Winners of the prestigious Kona Coffee Cupping Competition were selected from 62 judged entries during last week’s 46th annual Kona Coffee Cultural Festival.
Winners of the prestigious Kona Coffee Cupping Competition were selected from 62 judged entries during last week’s 46th annual Kona Coffee Cultural Festival.
Hula Daddy Kona Coffee won the coveted Kona Coffee Cupping Competition in the Classic Division for single estate farms and Kona Gold Rum Coffee Co. captured its first win in the Kona Crown Competition Division.
Two competitive divisions, Kona Classic and Kona Crown, separate single estate and larger farms. Kona Classic entries are single estate farms and the Kona Crown Division is set aside for larger farms and professional processing mills, including known brands sold to Kona coffee aficionados around the world. Both divisions share common rules for entering the Kona Coffee Cupping Competition.
All coffee entered must be 100 percent Kona coffee, grown solely in the district of Kona. State law requires that any coffee labeled as Kona coffee must be of grade Prime or better. Contestants can either enter the Crown or the Classic competition, but not both. All submissions are marked with an anonymous number for a true blind taste competition.
The prestigious two-day Kona Coffee Cupping Competition hosted an internationally recognized panel of cupping judges. Aaron Shank of Hawaii Coffee Co., Thomas Keisling, Honolulu Coffee Co., and Hideki Miki, UCC Hawaii, sniffed, slurped and taste-tested their way through all the entries looking for the best flavor profile known as Kona characteristics.
In all, 10 Kona coffee estate farms and five larger farms were honored. Kona Coffee Council President Roger Kaiwi presented the finalists with ribbons and awards during an awards dinner.
Located in Holualoa, Hula Daddy has planted 31-plus acres with more than 17,000 trees and harvests and processes its own estate coffee.
Family owned and operated, Kona Gold Rum was established in 2002. With an expertise of growing coffee, this farm group grows more than 100 acres of high elevation 100 percent Kona coffee under five labels.
“Congratulations to the winners of this year’s competition,” said Valerie Corcoran, Kona Coffee Cultural Festival president. “Every year, the Kona Coffee Cultural Festival looks forward to this important event that really helps Kona carry forward the legacy and culture behind our cup of famous brew.”