Episode 41: Celebrating Kona Coffee, Near and Far

[00:00:05] Matt Carter: Aloha everybody. Happy November. I'm here with our CEO, Tom Greenwell. Morning, Tom. 

[00:00:09] Tom Greenwell: Good morning. 

[00:00:09] Matt Carter: How's everything going? 

[00:00:11] Tom Greenwell: Great so far. 

[00:00:12] Matt Carter: Awesome. We're approaching the beginning of the 55th annual Kona Coffee Cultural Festival and Greenwell Farms typically plays a pretty big role in supporting the festival, yeah?

[00:00:23] Tom Greenwell: Yeah. We've always tried to support it. 

[00:00:25] Matt Carter: What does it mean to you personally- the, the whole celebration of the farmer and the culture and all that? 

[00:00:31] Tom Greenwell: Well, it's a great time of year. Farmers have been out working really hard for the last three months. It's kind of a break in some ways, or it's kind of a distraction for some.

[00:00:42] Matt Carter: I see. '

[00:00:43] Tom Greenwell: Cause it still is kinda the peak of the season. So, you know, they're out hardworking. But, you know, I think the farmers really enjoy having this little break- 

[00:00:54] Matt Carter: Sure... 

[00:00:54] Tom Greenwell: and being able to talk their stories and-

[00:00:56] Matt Carter: To share their, art with the world-

[00:00:58] Tom Greenwell: Yeah.

[00:00:59] Matt Carter: You know, in the larger picture, that's amazing. You're gonna be, at the Art Stroll, Greenwell Farms anyway, and, a lot of different events around town. So if people see you, they stop you and say, "Hi, Tom. What's going on?" 

[00:01:13] Tom Greenwell: Yeah. 

[00:01:13] Matt Carter: Okay. But just be prepared 'cause he's very affable, and he'll talk your ear off for another thirty, forty minutes or something like that.

[00:01:21] Tom Greenwell: Well- that's ho- why it's so hard to get through the Stroll. 

[00:01:24] Matt Carter: Yeah.

[00:01:24] Tom Greenwell: You know?

[00:01:24] Matt Carter: Exactly. You know everybody.

[00:01:25] Tom Greenwell: I see about half of it.

[00:01:26] Matt Carter: For sure. I heard you recently took a trip to Japan on behalf, was it the Hawaii Coffee Association, or what was the group you represented?

[00:01:33] Tom Greenwell: Yeah, it was with the Hawaii Department of Ag.

[00:01:36] Matt Carter: Department of Ag. I see. 

[00:01:36] Tom Greenwell: Yeah.

[00:01:37] Matt Carter: Yeah.

[00:01:37] Tom Greenwell: And, so I was there representing Kona Coffee. And we had also Kimo from Maui representing Maui.

[00:01:47] Matt Carter: I see.

[00:01:47] Tom Greenwell: And, Oh, shucks. My good friend in Kaʻū, and I just lost his name. 

[00:01:58] Matt Carter: Rusty? 

[00:01:58] Tom Greenwell: Rusty. 

[00:01:59] Matt Carter: Yeah. Rusty, yeah. 

[00:02:00] Tom Greenwell: Rusty.

[00:02:00] Matt Carter: Yeah.

[00:02:01] Tom Greenwell: He was representing Kaʻū. And I think we did a really good job. 

[00:02:07] Matt Carter: Gotcha. 

[00:02:08] Tom Greenwell: People loved it.

[00:02:08] Matt Carter: So you 

had a lot of interaction with the Japanese people- 

[00:02:10] Tom Greenwell: Oh, yeah.

[00:02:11] Matt Carter: Coming by? 

[00:02:12] Tom Greenwell: Yeah. 

[00:02:12] Matt Carter: Do they have a good impression of Kona coffee?

[00:02:15] Tom Greenwell: You know, they have a really good impression of Kona coffee. And they love tasting it every time. 

[00:02:20] Matt Carter: Sure.

[00:02:22] Tom Greenwell: They were surprised, you know, about the other coffees.

[00:02:26] Matt Carter: Sure.

[00:02:26] Tom Greenwell: And they were very excited. 

[00:02:29] Matt Carter: Well, guys, thank you so much for joining us. I hope you have a good time at the festival this year. Thanks for supporting as always, Tom, and we'll see you in December. 

[00:02:37] Tom Greenwell: Cool.