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| During Thanksgiving week and throughout the year, Ka`u gives thanks to its volunteer fire departments. Ron Ebert is captain of Pahala Volunteer Fire Department. Photo by Julia Neal |
FAMED CHEF ALAN WONG IS PUTTING his name on a Ka`u coffee blend. Wong has been working with Jim Wayman, of Hawai`i Coffee Co., the biggest coffee roaster in the state, to produce the new Alan Wong 10 percent Ka`u Coffee under the Royal Hawaiian Coffee label. Ten percent of the blend is Ka`u Coffee, and 90 percent is from such coffee origins as Latin America. The main Hawai`i Coffee Co. roasting plant is on O`ahu.
According to Wayman, for pure Ka`u Coffee to put into the blend, Hawai`i Coffee Co. paid $135,000 to Ka`u Coffee Mill and another $135,000 to coffee broker Chris Manfredi.
According to Wayman, for pure Ka`u Coffee to put into the blend, Hawai`i Coffee Co. paid $135,000 to Ka`u Coffee Mill and another $135,000 to coffee broker Chris Manfredi.
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| Gourmet chef Alan Wong with a Ka`u coffee blend that can be purchased for $5.77 per seven-ounce bag when bought by the dozen at hawaiicoffeecompany.com. |
The label says “Royal Hawaiian, Coffee for Royalty” with the endorsement and signature of Alan Wong on behalf of Alan Wong’s Honolulu restaurant business.
Online at hawaiicoffeecompany.com, customers can choose from French Roast, Medium Roast or Vanilla Macadamia. While pure Ka`u coffee is selling retail at Ka`u Coffee Mill at $27.95 per pound for washed, $35 per pound for natural and $36 per pound for peaberry, the blend can be purchased online from Hawai`i Coffee Co., on sale, for $69.20 for a dozen seven ounce bags – a bulk price of $5.76 for each seven-ounce bag.
The websites says: “Ka`u coffee beans are quickly becoming recognized around the globe for their intense flavor, ideal growing climate and rich coffee heritage on Hawai`i Island.
“Royal Hawaiian Coffee features a 10 percent Ka`u coffee bean blend developed and endorsed by world-renowned Chef Alan Wong.
“Wong has four restaurant locations presenting Hawai`i Regional Cuisine throughout the Islands including Alan Wong’s Honolulu, The Pineapple Room and Honu Kai Lani on O`ahu and Amasia on Maui. Since his restaurant doors opened in 1995, Wong has worked with local farmers to harvest the best Hawai`i-grown and raised products.
“It’s really, really hard to describe freshness, but you know it right away when you enjoy a cup of Royal Hawaiian!” says the website.
A comment on Hawai`i Coffee Co.’s store website says, ‘My bf Marlene brought some back to me in New Zealand, and it’s a divine blend! :)”
Wayman said that the Ka`u coffee blend has already been shipped to major stores such as Longs, Walmart, Foodland and Safeway on this island. He said the blend will help build the Ka`u brand name and help spur more sales of pure Ka`u coffee through local brand names and his company as well. He said that he looks forward to thousands of acres being planted in coffee in Ka`u as the market expands. He said he looks forward to being a “friend of Ka`u coffee” and to supporting and participating in the Ka`u Coffee Festival, which is scheduled the week leading up to the Ho`olaule`a on May 4 of 2014. See kaucoffeefestival.com.
Attending the unveiling of the new Ka`u coffee blend in Honolulu yesterday was Alan Wong and Edmund C. Olson, founder of Ka`u Coffee Mill, who talked about building the mill to provide jobs in the Ka`u community and to establish a local place where farmers can take their Ka`u coffee for processing. Also attending from Ka`u Coffee Mill were John Cross, Louis Daniele and Bull Kailiawa, along with JN Ka`u Coffee owner Leo Norberte.
“Wong has four restaurant locations presenting Hawai`i Regional Cuisine throughout the Islands including Alan Wong’s Honolulu, The Pineapple Room and Honu Kai Lani on O`ahu and Amasia on Maui. Since his restaurant doors opened in 1995, Wong has worked with local farmers to harvest the best Hawai`i-grown and raised products.
“It’s really, really hard to describe freshness, but you know it right away when you enjoy a cup of Royal Hawaiian!” says the website.
