Doctor trades scrubs for coffee shrubs

KAILUA-KONA, Hawaii (AP) _ Kona Joe Coffee on the Big Island has spawned a U-S patent, earned a national honor and grown to a 20-acre spread of coffee plants. Joe Alban has come far since he first planted a couple of acres of Kona coffee tress in his backyard in 1997. The California doctor had only planned to make the coffee venture a retirement hobby. Instead his company won the Specialty Coffee Association of America’s blue ribbon award in 2001. Alban says his family wanted to produce a coffee that would be truly special, that has a taste of the place. He says they wanted the tradition of Kona coffee, but to really bring out the flavor.