The first Honolulu Coffee I went to was in Vancouver. Canada. Not Hawai’i.

Close to where my parents lived, Honolulu Coffee was one of my dad’s favourites. We got coffee and shared sandwiches on many occasions. Sometimes we sat by the window. Or in one of the “booths”, while waiting for my mom to join us after her shopping. Honolulu Coffee’s decor is happy and bright, bringing the aloha spirit to Vancouver, often a cold and rainy city. At that time, I didn’t realize it was actually a coffee house founded in Honolulu. It was just a place I enjoyed with my dad.

Kona Coffee

I’m not a coffee connoisseur. Mine is mostly accompanied by a non-dairy milk. So I looked into why Kona coffee is special. Apparently, Mark Twain said that Kona coffee has “a richer flavour than any other, be it grown where it may and call it by what name you please.” (He was actually speaking of another coffee, the Brazilian Typica.)

Kona coffee, known for its sweet and rich unique taste, is named after the place it’s grown in. This is the Kona Coffee Belt on the Big Island. On the slope of the Mauna Loa volcano, the soil is rich with macro and micronutrients for coffee. It also has plentiful sunshine and drainage so the crops don’t get flooded. When the beans are ready, workers hand-harvest them. So not by machine. Kona coffee is rare, only about 1%.

Living in Kaua’i, we used to drive by coffee fields. So we knew that the islands are conducive for it. In 1828 Samuel Ruggles introduced coffee to the Big Island when he planted the first tree from seedlings in Manoa Valley in O’ahu. After pests and adverse weather destroyed most of the crops in the 1850s, Hermann Widermann introduced another variety in 1892 and it becomes the dominant strain, Kona Typica. Also the large plantations worked on by native Hawai’ians and Chinese labourers started to be parceled out and to this day, most of the production is by small farms. Immigrants have played an important role in Hawai’i. Many came to work on plantations, with sugar being the primary export.

To ensure authenticity, the State of Hawai’i Department of Agriculture certifies Hawai’i’s Kona coffee. This process includes stringent inspection and protects the growers’ premium product and also buyers and coffee drinkers. Have you tried 100% Kona coffee?

Honolulu Coffee

Established in 1992, Honolulu Coffee started from a kiosk in Honolulu. I love these stories.

Wade and I went to their flagship shop at 1800 Kalakaua Avenue for some coffee. This is where their Experience Centre is and one of their seven Honolulu locations. We’ve driven past many times before. With 9,000 square feet, this is a space with different kinds of seating and even when busy, it’s quite relaxing and chill. There is a gigantic roaster here and the idea is for visitors to learn about the farm-to-cup process. Since we went late in the day, it was already closing and it was unclear whether their 90-minute educational tour was still on.

We’ve also visited their Ala Moana Cafe and I’ve spent time at the Moana Surfrider location, which is a short walk from our apartment. I usually order the Hawaiian latte, with either macadamia or coconut milk.

Unlike the location in Vancouver, there is no wifi. So there went my plan to work on my laptop while enjoying a day out.

For souvenirs, I bought some Honolulu Coffee stickers and the Surfer Girl Tote Bag.