MEDIA RELEASE
The 18th Hawaii Coffee Association (HCA) Conference and 5th Cupping Competition is July 18-20 at the Kauai Beach Resort.
Offering a full lineup of informative activities, the annual event attracts statewide coffee industry growers, processors, roasters, wholesalers and retailers.
The gathering is also open to the public and the 2013-2014 season marks the 200th anniversary of coffee cultivation in Hawaii.
The conference includes workshops covering green grading, label compliance, quality control of roasting and packaging, cupping and eradication of the coffee berry borer beetle. Also on tap are legislative updates and reports from UH’s College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR), the Pacific Basin Agricultural Research Center (PBARC) and the Synergistic Hawaii Agriculture Council (SHAC).
Other activities include an expo, silent auction, election of HCA officers, tour of Kauai Coffee Company and networking reception at the National Tropical Botanical Garden. Winners of the cupping competition are announced Saturday at a dinner headlined by TV business reporter Howard Dicus.
The prestigious, annual cupping competition is an evaluation of coffee based on flavor, aroma, “mouth-feel,†acidity, sweetness and aftertaste. Last year, a panel of three lead judges, using standardized blind procedures, cupped a field of 117 Hawaiian coffees hailing from eight districts.
Top honors were given to Heavenly Hawaiian Farms in Kona and the Big Isle’s Wood Valley Coffee Co. in K’au.
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