Like millions of people around the world, I start my day with a cup of coffee. For something I encounter on a daily basis, I know surprisingly very little about it. What does it actually take to make a cup of coffee? I know you grind up coffee beans, add a little hot water, and presto you have a mug of instant pick me up. But I know there is so much more that goes into the process. So during our visit to Kauai, I decided to visit Kauai Coffee Plantation to learn more about what it actually takes to make a cup of java.
If you are also curious, here is what you should know before you visit the plantation:
The Largest Coffee Grower in the United States
You probably wouldn’t have guessed it but the tiny island of Kauai contains 3,100 acres of coffee growing land. With over 4 million coffee trees, Kauai Coffee is the largest coffee grower in the US.
A Self Guided Tour
When you arrive at Kauai Coffee Plantation, head around the left side of the building to begin a self-guided tour through coffee bean fields. The path is well marked with informative signs detailing the coffee making process before it circles back around to the gift shop where you started from. The tour starts with how a coffee plant is grown, then moves on to how it is harvested and then dried and roasted.
This is a Coffee Bean
My only experience with coffee beans was crushing them up at the grocery store with one of those self-serve grinder machines. So if you’re like me, you probably wouldn’t recognize a coffee bean being grown before your eyes. Did you know the coffee bean is actually the seed of the coffee plant? The plant grows cherry-sized fruits that turn from green to red when they are ripe. Inside of these fruits are two coffee beans. Occasionally the two beans will have morphed into a single bean called a peaberry. A peaberry produces a sweet flavor used in specialized flavors of coffee.
Free Samples
Who doesn’t love free samples? After completing your self-guided tour head up on the deck for tastings of the entire line of 100% Hawaiian, estate-grown coffees from Kauai Coffee Plantation. There are probably around 20 different flavors to try. I wouldn’t recommend trying them all unless you want to be jittery for the rest of the day. Start with a classic like the Rooster Alarm. Next, try one made with peaberries and see if you can taste the difference. Then get wild with Hawaiian Chocolate Macadamia Nut.
Visit Kauai Coffee Plantation
Even if you don’t drink coffee, a visit to the Kauai Coffee Plantation should make it on your Kauai Itinerary. The plantation is beautiful and learning about the care that goes into growing coffee beans is fascinating. If you are a coffee drinker, there is a feeling of great satisfaction walking through the rows of coffee plants, sipping on a cup of coffee made from the beans you are watching grow. It doesn’t get much fresher than that.
Chad can be summed up by his idea of a perfect day: Waking up early to watch the sunrise over the mountains, warm cup of coffee in hand then grabbing his camera and fly rod, hitting the trail to explore some uncharted territory followed by cold beers and campfire steaks. Chad is often joined on his adventures by his wife, Tori, and their dog, Kona.
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