Excellent coffee from a tropical paradise
Kona coffee comes from Hawaii, but only from the exclusive Kona region on the west coast of Hawaii island. Hawaii does produce other varieties of coffee, but Kona stands head-and-shoulders above the rest. Some of the other coffee regions around Hawaii are: Molokai, Kauai, Maui and Oahu.As with most excellent coffee-growing regions, it's the tropical environment that makes Kona such a gem. The days are bright and sunny, with rain most afternoons. The nights are mild, with no fears of frost. The Kona soil is deep, dark and richly volcanic.
Part of the special charm of Kona coffee is its production. The Kona region spans across nearly 2300 acres, and is home to more than 600 independent coffee farms. These small, family-owned farms typically harvest their coffee crops by hand. Some sell their harvest to larger Kona processors, but more and more farms are taking their product one step further and selling the green or even roasted beans directly to consumers under their own label.
It has a medium body, but a rich flavour that has hints of wine and spice.
As with all coffee varieties, peaberry is the most desirable type of Kona. There are usually two beans in each coffee cherry, but when only a single bean is formed, it is much more flavourful than regular coffee.Coffee is not native to Hawaii, but was brought from Brazil by Reverend Samuel Ruggles in the early 1800s during his missionary work there. When the price of coffee crashed in 1899, the huge plantations were broken up and leased to the families that worked on them. These small family farms are what we still see in Hawaii today.
The caffeine in coffee occurs naturally; it’s not added to coffee (as it is, for example, added to many soft drinks.) Coffee – with its stimulating constituent, caffeine – is the most popular mood-altering substance on the planet, and has been for more than 300 years.
Nutritionally speaking, brewed coffee is pretty much inert. 
Provided that what ails you is a lack of alertness or a sour mood, it’s good on its promise. Let’s leave patent medicines aside for the moment, though, and ask: 
We then grind and brew these coffees in open bowls, and judge their merits on the following qualities: 
It involves matching roast temperature and time with a given bean to maximize its potential. When you start with beans of great character, it's crucial that you roast them appropriately, so as not to obscure the coffee's origin flavors and aromas. 
from choosing the the best coffee varietals to plant and grow, to ensuring the health of the coffee trees and the overall ecosystem. We may find a cooperative would benefit from a new coffee drying patio, or better source of fresh water or power. Often we can help finance these improvements. 
But it's often the only choice of rural inhabitants in developing countries to provide for their families. 
dream of dry-processing his hard, dense and fruity beans… he’d probably sooner leave them on the tree (which, in countries like Yemen is a not an altogether unusual practice). 
It can be argued that these regions have an ample natural resource… the sun! As it happens, there are regions within Ethiopia that that dry-process and sun-dry their coffees, to wonderful effect… it’s just this process that gives us the celebrated Ethiopian Harrar coffee. 
Soil must drain well, be slightly acidic and rich with minerals. Weeds and creepers must be kept in check, but not eliminated; they cling to precious soil that might otherwise wash down the mountain slopes. Finally, coffee trees must be shaded from harsh sun, so a canopy of banana, nut and other fruit and hardwoods is planted and tended, too. 
and picking is done exclusively by hand, as only the ripest cherries will do. Fruit that’s too ripe will be sorted out in later processing, but under-ripe fruit is left on the tree for later pickings. Each tree will be visited as many as four times over the precious few days that ripeness is at is peak. 
Early coffeehouses served more than coffee; they also served as hotbeds of conversation, politics and commerce. One coffeehouse might serve as a gathering place for physicians, another for actors, or musicians, or lawyers or clergy. These gathering places became known as Penny Universities… for the price of a cup of coffee, one could sit for hours and participate in the discourse of the day. 
to never allow beans or cuttings that could create new coffee plants to leave Arabian borders... coffee had become so precious to them, it was made illegal to export fertile beans. 
about eating strange foods from strange places — Kaldi sampled the berries, himself. In no time, he too was dancing gleefully with his goats around the green-leafed shrubs. 
We begin our day with a breakfast cup. Share stories and secrets and laughter over a late afternoon latte. We end a perfect meal with dessert and a dark-roasted demitasse. 
According to a coffee history legend, an Arabian shepherd named Kaldi found his goats dancing joyously around a dark green leafed shrub with bright red cherries in the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula. Kaldi soon determined that it was the bright red cherries on the shrub that were causing the peculiar euphoria and after trying the cherries himself, he learned of their powerful effect. The stimulating effect was then exploited by monks at a local monastery to stay awake during extended hours of prayer and distributed to other monasteries around the world. Coffee was born.
Espresso Tamping is an art that is often neglected in espresso preparation. The goal is to create a pellet of coffee through which the hot water from the espresso machine will penetrate evenly. Since the water from the espresso machine is under pressure, the espresso pellet must be hard and evenly tamped. The water only knows how to go from a region of high pressure to a region of low pressure. Therefore it is important to prevent paths of least resistance in the coffee pellet and force the water to evenly permeate and extract the coffee.
The above steps should be carried out in about thirty seconds. Although speed is important, it is necessary to be careful not to bump the basket during this process. Sharply hitting the basket will unevenly distribute the grounds allowing shortcuts for the water to pass through. As any scientist can appreciate, the path of least resistance is preferred. If there are any weak spots or holes in the espresso pellet the water will push through this area, over extracting this portion of coffee while under extracting the rest of the pellet. Improper espresso tamping will result in a twirling pour or white crema.
Check the spacing above the espresso pellet and below the dispersion screen. You can do this by dosing, distributing, and tamping as described above. Then insert the porta-filter and remove it. Does the screen or screw press down onto the coffee? If so, the coffee will not have enough room to expand as it is brewing. On the other hand you want to have between 16-18 grams of coffee in the basket. Experiment with these two factors until you achieve a good height for the espresso pellet.
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