We've finally found our "Island Coffee"

When we were on the island last we searched for Kona Coffee. We had heard that many Hawaiian coffee brands only put like 10% true Kona coffee into their coffee and then market it as Kona. So, yes, all that cheaper coffee we've purchased as souvenirs over the years and brought back to you all... ummmm... how to say this.... was bogus. On the Big Island we are fortunate in that much of the world's premium coffee is grown right there. When we went in search of Kona coffee however, we had heard that it was much like wine tasting in a wine region in that there were small road side stands and tasting houses dotting the highway from Kona south well into the Ka'u district. Well, we didn't find any, we wandered looking but probably didn't have enough info to do so, what we did find were mainly closed - it was Sunday. Darn.

We wanted to find a coffee producer that we could know personally, someone small enough to meet at the farmer's market, yet great coffee. We want to support smaller operations. We like the Ka'u district and their efforts to bring that district into the coffee community over the past 10 years. We saw this gal at one of the markets, spoke with her, and decided she has won our loyalty. Lorie Obra of Rusty's Hawaiian Coffee http://rustyshawaiian.com/ (photo taken from their website) Their coffee is hand picked, hand processed, she actually goes to the markets to sell, and she knows her coffee inside and out. This is truly Hawaiian coffee, well worth the price. Mmmmmm..... smooth.... we like.....