Coffee Farm Tour With Gourmet Luncheon Saturday

By Vanessa Wolf

Aerial view of MauiGrown Coffee. Courtesy photo

Coffee lovers: this one’s for you.

This Saturday, Aug. 31 MauiGrown Coffee will be hosting a tour of their working Kāʻanapali Estates coffee farm as part of the Kāʻanapali Fresh culinary series.

Kimo Falconer and Jeff Ferguson of MauiGrown Coffee will teach attendees about the art and science of coffee cultivation and how coffee goes from farm to cup.

MauiGrown Coffee was established in 2003 when Falconer, a former director of agricultural research for Pioneer Mill Sugar Co., began efforts to re-establish mature coffee orchards first planted on the land in 1988. Today the farm consists of 500 acres featuring four varieties of coffee: Red Catuai, Yellow Caturra, Typica, and the unique Maui Mokka.

This year marks the 200th year of coffee cultivation in the islands.

First planted on Oahu by Don Francisco de Paula Marin in 1813, coffee has been an important part of island culture ever since. It is currently cultivated on all the major islands and roughly 6,300 acres are in production statewide. There are about 40 farms in Maui County that produce coffee.

Tour participants will meet at 10:45 a.m. at Whalers Village Fine Shops & Restaurants from where they’ll be taken to the coffee fields.

The tour will be followed by a deluxe luncheon at the Kāʻanapali Coffee Estate home of Roger and Joyce Amadon. Chef Christian Jorgensen of CJ’s Deli & Diner will prepare the gourmet meal.

After the lunch, the group will visit the “MauiGrown” shop at the historic Pioneer Mill in Lāhainā for a professionally-led coffee tasting and before returning to Whalers Village around 2 p.m.

Covered shoes, sunscreen and a hat are recommended.

Tickets are $30 per person.

We welcome your feedback. Please let us know if you hear of any new restaurants opening or reopening, total menu overhauls, or simply know of a hidden treasure you want to share. Have a restaurant you want reviewed (or re-reviewed)? Drop us a line – Vanessa(@mauinow.com)