Ka`u Coffee Festival This Weekend

The Miss Ka`u Coffee Court will be on hand at the Ka`u Coffee
 Festival tomorrow at Pahala Community Center after they
 parade through the town.  Photo by Anna Kailiawa

THE KA`U COFFEE FESTIVAL KICKS OFF at 9 a.m. tomorrow, May 14 at Pahala Community Center just off Hwy 11 between Punalu`u Black Sand Beach and Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Enjoy award-winning Ka`u coffee, entertainment, food, contests, local crafts and games. Meet Miss Ka`u Coffee and her court. Admission is free.

LEADERS OF THE SPECIALTY COFFEE INDUSTRY are traveling to Ka`u, the state’s largest agricultural district, this weekend to learn about award-winning Ka`u Coffee. Representing three areas of the U.S. Mainland, they include specialty coffee guru George Howell, of Terroir Coffee in Action in Massachusetts; Skip Fay, of Dunn Bros. Coffee in Minneapolis; and James Freeman, of Blue Bottle Coffee in Oakland, California. George Howell shares his coffee expertise at the Ka`u Coffee College this Sunday.
     The coffee experts are participating in Ka`u Coffee’s inaugural reverse trade mission as part of the third Ka`u Coffee Festival May 14-15 at the Pahala Community Center. They will learn first-hand about Ka`u Coffee during Saturday festival activities, including guided tastings and farm tours. On Sunday, the men will give guest lectures to local coffee farmers at the free Ka`u Coffee College.
     A pioneer of the specialty coffee movement in the early 1970s, George Howell founded The Coffee Connection, a high-end coffee retailer that was acquired by Starbucks in 1994. He is an expert on single-origin coffee.
     Marshall “Skip” Fay is executive vice president of Dunn Bros. Coffee Franchising, Inc. He opened Dunn’s first franchised coffee house and roastery in 1994, and today there are 90 locations.
     Named one of the New York Times’ “Nifty 50,” James Freeman is on coffee’s radar for his Blue Bottle coffee company in the San Francisco Bay Area. Freeman’s network of coffee carts and cafes offers carefully made coffee drinks, and he is committed to selling beans less than 48 hours out of the roaster.”
     The reverse trade mission is sponsored by the state Department of Agriculture and the Ka`u Coffee Festival.

Saturday's Schedule of Events:

Food, Coffee, Craft and Information Booths and Entertainment: 9 a.m. – 5 p.m

Ka`u Coffee Tasting: 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., free

Ka`u Coffee Recipe Contest Judging and Tasting: 12 p.m., $5 per person (includes Festival Button)

Farm Tours, $15 donation, all day long.

The entertainment lineup, starting at 9 a.m. is: Opening by Miss Ka`u Coffee and Emcee Skylark; Hands of Time; Tony Salvage; Bobby Koanui; Lorna and Mary Ann Lim; Hula by Miss Ka`u Coffee Brandy Shibuya and presentation of her court; Debbie Ryder and Halau Hua O Leionalani; Bolo; Brittany Paiva; Demetrius and Friends; Cyril Pahinui; Ka`u `Ukulele Kids; Gene Akamu; Lori Lei's Hula Studio; George, Moses and Keoki Kahumoku; and One Journey.

Sunday's Schedule of Events:

Ka`u Coffee College: 9 a.m. - 12 p.m.

Farm Tours, $15 donation

Sponsors for 2011: Aikane Coffee Plantation; Ali`i Coffee; Big Island Honda; Big Island RC & DC;

County of Hawai`i; Crop Production Services; Edmund C. Olson Trust II; Fernandez Farm; Festivals of Hawai`i; Gascon Coffee Farm; GEICO; Hana Hou Restaurant; Hawai`i Coffee Association; Hawai`i Department of Agriculture; Hawai`i Tourism Authority; JN Coffee; Ka`u Coffee Growers Cooperative; Ka`u Coffee Mill; Ka`u Farm and Ranch Company; Ka`u Local Products; KAHU Radio 91.7FM; Kailiawa Coffee; Kehau Coffee; Kuahiwi Ranch Natural Beef; Ka`u Forest Coffees; ML Macadamia Orchards; `O Ka`u Kakou; OK Farms; Orcino Coffee Farm; Osama Coffee Farm; Pacific Quest; Pahala Plantation Cottages; Palehua Farmers Cooperative; Punalu`u Bake Shop; R & G Coffee Farm; Rusty’s Hawaiian; Sambajon Farms; The Ka`u Calendar; and The Local Buzz.