Greenwell Farms and Aloha Hills Kona Coffee stood out among 83 entries at the Hawaii Coffee Association’s eighth annual Statewide Cupping Competition last week.
Greenwell earned a score of 84.8 out of 100 in the creative division with its Pacamara varietal, while a Margogype variety earned an 83.4 score for Aloha Hills in the commercial division. The commercial category requires that at least 1,000 pounds of the coffee is available for sale.
Other top scorers: Hawaii district’s Second Alarm Farm (84.2), Maui’s Olinda Farms (84.3), Kau district’s Rising Sun (84.2) and Kauai’s Moloa‘a Bay Coffee (83.1). Organizers noted that Hawaii coffees as a whole are earning progressively higher scores each year.
The event took place during the association’s 21st annual conference at Courtyard King Kamehameha’s Kona Beach Hotel.
Visit hawaiicoffeeassoc.org for a full list of qualifying entries and scores.
Luau aids Kalaeloa group
Feed your luau cravings and support a good cause Saturday as the Kalaeloa Heritage and Legacy Foundation hosts a Hawaiian feast.
Proceeds will help fund the foundation’s mission of protecting historic sites in Kalaeloa.
The event runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Kalaeloa Heritage Park, corner of Coral Sea Road and Long Island Street.
Tickets are $50, $25 for children, and include entertainment and site tours. Go to khlfoundation.org or email info@khlfoundation.org.
Nibble on luxe appetizers while you soak up sake
What goes with sake? Perhaps a sea urchin loco moco with a quail egg and fried limu. Or maybe a green tea Pavlova with sake-marinated fruit compote.
You be the judge at the Joy of Sake, 6:30 to 9 p.m. Friday at the Hawai‘i Convention Center.
The annual event — billed as the world’s largest sake tasting outside Japan — offers 408 premium sakes for the sipping, plus sake-inspired appetizers from 20 restaurants.
More than half the sakes are rarities from small brewers, unavailable in the United States and difficult to find even in Japan. Some of the brewers will meet and greet guests at the Brewers Oasis, a new feature this year.
Spirits of such quality deserve food to match — and you definitely should not be taking 408 tastes without putting something solid in your stomach.
Sample A5 wagyu tataki from Teppanyaki Ginza Onodera, sake-marinated ikura and littleneck clam dip on a potato chip from Forty Carrots, chilled crab and tomato chawanmushi from Kaiwa, and on and on. The sea urchin loco moco will be from Highway Inn, the Pavlova from Cakeworks.
Tickets are $95 in advance, $105 at the door. Buy tickets and see the complete menus at joyofsake.com.