Hawaii’s best: Greenwell Farms coffee earns state’s top award

Coffee growers and industry leaders gathered earlier this month for the Hawaii Coffee Association annual conference and its highly anticipated HCA Statewide Coffee Cupping Competition.

Greenwell Farms in Kealakekua captured Hawaii’s top award in the Creative Division for its Signature Series Elizabeth J, a Pacamara varietal. The Greenwell Farms Elizabeth J label also won the District Award Division as Kona’s top coffee, and its latest varietal blend, Meritage (patent pending), a creative blend of Greenwell Farms Signature Series coffees — the Jeni K and Elizabeth J — tied for third place.

Each entry at the HCA Statewide Cupping Competition was required to submit 4 pounds of green coffee needed for multiple rounds of cupping throughout many sessions. Farms were allowed up to three entries in two broad competition divisions, Commercial and Creative, the latter division intended to encourage entries from small farms and experimental or creative lots of coffee.

HCA shipped the 83 entries for its 2016 Statewide Cupping Competition to the cupping lab at Java City in California. From there, numbers were assigned and two coffee experts led the blind cupping: Shawn Hamilton, a master roaster at Java City, and Warren Muller Jr., a green bean buyer with Walker Coffee based in Texas. The panel made its way through the entries (some were evaluated up to eight times as the judges narrowed in on every nuance) scoring and re-scoring.

Once the cupping was completed, scores and notes were delivered to David Gridley, HCA cupping coordinator, who compiled results and awards for presentation at the HCA Statewide Cupping Competition.

Judges noted the quality of the Greenwell Farms entries beginning with the first round of cupping.

“I’ve watched this varietal get better and better as it matures with every growing season,” said Greenwell Farms President Tom Greenwell.

“To win the state’s top coffee honor is a strong endorsement and everyone here at Greenwell Farms strives for and believes in the quality of our coffees,” he said.