KONA – Hawaii Hala Tree Farms – 8oz- Light Roast

Light Roast : Recommended for Pour Over

This family owned and operated coffee farm is nestled in the picturesque slopes of one of Hawaii’s active volcanos – Mauna Loa – overlooking the Historical Kealakekua Bay. It is located in Captain Cook village in the heart of Kona Coffee Belt. It is an old traditionally terraced Japanese farm that thrived for generations. When they bought the land it was sadly abandoned and neglected for over a decade. They worked hard to bring back the farm to its old glory. Cleared the land of unwanted plants and trees, they weeded, pruned and fertilized those 80 year old coffee trees and it is very rewarding to see their lush, shiny, green leaves today.

The 6 acres of land is with many fruit trees, apple bananas, mangoes, lychees, papayas, avocados, mountain apples, persimmons, cherimoyas, nonis, ulus (bread fruit), citruses and guavas. They sell those seasonal fruits freshly picked on the local market. They harvest guavas to make delicious jam. The upper part of the property was mostly a tropical forest, so they cleared and terraced 2 acres and planted new grafted trees. They should produce coffee already next year, but they would be in full in about 5 years.

They left some patches of undisturbed land too steep to be tamed and terraced, only removing invasive unwanted species. This natural habitat will one day be a beautiful guava forest with all kinds of wild ginger and many different kinds of ferns. They want the farm to be as healthy and productive as beautiful.

Tasting Notes:
I always love the Kona profile. We thought these beans to shine from a medium to dark roast. Lighter roasting will produce hints of a fruity island acidity balanced with a chocolaty/nutty undertone, jazzed up with a hint of herbal spice in the aftertaste. As the roast progresses the cup gets pretty low acidity and the nutty and chocolaty factor will get accentuated. Close or into 2nd crack you will get some added smoky and roasty notes that will compliment the sweeter cup profile.