Long before Blue Bottle and Philz, Ritual and Four Barrel, even Major Dickason's Blend, we’ve struggled with Kona coffee, with its blow-us-out-the-door price tag and mass consumer uncertainty. What makes it so expensive? It’s only grown on Mount Hualalai and Mauna Loa in Hawaii. And that means? We don’t have a clue -- we’ve never been able to afford it. But we do know you should turn your back if the bag says “Kona blend”: that’s like squeezing a Meyer lemon into a pitcher of lemonade and asking someone to give a shit. In Hawaii, and only in Hawaii, companies are forced by law to state what percentage of the real stuff in is each bag. At "Coffee From Paradise," find 100 percent of the real stuff, courtesy of Pualani, Kaipo, and Maile Daniels of Mount Hualalai’s Triangle J’s 4 Coffee, who brew pots and explain the business of growing coffee in one of the most beautiful places on Earth. You also get a song and dance to go with it: Hula, as practiced by longtime hula competitor Maile, and ukulele and guitar by Pualani and Kaipo. Throw all that into a miracle setting -– a hothouse of flowers, pungent with blooms and turned earth -- and you’ve got a taste of the islands that actually does them proud.
Wed., Sept. 23, 6 p.m., 2009
