Judges at the 2024 Hawaii Coffee Association cupping competition, organized by Pacific Coffee Research. Hawaii Coffee Association courtesy photo.
The Hawaii Coffee Association‘s 15th statewide cupping competition drew 51% more participation this year, resulting in a broad range of small-lot and big-lot coffees earning high quality scores.
The competition ran alongside the recent sold-out Hawaii Coffee Association (HCA) annual conference in Oahu, which included panel discussions, interactive workshops, networking opportunities and a keynote address on sustainable coffee production from Nora Lapitan of the USDA Agricultural Research Service.
In a press announcement, HCA Cupping Chair and Pacific Coffee Research (PCR) Co-Owner Brittany Horn said the uptick in participation for the annual coffee competition might be partially attributed to a bounce-back in production following previous losses attributed to coffee leaf rust disease, which first came to the state in 2020 and soon after spread to every coffee-producing island of Hawaii.
Eric Musil of Pacific Coffee Research roasts each coffee sample for the competition. In the background, Brittany Horn, HCA’s cupping competition chair, prepares the samples. Photo courtesy of the Hawaii Coffee Association.
The organizers this year also reprised a “commercial” category — requiring samples to come from green coffee lots of at least 300 pounds — alongside the “creative” category. Submissions in the latter category were required to reflect direct ownership of smallholder producers.
“I was so impressed with the top scores from this year’s competition,” said Horn. “The top 10’s average score was an 86.6 — up from 85.48 last year — and all coffees in the top 10 scored over 85 points.”
The top-scoring coffee statewide was a natural-process Gesha-variety coffee subjected to 36-hour anaerobic fermentation with a yeast inoculation that was produced by Geisha Kona Coffee. It scored 87.83.
(Note: The DCN style guide defaults to the word “Gesha,” rather than “Geisha,” when generically referring to this prominent arabica variety.]
The second-place coffee was a washed-process Gesha from Monarch Coffee Farm, while the third-place coffee, from Uluwehi Coffee Farm, was a 100-hour-fermented natural-process SL34-variety coffee. The top 11 coffees in the competition all came from Hawaii’s famed Kona growing region.
The competition also recognized winners from specific growing regions, including: Miranda’s Farms of Ka‘u; O’o Farm of Maui; Waialua Estate of Oahu; Hilo Coffee Company of the Hawaii region (Hilo and Puna); and Hog Heaven Coffee of Hamakua.
All of the above coffees came from the “creative” division. The top-scoring coffees in the “commercial” division were a washed-process Typica from Hula Daddy Kona Coffee (84.29), a washed-process Red Bourbon from Kopiko Farm (82.63), and a washed-process Typica from Mauka Meadows (82.63).
Photo courtesy of the Hawaii Coffee Association.
See the complete 2024 results here.
Kona-based PCR organized the cupping competition, which featured a panel of local and international experts led by PCR Co-Owner Madeleine Longoria Garcia. Other judges included: Lora Botanova of Big Island Coffee Roasters; independent consultant Alex Brooks; Krude Che-Hao Lin of the Taiwan Coffee Laboratory; Marc Marquez of Savor Brands; and Oliver Stormshak of Olympia Coffee Roasting and Oliver’s Custom Coffee.
Top Cupping Commerical Winners of a field of 20 from left: Tom Greenwell of Konaʻs Kopiko Farms, Masaru Hanazawa of Konaʻs Mauka Meadows Coffee Farm, Louis Daniele of Ka’u Coffee Mill and missing from photo Konaʻs Hula Daddy.
Top Three Cupping Creative Winners of Kona from left: Douglas McKanna of Geisha Kona Coffee, Abigail and Sal Munoz of Monarch Coffee Farm, Franck Carisey of Uluwehi Coffee Farm.
Top Three Cupping Creative Winners of Ka’u from left: Jose & Berta Miranda of Miranda Farms, Joan Obra of Rusty’s Hawaiian Farm, Louis Daniele of Ka’u Coffee Mill.
Top Two Cupping Creative Winners of Maui: Jo Wing of O’o Farm and Chris Speere on behalf of Maui Mountain Coffee Farm.
Top Score Cupping Creative Winner of Hawaii Island (Hilo and Puna) District: Deaus Beacomo of Hilo Coffee Company with cupping chair Brittany Horn.
Top Score Cupping Creative Winner of Oahu: Jon Ching of Waialua Estate.
[Note: This story has been edited since its original publication. The original version incorrectly stated that the HCA conference took place in Kauai. The event took place in Oahu.]
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