KINO‘OLE FARMERS MARKET
1990 Kino‘ole St., Hilo
Saturdays
6:30 a.m.-noon

KA‘U FARMERS MARKET
Across from the Punalu‘u Bake Shop in Na‘alehu, in the Ace Hardware parking lot.
Wednesdays and Saturdays, except December 17
7:30 a.m.-noon

BEACH BUM CAFE
1088 Bishop St., Honolulu
December 14
noon-2 p.m.

DOWNTOWN COFFEE
900 Fort Street Mall, Suite 100, Honolulu
December 15
11 a.m.-1 p.m.

DFS GALLERIA WAIKIKI
330 Royal Hawaiian Ave., Honolulu
December 15
7-10 p.m.

WHOLE FOODS MARKET
Kahala Mall Shopping Center, 4211 Waialae Avenue, Suite 2000, Honolulu
December 16
11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.

KCC FARMERS MARKET
4303 Diamond Head Rd., Honolulu
December 17
6:30 a.m.-noon

All patrons flying on Hawaiian Airlines learned about Pete’s win at the 2011 United States Barista Championship (USBC) and his second-place finish at the WBC. They also learned how it all started at our farm:

“No barista in competition, [Pete] says, had ever ‘honestly taken it from the source, from the beginning, all the way through to the final steps of actually serving that coffee.’

He knew he wanted to try — and because he’d just moved to the one part of the country where coffee actually grows, Hawai‘i, he was in a perfect position to do so. To begin he had to find the right farms. He settled on Rusty’s Hawaiian in Ka‘u, one of the Big Island’s most acclaimed coffee farms, and owner Laurie [sic] Obra welcomed him to pick fruit. ‘That gave me specific knowledge to really identify a lot of things,’ Licata says. ‘If you pick coffee cherries that are not quite ripe, or they’re too ripe, or whatever it is, then the sugars aren’t developed in the coffee bean as much. It’s not as naturally sweet.’ ”

The rest of the article is here.

The article already is online. Mark had a lot to say about Rusty’s Hawaiian, as well as a nod to Miguel:

“About 30 miles southeast of Kona is the Ka’u region, featuring a completely different microclimate and richer and deeper soil. The coffees, including Rusty’s Hawaiian (www.rustyshawaiian.com), are beginning to receive more recognition. Rusty and Lorie Obra, natives of the Philippines, began planting coffee on their leased Ka’u land in 1999. They planted seedlings from other people’s farms, resulting in quite a hodgepodge.

Since Rusty died of lung cancer in 2006, Lorie has run the farm alone. With advice from coffee guru R. Miguel Meza (who also helped the Patersons), she began to experiment with her different types of trees and processing methods. Her yellow Caturra is easy to spot, since it turns yellow rather than red when it ripens. Obra discovered that when the cherries were naturally processed, they yielded a remarkable cup. I can testify that it is extremely fruity and spicy in aroma and flavor, with an orangy nutmeg tang and brighter acidity than you’d generally expect from Hawaiian beans.

I also sampled Rusty’s Red Bourbon, which is processed using the wet method, except that instead of soaking the pulped beans in vats of water, Obra mostly lets them ferment in their own juices. This results in a spectacularly full-bodied and fruity but clean cup. Obra does most of the work herself, including the processing and roasting, and she is obsessive and meticulous.”

Our thanks to Mark for taking the time to taste our coffees! You can read the rest of the article here.

I think of the hours it takes to select the ripest coffee cherries from every harvest. Or remember Mom’s instructions for drying honey coffee by hand: Rake the beans every 20 minutes to expose them to sunlight and air.

“This coffee is a tribute to my Dad,” I answer. It’s the same sentence I repeat to myself after six hours of pushing beans with a rake.

More than five years after my father’s death, caring for his coffee still is the best way to express our love for him. My mother explains this in a video:

We can tell you many other stories about my father’s influence in our lives, but it will take much more than a blog post. I’ll leave you with this tidbit: Even now, strangers stop me to share tales of his kindness and generosity.

Once they met up, it was only a matter of time before something special happened. Sprudge wrote a song about Miguel sorting competition coffee for U.S. barista champ Pete Licata. Miguel, in turn, improvised a melody. And all that singin’ and sortin’ was captured on video. Want to see it? Here goes:

Not me. I think of a quiet drive up to Rusty’s Hawaiian farm in March. That’s when I tagged along with Pete to get a peek behind the prep for the 2011 U.S. Barista Championship.
Pete was trying something no barista had done before: he was picking, processing, roasting, and slinging his own beverages–literally from the fruit to the cup.

My camera followed Pete through the typica and caturra fields, then back to our little mill. Pete seemed like an old hand, picking with skill and grace. He processed his espresso with care and selected the best coffee-cherry skins for his signature drink.

I worked tirelessly to capture him on video, so that I could best tell his story in advance of the 2011 U. S. Barista Championship in Houston. Here it is:

We were delighted to read Pete’s answer: “Rusty’s Hawaiian in Ka’u. The Obra family is amazing. Their coffee is wonderful!”

Rest assured, Pete, the feeling is mutual. Just like our love for Side Street Inn. (To understand that last bit, you’ll have to read the rest of the interview.)