A comment on Hawai`i Coffee Co.’s store website says, ‘My bf Marlene brought some back to me in New Zealand, and it’s a divine blend! :)”
Wayman said that the Ka`u coffee blend has already been shipped to major stores such as Longs, Walmart, Foodland and Safeway on this island. He said the blend will help build the Ka`u brand name and help spur more sales of pure Ka`u coffee through local brand names and his company as well. He said that he looks forward to thousands of acres being planted in coffee in Ka`u as the market expands. He said he looks forward to being a “friend of Ka`u coffee” and to supporting and participating in the Ka`u Coffee Festival, which is scheduled the week leading up to the Ho`olaule`a on May 4 of 2014. See kaucoffeefestival.com.
Attending the unveiling of the new Ka`u coffee blend in Honolulu yesterday was Alan Wong and Edmund C. Olson, founder of Ka`u Coffee Mill, who talked about building the mill to provide jobs in the Ka`u community and to establish a local place where farmers can take their Ka`u coffee for processing. Also attending from Ka`u Coffee Mill were John Cross, Louis Daniele and Bull Kailiawa, along with JN Ka`u Coffee owner Leo Norberte.
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| Hawai`i Coffee Co.'s new product is a 10 percent Ka`u Coffee blend called Royal Hawaiian Coffee, endorsed by famed chef Alan Wong. |
While Hawai`i Coffee Co. is famous for its blends, it also sells pure coffees. Wayman said that he already sells 100 percent Ka`u coffee under his Lion Coffee brand. He said he sells a 100 percent Ka`u coffee to Alan Wong for his wedding chapel business. Wayman’s company owns Royal Kona Coffee, Lion Coffee and Hawaiian Islands Tea Co.
A story by Stephanie Silverstein in Pacific Business News yesterday afternoon said that “Hawai`i Coffee Co. has been working with Wong for more than two years to develop the line.” Wayman said supply was an issue because the Ka`u coffee region is only 600 acres.
The Silverstein story quotes Wayman talking about expansion of Ka`u coffee. “We’d like to see them have three or four thousand acres, and we’d like to help create the marketplace for Ka`u coffee so that those farmers can grow their product and prosper, make money and have a great future. We’re very pleased that we can introduce these new Ka`u coffee blends that allow us to bring Ka`u coffee at an affordable price point that everyone in Hawai`i can afford to buy and enjoy in their homes, thereby creating that marketplace.”
Wayman told PBN that he “worked hard for many years to develop and promote Kona coffee as a brand, and now he sees the opportunity to do the same for Ka`u coffee in the next decade. He wants to give Ka`u region farmers and the Ka`u Coffee Mill enough business to help the Ka`u coffee region grow from a few hundred acres into thousands of acres,” the story reports.
PBN also reports on Ka`u Coffee Mill founder Ed Olson saying that it is a great advancement to have Wong’s name attached to the coffee. “It means everything to the farmers,” Olson said, according to PBN. “The mill has been a big help to them. Now they have identity; they have a local place to get their products processed. This Alan Wong endorsement is just another leap ahead, so it’s great for the farmers.”
See more at bizjournals.com/pacific.
The Silverstein story quotes Wayman talking about expansion of Ka`u coffee. “We’d like to see them have three or four thousand acres, and we’d like to help create the marketplace for Ka`u coffee so that those farmers can grow their product and prosper, make money and have a great future. We’re very pleased that we can introduce these new Ka`u coffee blends that allow us to bring Ka`u coffee at an affordable price point that everyone in Hawai`i can afford to buy and enjoy in their homes, thereby creating that marketplace.”
Wayman told PBN that he “worked hard for many years to develop and promote Kona coffee as a brand, and now he sees the opportunity to do the same for Ka`u coffee in the next decade. He wants to give Ka`u region farmers and the Ka`u Coffee Mill enough business to help the Ka`u coffee region grow from a few hundred acres into thousands of acres,” the story reports.
PBN also reports on Ka`u Coffee Mill founder Ed Olson saying that it is a great advancement to have Wong’s name attached to the coffee. “It means everything to the farmers,” Olson said, according to PBN. “The mill has been a big help to them. Now they have identity; they have a local place to get their products processed. This Alan Wong endorsement is just another leap ahead, so it’s great for the farmers.”
See more at bizjournals.com/pacific.
