News

Like everything in life, industries evolve. In the ultra-competitive coffee world, cafes, baristas, growers, and processors are always trying to come up with that “new thing” that is going to set them apart from everyone else. Sometimes a trend flashes in popularity and disappears, and other times it becomes the new normal. Although my original draft list for this article had over 20 emerging trends in coffee, I will give you 7 that I believe are applicable to most people and have a good chance of becoming the future norm. Read More…

Coffee Freshness Our continuing quest to seek out the skills and knowledge to have the best cup of coffee continues. We are answering common questions we get and this week it is… “How long is my coffee good for?” How long does my coffee stay fresh? This is a great question and also a difficult one to answer in simple terms. As always, let’s start with the basics and go from there. Coffee is an agricultural product (like nuts, fruits, veggies, etc.) and although its moisture content has been reduced Read More…

Happy Summer! The tourists have returned to Hawaii in droves and we are seeing record numbers of visitors this summer. We are appreciative to see new faces and old friends back in Hawaii and here on the farm. Some semblance of normal life has returned and people are friendly, happy to be outside, happy to sip 100% Kona Coffee and ecstatic to be in paradise. As we glide into August, our children are heading back to school and the first Holiday they will get here in Hawaii comes on the Read More…

If you love iced coffee and crave that “cool me down, pick me up “ experience in the summer heat, I’m going to suggest that this is the summer you play with Cold Brew. Now, we all know that Cold Brew coffee has become somewhat of a phenomenon in these last few years, but there is good reason for it. So, let’s look at some of the benefits of cold brew, and then I’d like to share a couple of ways to make it. Cold Brew Basics Cold Brew coffee Read More…

In our continued quest to have the best cup of coffee, a question came to me by a loyal reader that stopped me in my tracks. Simply…what size cup of coffee is the best? Are small cups better than large ones? In the last two months, I had just transformed the size of my coffee cup and wondered if someone was spying on me. It is a tough question to talk about as many people are really attached to their daily coffee mugs. It can be both a type of Read More…

Aloha Friends! We continue our quest for the skills to make the best cup of coffee and to answer the frequently asked questions we get here on the farm. Today, we are talking about ratios.  Almost every day, I am asked how much coffee to use and while I feel we have discussed this before, let me lay down a definitive answer and try to address the complexities that exist. The first thing to remember is that if you are scooping your coffee and not weighing it, you are getting Read More…

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…

I do not want to alarm anyone, but you should clean your coffee gear more often than you are. “I rinse it out every day, I put the carafe in the dishwasher,” you say, “my coffee maker is clean!” READ ON TO SEE IF THIS IS TRUE. Continuing with our look at some of the most frequently asked coffee-related questions and our search for a consistently delicious cup of joe, we add to our growing list “the cleaning of our coffee equipment.” If your devices aren’t routinely maintained, your coffee Read More…

First…if you are a mom, Happy Mother’s Day! Moms are the best. All of those unseen and un-thanked moments when you rose up and did what needed to be done because you are mom, please know that you made the world a better place. It can be hard to distill what a “mom” is as a figure in your life. There is an intertwining of love and craziness, nurturing and caring, and a need to grow beyond the very thing that gave you life. Nurse, driver, chef, teacher, cheerleader, and 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…

The complexities of Caffeine abound. In our Art of Making Coffee series, we’ve explored some of the more frequently asked questions about coffee and in particular, 100% Kona Coffee. This week, we will tackle a rather large question that has many intricacies, the complexities of caffeine. It may seem like a simple discussion but in fact, it is full of twists and turns, counterintuitive thinking, and a lot of subtle complexities that vary greatly from person to person. Let’s jump in! What is Caffeine? Caffeine is a natural stimulant most 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…

Coffee Subscriptions changed your life? Really? Aren’t you being a little dramatic? Stay with me and I will explain that in fact, it is absolutely true. First…full disclosure. Greenwell Farms has a Coffee Club and a very active coffee subscription service that we are proud of — and we send coffee all over the world, every week.  However, it is not my purpose to promote the Greenwell Farms Coffee Club in today’s blog. Instead, I’m sharing with you why coffee subscriptions have exploded in every part of the world during Read More…

We are exploring some basics this year and on my list of top ten commonly asked questions is: How should I be storing my coffee? Storing coffee is simple if a few rules are followed. There are also a few myths to dispel, so let’s take a look at the most universal scenarios. Although most of what follows applies to pre-ground coffee as well, I will refer only to beans. Those that are truly seeking the most spectacular cup of coffee will need to buy whole beans as they store 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…