MauiGrown Coffee Takes Top Honors at Cupping Competition
MauiGrown Coffee president, Kimo Falconer, inspects the fruits of his team’s labor during the drying process. The processing methods used for their coffee varietals is contributing to the company’s growing success. Courtesy photo.
By Maui Now Staff
A Maui coffee grower took top honors at the 6th Statewide Coffee Cupping Competition held in Kealakekua on the Big Island of Hawaiʻi last month.
MauiGrown Coffee reaffirmed their place in the coffee world by tying for first place for their Maui Mokka Natural coffee. Sharing the title was Aloha Hills Kona Coffee.
MauiGrown Coffee also took 2nd Place in the Maui District Division.
The 2014 field included a total of 77 entries. The Commercial Division included 22 entries, 12 of which came from Maui County.
The Maui Mokka variety of coffee originated in Yemen and was planted on the Kāʻanapali Estate by Pioneer Mill 25 years ago. Today, it is one of four coffee varietals grown and harvested in West Maui.
“Great coffee doesn’t just happen,” said Kimo Falconer, president of MauiGrown Coffee in a press release. “It takes a dedicated team of farm workers to produce award-winning coffee and I couldn’t be prouder of our Maui Mokka team.”
The Maui Mokka bean is described as small, roundish and chubby, producing a cup of subtle chocolate flavors.
During this year’s cupping competition, judges described Maui Mokka as “a winey, sparkly coffee with good acidity, nice body and hints of a fruit and nut bar. It has notes of boysenberry and blackberry and tones of cocoa and bittersweet chocolate and finishes like a good port and a cigar.”
Falconer said the soil and nutrition, the water cycle and the sun are part of the process of producing a sweet coffee cherry.
“We allow the coffee cherries to stay on the tree until they turn purple which produces the maximum amount of sugars concentrated into the fruit,” said Falconer. “After harvesting we let the coffee age for almost six months in the coffee pulp to bring out the various fruit flavors. The coffee bean is then milled, bagged and sent off to our customers worldwide.”
“Roasting is also critical to bringing out the maximum flavor of the coffee,” said Jeff Ferguson, co-owner and manager of the MauiGrown Coffee Company Store. “We invite the public to taste the fruits of our labor at our store in Lahaina. We offer a medium roast and a dark roast to please all palates,” he said.
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