Winners of the Kona Coffee Cupping Competition were selected from 62 judged entries during the 46th annual Kona Coffee Cultural Festival. Hula Daddy Kona Coffee won the coveted Kona Coffee Cupping Competition in the Classic Division for single estate farms
Winners of the Kona Coffee Cupping Competition were selected from 62 judged entries during the 46th annual Kona Coffee Cultural Festival. Hula Daddy Kona Coffee won the coveted Kona Coffee Cupping Competition in the Classic Division for single estate farms and Kona Gold Rum Coffee Company, LLC captured their first win in the Kona Crown Competition Division.
Two competitive divisions, Kona Classic and Kona Crown, separate single estate and larger farms. Kona Classic entries are single estate farms and the Kona Crown Division is set aside for larger farms and professional processing mills including known brands sold to Kona coffee aficionados around the world. Yet, both divisions share common rules for entering the Kona Coffee Cupping Competition.
The prestigious two-day event hosted an internationally recognized panel of cupping judges who evaluated 62 single estate farms and larger farm coffee entries. In a blind tasting, judges Aaron Shank, Hawaii Coffee Company; Thomas Keisling, Honolulu Coffee Company; and Hideki Miki, UCC Hawaii sniffed, slurped and taste tested their way through all the entries looking for the best flavor profile known here as Kona characteristics.
By Wednesday afternoon, the judges had narrowed the field of entries but it was not without excitement. A final eight entry cup off was called for by the head judge. Scores were then tabulated and with the list of semi-finalists advanced the top 15 Classic Division finalists and top eight in the Crown Division to Thursday’s finals.
In all, 10 Kona coffee estate farms and five larger farms were awarded. Kona Coffee Council President Roger Kaiwi presented the finalists with ribbons and awards later that evening over dinner.
“This year we have more variety with some of the taste profiles we are experiencing. It’s been pretty exciting especially for some of the judges who don’t get to cup a lot of Kona coffees all the time. They are surprised by the diversity of taste that they get here in Kona,” said Kona Coffee Cupping Judge Miguel Meza. “There’s a variety of altitudes and practices that all lead to very different possibilities of taste.”
The Kona Coffee Council produces the prestigious Kona Coffee Cultural Festival Cupping Competition sponsored by UCC Ueshima Coffee Co. and Kamehameha Schools.
