Category: Behind the Cup

Donuts and coffee are a common enough pairing. The American “breakfast of champions” and the break time delight that helps many hard-working employees get through the day. Now I am not going to comment on health (you can read that here), nutrition, or anything like that, but on why coffee changes taste when paired with various foods. Also, to give you some insight into what coffees to serve or order depending on which food you are consuming. Whether you are getting your fix at Dunkin, Tim Hortons, or Mr. Donuts, Read More…

Having just undergone an adjustment in coffee prices for the farm, and struggling for over a year with production costs, hidden costs, market conditions, current and future threats, and new pandemic-related consumption habits,  I thought our readers might find it interesting to know why and how their Kona Coffee Prices increase. A price increase is never taken lightly and always undertaken with deep care and consideration of many factors, along with internal strife, knowing that we will be asking our valued customers to pay a little more. It means losing Read More…

A blog about writing off coffee expenses? That can only mean one thing. It is tax season! That mysterious season where working-class Americans send their money to Washington DC and Rich Americans send their money to offshore accounts. I kid. That doesn’t happen, right? I am one of those who if my tax returns aren’t filed early in February, I get a little nervous (also known as a weirdo). I also try to be as honest as possible. I don’t want unnecessary scrutiny from the IRS and more importantly, I Read More…

When you deal with specialty coffee every day it is always a treat to learn who enjoys that coffee. That includes everyone from our daily loyal customers to celebrities, a president, politicians, sports stars, and famous chefs that enjoy Greenwell Farms 100% Kona Coffee. (Although it is company policy not to tell you who!!) So, in honor of the upcoming President’s Day, we thought we’d share with you some really intriguing coffee habits of our American Presidents. We know that Presidents are complex human beings and occupy the White House Read More…

Happy New Year! We raise our coffee mug to you and wish you health and joy in 2021 and hope your year is blessed.  I stopped making New Year’s resolutions long ago, but the end of the year is a great time to look back, reassess, evaluate, and see what went well and what needs modification. It’s also a great time to plan for the upcoming year and consider what things you’d like to see manifest in your life. When I was a teacher, I was involved primarily with alternative Read More…

Christmas is my favorite Holiday hands down, and special dinners, drinks, decorations, and Holiday music take over my house for at least four weeks every year.  Today, I’d like to show you some unique holiday coffee drinks using our 100% Kona coffee espresso roast. Now that my kids are grown, and returning home for a brief period during the season, we want to savor that time even more and make as many special memories as possible. Sharing a holiday coffee drink is a positive step toward adulthood.  So today,  I Read More…

Amongst coffee facts, there many things that are common knowledge, and other things that are not so well known.  Today let’s look at some of the lesser-known.   As the holiday season is fast-approaching, it means the time for gatherings of family and friends is here. (Possibly. In 2020 who knows?) If your family is anything like mine, although we all have love and general respect for each other, vigorous debate, sharing of information and stimulating banter are all part of the holiday tradition. Today, my goal is to help you Read More…

The sun is setting earlier and rising later. The birds are starting to migrate to warmer climes.   Somehow the air feels different and the nights are getting a bit nippy. Acorns are falling and mushrooms are pushing their way up through the forest floor. The Maple leaves are just starting to change. Then your partner looks over lovingly and says, “Pumpkin Pie Spice Latte?”  Autumn has arrived. Honestly speaking, everything I just described above is from memory. Here in Kona, Hawaii, although there are subtle temperature variations, and the days Read More…

America celebrates National Coffee Day on Sept 29th and a couple days later the world celebrates International Coffee Day on October 1st. For most people, those two days go by unnoticed and without fanfare. For the coffee industry as a whole, these are very important days to bring awareness to the entire network of coffee industry professionals from the farmer to the barista and every step in between. It is also a time when issues facing the coffee industry can be examined, discussed, given priority and millions of minds can Read More…

Labor Day has me thinking about the great variety of workers that make this country run, and more specifically about the role of coffee in the workplace. In an earlier blog, we talked about how soldiers relied upon caffeine to power through their duties. Today though, is a tribute to the civilian soldiers, blue-collar, white-collar, academia, healthcare, government, service sector, the working men and women who wake up early every day, battle the traffic to get to the office and spend 8-10 hours, 50 weeks a year, moving society forward. Read More…

With all of the uncertainty of traveling this year and many being cooped up for so long, the number of Americans choosing to do some camping this summer is on the rise. While we are willing to give up many things to get back to nature, including the comfort of our beds and the warmth of our showers, the one thing we are not willing to give up is our coffee. Camp coffee is a must. In fact, I’d venture to say that drinking camp coffee may be one of Read More…

Are you a fan of Iced Coffee? Have you tried all of the various ways to make it? Summer is the joyous time of year when coffee drinkers all over the Northern Hemisphere put on shorts, clean up the BBQ grill, lather up in SPF 50, and think to themselves, “how can I make my beloved coffee a little cooler?”. Let’s explore the chilly world of cold/iced coffee drinks and cover some of the basic principles to make sure you are drinking your frosty coffee beverages at the highest level Read More…

Do you enjoy your coffee with dessert?  Do you think of it as an American tradition like Baseball and Apple Pie? A Little Background One of the things that first attracted me to the Kona Coffee world (some 22 years ago) was the recipe contest at the annual Kona Coffee Cultural Festival. (Konacoffeefest.com) Pro and amateur chefs use Kona Coffee in both savory and sweet dishes for prizes and prestige. My wife and I, both avid home cooks, (she is a professional baker) never missed it. The gourmet nature of Read More…

Our farm tours at Greenwell Farms are a sprightly mix of farming practices, coffee processing, plant identification, history, and local color. Our tour guides are fascinated with coffee history and all of the amazing and amusing stories that circulate through coffee lore. So, on June 6th, 2020, the 76th anniversary of D-Day, let us take a pleasant stroll through time and look at the relationship between coffee and the military.  If you are of the generation who doesn’t immediately know about D-Day, let’s take a moment to catch you up. Read More…

Greenwell Farms provides farm tours led by expert guides who share the rich history and craft behind producing Greenwell Farms 100% Kona Coffee. Meet Olivia, she will give you a taste of the farm in a brief interview below.   Welcome to Greenwell Farms, my name is Olivia, I am a tour guide here and we specialize in 100% Kona Coffee. What’s your favorite place on the farm? One of the most amazing thigs about the farm here is that we have fruit all year-round including oranges, papaya, apple banana, Read More…