Kauai at Costco

[jayt90]

I saw this: 2 pounds of ground Hawaiian coffee from Kauai, for $12.79, at Costco.

I did not buy it, as I still have their JMB beans on hand.

It appears as if they are going upscale from the usual Starbucks blends.

I found the Jamaican beans to be very good, so I'll probably get a bag of the Hawaii beans for my office lunch room.

The bean smell, from the bag, was a lot deeper, and less mellow than from the JMB bags.

[phaelon56]

It may or may not be a steal but it's got to be a blend with a small amount of Kauai at that price. Kauai has less name cachet than Kona but it is grown, harvested and processed in the US. There's simply no way anyone could sell pure Kauai that cheap unless they were intentionally losing a significant amount of money. The proof as always is in the taste but as usual I encourage anyone and everyone to search for and support good local roasters who focus on quality and freshness.

[Jason Perlow]

Even -good- 100 percent Kauai goes for at least 17 bucks a pound, roasted. Which is about 1/3 less than the price of reputable 100 percent Kona, but it is still pricey.

If you want some really top notch hawaiian product I reccommend these two vendors:

http://www.bayviewfarmcoffees.com/

http://www.coffeetimes.com/

They both buy their beans from the same sources on the Big Island and Kauai. In addition to growing their own beans from their own estate, Bayview is the second largest purchaser and processor of Kona from small independent farmers on the island, whereas Coffee Times is a small business which primarily centers on roasting. Coffee Times also publish a business circular/island guide that is distributed in the airport and in local stores, and they are a big proponent of Hawaiian coffee legislation that would require all producers to label whether or not the coffee was a blend, and would require certification of 100 percent Kona products.

I actually produced the first website for Coffee Times back in 1995, the owner, Les Drent is a nice guy, surfer dude type. Bay View farms is also a very respectable operation and they are good people.

[phaelon56]

One additional comment: I reread ythe original post and now notice this (italics added):

2 pounds of ground Hawaiian coffee from Kauai

Even if it's decent or half decent coffee to being with (despite having minimal genuine Kauai content) - being preground should preclude it from consideration. If you're not already buying whole bean and grinding it just before you brew the pot I suggest that you try it.

Getting fresh whole bean coffee and grindign it yourself is the cheapest and easiest upgrade anyone can make in their coffee practices at home and the improvement will be dramatic. 20 years before getting into the esoteric stuff like roasting my own and using a $1,000+ espresso machine and a $400 grinder.... I bought a $20 whirly blade Waring grinder and started getting two pound bags of "Gourmet French Roast" whole bean coffee from the local wholesale club. I bagged up and froze smaller portions to keep the whole beans fresh.

To say that the improvement in my coffee was dramatic is an understatement yet the upgrade cost me little and at that time I was not well informed about coffee (and didn't need to be). For many years any guests I had always remarked on how amazing the coffee was at my house. By the way - the extra work/mess involved in grinding by the pot is negligible.

[jayt90]

I am going to add some information from the label, as I have just bought the 2 lb. bag, and will take it to the office tomorrow. Remember my intention was only to get a decent, unusual coffee in the lunch room, and ground coffee is OK for this. Remember too, that I took a lot of flak when I reported that the warehouse had 100% JBM beans at $6.40 per pound, and everyone who was able to get some thought it tasted like the real thing, and wished it was still available. Many more told me it couldn't be real, and missed out.

The 2 lb bag of estate coffee is grown, harvested, and processed on a single plantation in Kauai.

The beans are roasted in small batches, probably at Magnum, Nunica, MI. (the label says Magnum is the 'Torrefacteur')

The coffee company owning up to all this is National Coffee Brands, Atlanta.

The stale date is 115D5

I'll be trying it tomrrow morning, in a French Press, and report back...

[jayt90]

It may or may not be a steal but it's got to be a blend with a small amount of Kauai at that price. Kauai has less name cachet than Kona but it is grown, harvested and processed in the US.  There's simply no  way anyone could sell pure Kauai that cheap unless they were intentionally losing a significant amount of money.  The proof as always is in the taste but as usual I encourage anyone and everyone to search for and support good local roasters who focus on quality and freshness.

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Yes, the proof is in the taste, and this coffee is good, way beyond its price level. It is aromatic, evanescent, and spicy like Mysore. There is quite a caffeine kick, too.

I don't think you can apply normal business acumen to the way this warehouse company does business, Owen. They are a cost plus operation, and strive to get delivery and sell out before the bill comes in. My sources told me that at least two coffees (JBM and Kauai) were purchased on future contracts, and they took delivery. Our benefit is that the savings are being passed on to the consumer.

How many merchants would do that?

[jayt90]

One additional comment:  I reread ythe original post and now notice this (italics added):

2 pounds of ground Hawaiian coffee from Kauai

Even if it's decent or half decent coffee to being with (despite having minimal genuine Kauai content) - being preground should preclude it from consideration. If you're not already buying whole bean and grinding it just before you brew the pot I suggest that you try it.

←

Is this the Coffee 101 lecture?

[phaelon56]

Is this the Coffee 101 lecture?

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Apologies if I came off seeming sanctimonious - it wasn't my intention but it certainly did come out sounding that way didn't it? My reaction was a bit execessive because I have such a strong aversion to prepackaged pre-ground coffee - it goes stale so darn quickly after the bag is opened, no matter how carefully one handles it.

I do appreciate your mentioning the use of it in an office environment - I hadn't thought of that angle. We don't have Costco in this area but we have BJ's and Sam's Club - I should see if they have a comparable deal. Maybe I'd finally be able to start drinking office coffee again if we switched to something like that (the swill we get at present makes Folger's look good by comparison).

[jayt90]

What we have in my lunch room is some kind of instant pre-packaged glop. But there is also a B&D drip, so I can bring my own ground coffee, and that seems to work better for a few of us.