Hula Daddy Coffee
Long before I landed in Hawaii I decided that a coffee tour was a must do. In the middle of my trip I spent the day in Kona. Hula Daddy Coffee was highly recommend on trip advisor and only a few miles away from Basik where I chose to have breakfast. (As a side note Basik made by far the best acai bowl I have ever had.)
After a short drive on a few back roads I reached the main entrance to the building, I was greeting almost immediately. The woman who was there invite me to look around and have some of the complementary coffee. To be honest I am not much of a coffee drinker, but I did enjoy the cup I had. In the main area is a coffee table and couches that over look the most spectacular view. The coffee orchard lies below and just beyond that is the Kona coast. When I was there it was cloudy and foggy. However, I learned that it rains almost daily mostly in misty form. That why this region is so successful in coffee production. As I waited for a tour to begin a few more people trickled in.
When the previous tour came to an end, the tour guide immediately came over to introduce herself and get the next tour started. She took us out side the entrance explaining all the different types of plants that surround the grounds. We then headed down a set of stairs located on the side of the building that lead us to the orchard. Once down there our tour guide showed us the equipment used for picking the ripened coffee beans.
Once picked they are then sorted through. The most ripe ones are separated from the rest. After picking a few off the tree, we relocated over to the cart where the picked coffee beans are dumped for sorting.While sifting through the coffee beans one of the owners came over and started sorting with us. After a few moments of sifting through the beans we moved on to the roasting room.
The roasting room was my favorite segment on this tour. It was located in the basement of the building. It had a roaster in the center of the room. While we were there, they were actually roasting some beans. Once the beans were finished roasting, a woman working in the room would personally test each batch and package them. They also had samples of what the beans look like pre-roast and roasted for each blend. The woman who tasted the coffee was both informative and friendly. I would not have guessed that each batch is tasted, but then again I am not much of a coffee drinker.
Sifting through coffee beans.
Our tour ended in the large kitchen on the main floor near where we started the tour. Everyone spent a few minutes chatting about their trip, and where they were headed to next. It was the perfect opportunity to see where everyone else is the group had gone and what they recommended. I highly recommend the Hula Daddy Coffee tour. The tour guides are extremely friendly. The also answered any other questions I had about Hawaii including places to eat, things to see, and the best beaches. The tour was free and so was the coffee. They sold coffee by the pound and also covered macadamia nuts.
