SCAA – Rising Sun of Ka\’u earns Coffee of the Year Award

ANAHEIM, Calif., Usa – The Rising Sun Farm of Ka’u again reached the pinnacle of the specialty coffee world by earning the 2010 Coffee of the Year award in the Hawaii-Usa category at the prestigious Specialty Coffee Association of America’s Roasters Guild international cupping competition at the SCAA’s 22nd annual expo.

This marks the fourth consecutive year Ka’u coffees have earned international acclaim in the prestigious competition and the second time Rising Sun has earned a top spot. Competing against 134 exceptional coffees assembled from such legendary coffee origins as Columbia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Kenya, Nicaragua, Panama and Peru, the Rising Sun earned an impressive 87.563 score. After an initial vetting round, the 134 entries were winnowed down to 74 coffees scoring 84 or better. Ten of the 74 finalists were chosen from Hawaii and were among 18 entries collected from across the state. Six of the 10 Hawaiian finalists are from Ka’u farms.

The seven-acre farm, operated by Will & Grace Tabios of Na’alehu is located at 1900-foot elevation on lands mauka (upland) of the town of Pahala where the family cultivates Guatemalan Typica and Bourbon varietals. Will & Grace’s winning coffee was produced by the labor-intensive “pulped natural” method which produces pleasantly sweet, bright, citrus and floral flavors. The steady evolution of Ka’u‘s coffee quality has been influenced in part by consultant Miguel Meza.

Among other fine Ka’u coffees whose final scores were 84 or better are Castaneda Coffee Farm (85.35), R&G Farms (84.9), and Rusty’s Hawaiian (84.75). Other Ka’u farmers who entered the competition and are on hand to promote Ka’u coffees are Efren Abellera of Kehua’s Coffee Farm, and “Bull” Kailiawa. Kailiawa Coffee Farm scored an impressive 7th in the 2009 Coffee of the Year competition. These entries into the SCAA competition are sponsored by Ka’u Farm and Ranch Company, LLC, the management entity of the lands on which the award-winning Ka’u coffee farms are located.

Award-winning Ka’u estate coffees will be available for tasting and purchase at the second annual Ka’u Coffee Festival happening on May 1-2 in the plantation heritage town of Pahala. Events will include Ka’u Coffee ho’olaule’a (admission is free) with coffee tasting, entertainment, food, education, arts and crafts, Ka’u Coffee recipe contest, farm tours, and Ka’u Coffee College, a series of educational workshops focused on coffee farming, roasting, cupping and processing.
 
Source: Scaa