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| U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard received a 2013 John F. Kennedy New Frontier Award yesterday. |
KA`U’S U.S. REP. TULSI GABBARD RECEIVED a 2013 John F. Kennedy New Frontier Award yesterday. Jack Schlossberg, President John F. Kennedy’s grandson and a member of the New Frontier Award Committee, presented the award during a ceremony at the Institute of Politics at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.
“It is truly humbling to receive this honor, as the message and example of servant leadership set by President Kennedy is one I hold close and which continues to inspire me and an entire generation,” Gabbard said. “As we reflect on President Kennedy’s call to service, we understand his indelible mark on the American people, past, present and future, and will forever remember his dedication to public service and working for the greater good. I will continue to strive to uphold his example of servant leadership and honor his life and sacrifice in my service to the people of Hawai‘i and our nation.”
The John F. Kennedy New Frontier Awards were created by the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation and the Harvard Institute of Politics to honor Americans under the age of 40 who are changing their communities and the country with their commitment to public service.
Gabbard received the Fenn Award, one of the two annual New Frontier Awards. It recognizes a young elected official whose work demonstrates the importance of elective service as a way to address a public challenge or challenges. This award is presented in honor of Dan Fenn, the Kennedy Library’s first director and a former member of President Kennedy’s staff.
The second 2013 John F. Kennedy New Frontier Award was given to Charles Best, founder and CEO of DonorsChoose.org, an online charity that enables individuals to provide direct support to teachers and students in public schools.
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| Candidates' contributions and expenditures can be tracked on a new data visualization app. This example shows Ka`u Council member Brenda Ford's data from the last election cycle. Ford chose public funding for her campaign. |
THE HAWAI`I CAMPAIGN SPENDING COMMISSION has launched its new data visualization app. The data visualizations were created in partnership with the state Office of Information Management and Technology, the state’s Information & Communication Services Division and Socrata, a Seattle-based software company that specializes in democratizing access to government data.
This tool allows viewers to study charts of a candidates’ campaign spending data for a particular election period. Pie charts show candidates’ contributions to see how much and what percentage of their contributions are funded by individuals, noncandidate committees, political parties, immediate family members, etc. Viewers can also see how much and what percentage of a candidates’ contributions are coming from in-state versus out-of-state, from which states and zip codes, as well as by geographical location.
There is also a visual chart showing how much and what percentage of candidates’ contributions are $1,000 or less and more than $1,000.
As for campaign expenditures, a pie chart shows how much and what percentage of a candidate’s spending was for advertising, food & beverage, printing, professional services, surveys/polls/voter lists, etc., as well as a chart showing in-state versus out-of-state spending.
See hawaii.gov/campaign.
WES THELEN, A SEISMOLOGIST WITH USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, presents an overview of damaging earthquakes in Hawai`i this evening at After Dark in the Park. The program begins at 7 p.m. at Kilauea Visitor Center Auditorium in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. $2 donation supports park programs; park entrance fees apply.
PATRICIA KAULA SHARES HER KNOWLEDGE of the art of lei making tomorrow at Kilauea Visitor Center lanai in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Free; park entrance fees apply.
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| Randy Takaki is a member of Volcano Village Artists Hui and participates in the group's upcoming studio tour. |
THE 27TH ANNUAL VOLCANO VILLAGE ART STUDIO TOUR takes place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday through Sunday. Each year, the tour is sponsored by Volcano Village Artists Hui. This self-guided tour includes stops at seven artists’ studios in Volcano Village. The tour features a wide variety of items on display and available for purchase.
A special drawing for pieces contributed by each of the artists is held at the end of the sale. Maps are available at Volcano Village businesses and at VolcanoVillageArtistsHui.com.
For more information, call 987-3472 or email eherb@hawaii.rr.com.
A CRÈCHE FESTIVAL takes place Saturday from noon until 8 p.m. and Sunday from 1 p.m. until 7 p.m. at Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Mamalahoa Hwy in Na`alehu. The celebration includes works by local crèche artists, a gallery of nativities, a children’s room with costumes and activities for the entire family.
For more information, call 339-7402.
SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS AT PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM AND KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM. KA`U COFFEE MILL IS OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.
ALSO SEE KAUCALENDAR.COM AND FACEBOOK.COM/KAUCALENDAR.
