While my passion for coffee was primed long ago, it wasn’t until moving to Kauai that my desire to experience the whole coffee chain was ignited. Living in a coffee growing region, my reality as a barista and roaster has expanded to encompass the entire scope of coffee culture, from cultivation to customer connection. 

By 2020 we had been farming our first coffee farm Kahiliholo Orchard for a couple of years and had two harvests when our lease agreement with the Landlord fell apart and we were looking to take what we had learnt to a new spot where we could plant from scratch with varieties we could choose in a farming style that fit our values.

Sandy & Krista

That’s when we met Sandy and Krista Brodie at Kaua’i Koa Farms. The Brodies are fourth generation Kaua’i farming family. Sandy had taken over 10 acres of family land up in the mountains on the North Shore outside of Princeville that had previously been sugarcane and pineapple but converted to cattle pasture for decades. Not wanting to ranch cattle sandy decided to reforest the land with hardwood trees. In the late 1990’s he started planting native Koa and trees from all around the world. Amongst the hardwood trees he had accumulated some coffee trees from HARC on Oahu and Kona.

Sandy and Krista really align with our values of sustainability, stewardship of the land and education. With years of careful stewardship and implementing regenerative organic techniques such as mulching and biochar they have cultivated rich and vibrant soils and a diverse ecosystem that is a sanctuary for birds, insects and flora.

In 2020 we met at a farmers market and he invited me to check out his farm as they had been thinking about planting more coffee for a while but was unsure about the processing and roasting of the coffee for a commercial venture. That’s when we all decided to plant more trees and work as a team, the Brodies bringing their land and farming experience along with my passion for processing and experience as a roasting company. We set up a nursery of about 400 trees a mix of red, yellow and pink Bourbon and typica and now 3 years in we have had our first limited harvest with more trees coming online and more planned to go in the ground in the fall the adventure of coffee at Kaua’i Coffee farm has just begun.

What’s Golden Honey?

Honey processing uses honey, right? Nope! Like many terms in coffee, it’s a bit more complicated than we wish it were. Honey refers to the color and stickiness of the pulped coffee seeds as they dry. The term originated in Central America, where farmers would remove the skins (pulping) but skip the washing step to save water and reduce infrastructure needs.

As the coffee dries, the sugars in the mucilage covering the seed dehydrate and become sticky—like honey, or miel in Spanish—hence the name “honey process.”

We’ve taken this traditional method and added our own spin. First, we ferment the whole coffee cherries with select yeasts for 72 hours. After fermentation, we pulp the coffee (removing the skins) and lay it out to dry. Because of this soaking fermentation step, the mucilage oxidizes rapidly, turning a golden brown within minutes on the drying beds. That’s why we call it Golden Honey.

This process creates a bigger-bodied coffee with a syrupy mouthfeel when brewed at strength. Instead of the purple fruit notes we often get from our washed process, this one leans toward praline, candied nuts, and chocolate.

So, if you love sweet, nutty, chocolatey coffee—this one’s for you!