Coffee | Coffee Cuppa

Whenever I have a friend traveling to Hawaii I insist they bring me back a bag of the famous Kona Peaberry Coffee. Kona coffee is known for its smooth and mellow yet full-bodied flavor, a very deep, rich bean producing a very aromatic cup of coffee. Kona’s elevated location is perfect for growing the best beans. Its climate of sunny mornings, cloudy or rainy afternoons, combine to make a superior coffee bean.

Kona coffee can only be called that if it is grown within the district of Kona on the Big Island of Hawaii. It is grown in a small area only one mile wide by 30 miles long. Coffee grown in any other area of the islands can only be called “Hawaiian.” Even coffee grown in Kona is called “Hawaiian” if it falls below the “Prime” grade.

Kona Peaberry coffee is classified as “Extra Fancy” and costs more not only because you are getting a bigger and denser bean, but because you are also getting a rarer bean and only accounts for approximately 5% of the coffee bean crop. Peaberry is a “freak of nature” so to speak, and occurs when the coffee cherry yields only one bean instead of two. The Peaberry bean is shaped like a football; it is not flat on one side and round on the other, like a regular coffee bean. It also has a lower acid content than regular beans. Some believe that the cylindrical shape causes this bean to roast differently than a regular bean giving it a much different taste.

When coffee is prepared in a French Press coffee pot it produces a concentrated yet very smooth and rich
tasting coffee. You can imagine how the combination of Kona Peaberry coffee, which is already great tasting, and brewing it in the French Press coffee pot would kick it up a notch and make a more intense flavored cup of coffee.

To be sure you are getting Kona Peaberry coffee check the label carefully. It can only be labeled Peaberry if it is one hundred percent Peaberry.  Just because you are spending more and it says “Kona Blend” or “Estate” does not mean it is Peaberry coffee. Most Hawaiian coffees are blends of several different types of coffee berries roasted together to create the blend.

It is well worth the extra cost to buy pure Kona Peaberry Coffee. You will not be disappointed.

Organic Flavored Coffee

With the millions of coffee drinkers worldwide there is a rise in demand for not only organic coffee but also for organic flavored coffee.  Many coffee growers have discovered alternative and safe ways to improve the growing process.  They now use organic fertilizer and other earth friendly ideas to enhance and protect their plants.

Organic flavored coffee means that only 100% natural flavorings (fruit & nut extracts) are used to produce flavored organic coffees. Certified organic coffees must be grown, harvested, and processed without chemical pesticides and fertilizers. Farms that grow certified organic coffees are tested for chemicals by an independent certification agency for three consecutive years.

Natural and organic are not interchangeable. Other truthful claims, such as free-range, hormone-free, and natural, can still appear on food labels. However, don’t confuse these terms with “organic.” Only food labeled “organic” has been certified as meeting USDA organic standards.

By choosing organic flavored coffee, even though it may cost a bit more, it is a simple extension of your personal beliefs that everything we do should help, rather than harm, the world in which we live.

Organic coffee, like other organic or all natural foods, is sold in an entirely different section of your local supermarket. This type of coffee is sold in caffeinated and decaffeinated as well as flavored with vanilla, chocolate hazelnut or anything else you can think of that regular coffee comes in. Organic flavored coffee (like other all-natural products) must contain a seal indicating it is, in fact, organic. This is an FDA classification and cannot be overlooked.

Organic coffee growers in other countries are free from the dangers associated with working and living in chemically polluted regions. In organic farming cooperatives, streams and underground water supplies are not polluted with chemical fertilizers. Coffee growers do not suffer from chemical poisoning - an all too real side effect of growing coffee the traditional way.

Organic coffee prices will go down over the next few years, analysts predict. This is made possible by the crop rotation practices mentioned earlier by avoiding using fertilizers and pesticides.

The use of organic coffee or other products will not allow you to live longer, that is a guarantee that cannot be made. These organic products can help you live healthier lifestyles. Healthier lifestyles can lead to longer life. So the next time that you are in the grocery store or other large food center look at all of the organic food you can buy and realize that you can be feeling better and living a healthier, more enriching life than you were before switching from non-organic foods to organic.

Get the latest information on coffee go to French Press Coffee