The Drink: 100% Kona From Best Thing To Happen To Coffee
Type: Ground
Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 cups. I could drink this coffee all day long.
When I think Hawaii, I think sunny beaches, surfing on big waves and luaus, but it’s also known for Kona, one of the best coffee regions in the world.
Hawaii is home to the only coffee grown within the United States. Kona is grown on the Big Island and only coffee grown in the Kona districts can legally have the name. Only 1,500 acres of small, mostly family owned farms grow this rare coffee. If you want to try some, make sure you buy 100% Kona, it’s more expensive than most coffee, around twenty dollars per pound, but you’ll be getting the real thing.
The coffee is so rare and in such demand that there have been cases of fraud and imitations. Watch out for bags with the names Roast and Style, because those are sometimes impostors with zero percent actual Kona coffee. There’s also one called Blend, which contains only up to ten percent, while the other ninety percent is often cheaper, imported beans.
Traditionally, Kona has a bright cup, well balanced with a smooth quality and buttery characteristics. It’s described as a rich, traditional coffee smell with hints of cinnamon and cloves.
Some coffee “experts” consider it over rated and over priced, because they believe that people associate it more with the romance of Hawaii than the quality of the taste, but after trying 100% Kona from Best Thing To Happen To Coffee, I can say it’s worth every penny.
The Best Thing To Happen To Coffee is Michigan based coffee company that doesn’t sell their coffee in stores, instead they ship it directly to your door to ensure freshness. This week, a sample of their 100% Kona arrived at my door.
Their Kona had a slightly nutty taste that hit my tongue right away, then transformed into a smoother more balanced flavor explosion. There were hints of cinnamon and a buttery taste. Even in ground form, it was bursting with flavor.
They use a unique roasting process, in which the coffee beans don’t ever touch the hot surface directly, the difference which can be tasted.
The only thing that would’ve been better, would’ve been drinking it in Hawaii. Overall, this gets a four out of five rating.
Visit Best Thing To Happen To Coffee to try this or any of their other coffees. Right now their 100% Kona is only sale for $14.99, normally $20.
UPDATE: 7-22-09
There was a typo on The Best Thing To Happen To Coffee website that said the coffee was from Kaui. However, I confirmed with the owner that it is indeed grown in the Kona district on the island of Hawaii.
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Sun Down In Kona photo by Erik Charlton.
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