile Ron was cutting the water line to the irrigation to get buckets down there. A few pickers were around and they help tote water. Another neighbor helped the fire trucks navigate to the location as Ron said it was right behind a new house built there a few years ago and could be imminent danger to them.

Endless water is availble if you can get to it and that's when the helicopter arrived. The first fire truck was running short on water and a second had arrived so it looked pretty well under control but with many hot spots. The helicopter headed towards the ocean dipped an extremely large vessel in the ocean and headed back. With a sploosh it opened and dropped it's load over the first hot spot. After several trips our air fire force had the job done.

I'm sure I'll read about the theories in the paper tomorrow. We have some ideas but will hold our speculation until after the investigation. The fire didn't start on our property but near it. We lost 60 coffee trees or so but feel it could have been a lot worse if Ron had not taken a break to look for those whales. And NO (don't anyone ask) that is not how we usually get roasted coffee!

Mele Kalikimaka me ka Hau'oli Makahiki Hou!

.....that's Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! From our farm to you and thanks for making our season bright!

We are still picking coffee. After the good rain the other day we have some our crop ripening again. We lost quite a bit from the drought this fall. No rain for 2 months does not do well for the coffee trees nor the beans.

Coffee is all packaged as we finally managed to get all the Christmas orders out. Since many requested ground coffee we were able to find a used commercial grinder for sale. We purchasd it last week and will now be able to provide ground coffee much faster and fresher. And best of all it will be easier for me to package. Another positive is that it has several grind levels and you will be able to request the grind you like all the way from espresso to press pot.

Honu Kai B&B, one of the local bed and breakfasts that serves our coffee orders 5# at a time. I am happy to annouce that we will be offering these 5# bags on our website after the new year. For a limited time we will offer them @ $112.00 and that includes free shipping.