United States coffee
150–900 m · picked August to January in Hawaii · Arabica
The world's biggest coffee importer grows very little: Kona and Ka'u on the Big Island of Hawaii, a little on Maui and Kauai, Puerto Rico's old Yauco farms, and a few experimental acres in southern California. What the US gave coffee is the modern roasting scene. Specialty coffee, the SCA, the Cup of Excellence model and the third wave of roasters, from Intelligentsia and Stumptown to Counter Culture, Blue Bottle and Onyx, grew out of American cafés and set the style that Indian specialty roasters follow today.
- Grown in
- Kona (Hawaii), Ka'u (Hawaii), Maui, Puerto Rico (Yauco), California (experimental)
- Varieties
- Kona Typica (Guatemalan Typica), Caturra, Red Catuai, Maragogipe
- Processing
- Washed, some naturals and honeys
In the cup: Kona: smooth, mild, nutty, gentle acidity, clean. Ka'u: brighter, with more fruit. Priced like a luxury.
Next to Indian coffee: Kona grows at Chikmagalur altitudes or lower and tastes like a soft, very clean Indian washed at ten times the price. The real US comparison for an Indian reader is the roasters: the light-roast, single-origin, filter-first style Indian cafés adopted came from the US third wave.