Coffee Quality: What it Means and Why it Matters to Ka‘u

Ka'u coffee cherries. Photo by Chris Manfredi

This Sunday, May 3, we invite you to join us in a series of free informative talks that aim to identify how to achieve and maintain coffee quality and why it should matter to coffee producers in Ka'u. The official 2015 Ka'u Coffee Festival event, Coffee College, will take place at the Pahala Community Center on from 9 a.m. to noon.

Andrew Hetzel. Photo courtesy of scaa.org

Our first speaker, Andrew Hetzel - founder of Cafemakers, is a coffee industry specialist who advises producer organizations and roasting businesses on trade marketing and quality assurance. His clients include a diverse range of specialty coffee producers and consumers in more than 35 countries, including retailers and roasters in North America, Australia and emerging consumer markets of Asia, Eastern Europe and the Middle East. He has recently headed quality improvement and origin brand marketing initiatives for coffee producers in Brazil, India, East Africa, Southeast Asia and the Arabian Peninsula.

As both a Q Arabica and Q Robusta instructor, he leads training courses for the Coffee Quality Institute (CQI) and private businesses worldwide.  Mr. Hetzel is a Board Member of the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) and Chairperson of SCAA's Global Education and Professional Development Committees that oversee the association's lecture, skill building and certificate programs. As a visible industry figure he appears in consumer media to discuss coffee issues, including CNN, Time Magazine, MSNBC, the Wall Street Journal, Associated Press and New York Times.

Andrea Kawabata.
Photo courtesy of CTAHR

Andrea Kawabata - Assistant Extension Agent at the University of Hawai'i College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources' Cooperative Extension Service - will speak second. As the agent for coffee and orchard crops, Andrea works out of the Kona Research and Extension Center and travels statewide. Andrea continues to educate growers about CBB-best management practices and is the current project investigator for the CBB Area wide Outreach and Education Program as well as The Cathartus Program, a research project on local predators of CBB called flat bark beetles. 

Andy Newbom. Photo courtesy of LinkedIn

Our third speaker, Andy Newbom - Director of Coffee at IPCoffees Specialty Imports, spent 14 years of striving for coffee perfection. As Director of Coffee for IPCoffees Specialty Imports, he is building a new market for Mexican specialty coffee. Andy launched Barefoot Coffee Roasters, Finca Coffees, and Brew Revolution Craft Brewery. He is one of the founders of the Barista Guild of America.

J. David Waldman - Rojo’s Roastery Founder, will be our closing speaker. David created Rojo’s Roastery in 2004, a full-scale roastery, lab, and two-cafe operation. He received his CQI Q-Grader License for Arabica in 2012.

David Waldman. Photo courtesy of YouTube

David was born in Philadelphia in the 50’s. He comes by his credentials honestly: cello lessons at age 4, guitar lessons at age 5, joining the musicians union at age 13, and undergraduate studies in pre-medical sciences. He has TV and studio credentials (pedal steel guitar) in Nashville with the likes of Willie Nelson, George Jones, Waylon Jennings and Tammy Wynette. A columnist for Guitar Player and Frets Magazines, a law degree, a Wall Street venture capitalist, followed by 15 years as a New York record executive (Sony Music) working with artists such as Bob Dylan, James Taylor, and was an associate of MIT Media Lab.

2015 Coffee College Speaker Schedule

9:00-10:00
“Green Coffee Defects”
Andrew Hetzel

Andrew will discuss defects in green beans and the widely used standard classification method developed by the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA), followed by a tasting session where participants will learn to recognize and identify common defects by taste.

10:00-10:15 Break

10:15 - 10:45

“How Coffee Berry Borer (CBB) damage affects the cup of coffee”
Andrea Kawabata

Andrea presents an overview of research conducted with Greenwell Farms, UCC and UH CTAHR, the goal of this project is to better understand the effects of CBB damage to roasted coffee including:
1. What percentage of CBB-damaged beans does it take to affect flavor in the cup?
2. Does a darker roast mask the taste of CBB-damaged beans?

10:45-11:00: Break

11:00- 11:30
“Drink the Blue Kool-Aid: Stand out from the pack of sameness by delivering delicious, fantastic coffee excellence in the cup of your customers”
Andy Newbom

This lecture provides a road map for Ka‘u coffee producers to distinguish themselves within the greater industry of Hawaiian coffees:
1. Cup your own coffee – constantly.
2. Lean how to roast it to highlight the intrinsic nature of the coffee, and not the degree of roast.
3. Learn how to brew and prepare your OWN coffee the best way possible to bring the best flavor and experience.
4. Spread that knowledge to all your customers so you can deliver the full Hawaii coffee experience.

11:30 - Noon 

“The Buyer’s Criteria”
J. David Waldman

What convinces specialty roasters to purchase green beans from an emerging region such as Ka‘u? This lecture shares one roaster’s criteria for moving past samples on the cupping table to actual orders – especially for higher-priced beans such as Hawaiian coffees.

Ka'u Coffee Festival's Coffee College event has been consistently offered annually since our first festival in 2009. Attendance is free. Donations appreciated.

Join us for our upcoming 2015 events: Coffee & Cattle Day (May 1), Ka'u Star Gazing (May 1), Ho'olaule'a - Main Event (May 2), Coffee College (May 3). See our main site for more information: kaucoffeefestival.com.