MEDIA RELEASE

The Kona Coffee Cultural Festival kicks off its 44th annual celebration of Kona’s world famous crop beginning Friday, Nov. 7 for 10 days of Festival fun. Hawaii’s oldest food festival celebrates Kona’s legendary brew with coffee lovers the world over, adding fun for the whole family.

Coffee lovers everywhere awaken their senses with the fresh-brewed aroma of Kona coffee every morning. These connoisseurs know exactly how to craft their cup. Adding Kona coffee in food preparation adds a whole new dimension and becomes a platform for chefs and foodies.

Talented amateurs, culinary students, keiki and professional chefs converge at the KTA Super Stores Kona Coffee Recipe Contest & Big Island Showcase on Sunday, Nov. 9 at the Sheraton Kona Resort. Chefs and home cooks test their mettle with creative recipes that infuse Kona coffee’s fragrance, flavor and acidity that elevates a complete range of tasty dishes from pork tenderloin to dark chocolate truffle cake.

Vineyards have wine tastings. Kona Coffee Country has cupping. Professional cuppers judge the annual crop on Wednesday, Nov. 12 and Thursday, Nov. 13 at the Sheraton Kona Resort. The international judges use strict cupping standards to sniff, slurp and taste their way through Kona coffee farm entries. Behind each sip of Kona coffee is a rich, multi-cultural history that has been brewing for nearly 200 years.

The Kona Coffee Cultural Festival offers daily opportunities to explore Kona coffee at its roots. Guided farm tours explore how coffee is grown, processed and roasted in farms ripe not only with Kona coffee cherry, but with history too.

Discover even more Festival fun in the harvest of family style games, hands-on activity stations, tasty food, friendly competitions, hula, cultural and entertainment performances that light up the stage throughout the 44th Annual Kona Coffee Cultural Festival.

During Kona Coffee Cultural Festival’s 10 days of fun, families, friends and festival goers can:

* Share musical talent
* Learn to pick Kona coffee
* Sample culinary delights
* Learn to write names in Japanese
* Build balloon animals
* Weave lauhala
* Create ikebana, floral art
* Participate in cultural activities
* Explore the wonders of local art
* Play mini golf
* Tour a Kona coffee farm
* Vote for Kona coffee labels
* String a flower lei
* Listen to storytellers recall Kona’s past
* Join in a bon dance
* Enjoy carnival games
* Eat shave ice

So plan to laugh, learn, taste, slurp, relax and spend quality family at this year’s celebration of Kona’s famous brew.

— Find out more:
www.konacoffeefest.com