Hawaii South visits Ka‘ū Coffee Mill November 9, 2012

In September, the families of both our Waiohinu and Pāhala site went on a huaka‘i to the Ka‘ū Coffee Mill. The newly opened mill is located at 96-2694 Wood Valley Road in Pāhala, Hawai‘i.

Ka‘ū Coffee Mill is the dream of Edmund C. Olson and his family trust which has been involved in conserving land for agriculture and wildlife. Mr. Olson decided to build Ka‘ū Coffee Mill when he saw that Ka‘ū coffee growers were making long trips to Kona, sometimes several times a week, to process their coffee, taking precious time away from their farms and creating a hardship on the farmers here in Ka’u. The mill is not only better for the environment, but helps coffee growers save money, and gives them hometown influence on the quality of processing at the mill. Mr. Olson decided to build a mill here that would not only serve his own 60 plus acres of coffee but be available to all of the coffee farmers in the district. (www.kaucoffeemill.com)

Ka‘ū coffee “has gained a reputation as some of the most carefully cultivated, harvested, milled, and roasted coffee on the planet” (Ka‘ū Coffee News). Tūtū & Me Hawai‘i South had the opportunity to harvest and taste this internationally award winning coffee. Aunty Brenda Moses, one of our caregivers from our Pāhala Site, was our tour guide. Mahalo to Aunty Brenda, her staff and Mr. Olson for allowing us to tour the grounds and participate in this awesome huaka‘i. Everyone left with a goodie bag filled with coffee, candy, and bubbles and also a sense of pride knowing that our little hometown is producing award winning coffee. If you are ever on the island of Hawai‘i, be sure to visit Ka‘ū Coffee Mill and find out just why Ka‘ū coffee is number “1”.