Author's Description:

Last October on our trip to the Big Island, HI we went to Bay View Farm in Honaunau to have a tour of their coffee grounds (or is it called plantation?). I love coffee, and absolutely ADORE Kona coffee, so this is a MUST-do for me. It’s a great tour for coffee lovers. We didn’t hear locals "rave" about coffee tours, and my friend’s husband (a Waipi’o local), said he’s never been and was interested to know what we thought of it if we’d gone. I’m glad we did! We learned everything from how and where the coffee cherries are harvested (different farms drop off the coffee cherries and we saw a pick up do that when we were there), to bean selection (and finding out why the "peaberry" coffee beans cost an extra arm and a leg), to the drying process. We didn’t see the roasting process, but even so, what we learned was very eye-opening. Even my fiance, who does not like coffee (he gets sleepy from it, go figure), developed a high level of respect for my beloved coffee and the insane price charged for a pound of 100% pure Kona coffee.

Kona coffee is the type of coffee you want to serve your good friends and you sit them down to relax and chat as if you have the whole day to your leisure. If you’re a coffee lover and you have not tasted 100% Kona coffee, treat yourself to a cup sometime. I tasted it the first time as made by a local, and my caffeine-addicted life changed forever. And so has my dollar-$pending for it. It usually goes for no less than $25 per pound on the mainland (anything less and I’d be doubtful of its quality), but boy, is it ever the best pound of coffee you will ever get. It’s not easy to find 100% Kona coffee on the aisles of the supermarket outside of Hawaii (Kona blend is NOT the same…you get the rejects from that), but you can order out of Hawaii if you like. Whole Foods has a decent selection of of 100% Kona coffee, and it gets bonus points because it carries my favorite brand Wings of the Morning [$23 for 12oz or .75lb bag on the main site. I think it was $26 at WF]. AJ’s Fine Foods also carries that. Amazon as well and it has the cheapest. But for instant gratification, go to your local Whole Foods.

Bay View Farm Kona coffee is pretty good, though, I’d have to say. It’s what I’m having here right now in Vancouver. It’s perfect on a snowy day as an alternative to tea or hot chocolate. It’s really best to drink it black to enjoy its full flavor. It’s a good way to kick off an addiction to Kona coffee. Plus, I just checked their website and they do offer awesome deals this Christmas. It may not make it for gift-giving, but why not give it to yourself to greet the new year? Oh so so nice. You will not regret it!

Taken with a Nikon D300.