fresh start

After one month and eight days at our second farm, we have just arrived at our third Kona coffee farm! 

We are now at Kona Earth, which has been a favorite of ours since we toured it a few months ago. Located in the heart of the Kona coffee belt, Kona Earth is a beautiful family owned and operated farm. There are 3,500 coffee trees, a Macadamia nut orchard, a cute little dog, three rabbits, lots of chickens (fresh eggs!), and plenty of fruits and vegetables for the picking. We’re really excited to be here…and to drink their amazing coffee every day!

Our new living quarters include a sunny, studio apartment, with a kitchen, bathroom, closet, and, drum roll please…a queen size bed! We slept comfortably (by regular people standards), woke up to the sun shining and a blooming avocado tree right outside the window. It’s almost too good to be true.

Moving around definitely recharges us, keeps us on our toes and because coffee farming is not ‘one size fits all’, there is always something new to learn. Each and every farmer has their unique way of running their farm and they have different insights on techniques and processes to offer us.

Aloha to a fresh start and to a fresh supply of our favorite Kona coffee!

"Part of Coffee Land" 12/10/2012

"Pulper and Drying Deck" 12/10/2012

"Parchment & Sunshine on Drying Deck" 12/10/2012

"Casey Spraying Field" 12/10/2012

"Coffee Trees from Deck" 12/10/2012

day seventy eight

Happy Thanksgiving!

There is a first for everything. Eric and I just put our Thanksgiving turkey into the ground and covered it with dirt! Okay, there is a little more to it than that. We went over to Albert's home at Farm #1 and helped prepare an 'imu' which is basically a Hawaiian underground oven.

The imu starts with a big hole in the ground. Rocks are heated over a fire for several hours, then covered in shaved banana tree trunks. Then everyone helps carry over the dishes- multiple turkeys, multiple hams, various other meats and my personal favorite, lau-lau's! All the food was then covered in Ti leaves, burlap bags, a big tarp, and finally dirt is piled on top of the whole thing. Pretty darn exciting! 

Tomorrow, we will dig up the food and celebrate the holiday with new friends, and lots of new dishes to try.

Although we are very far away from our families (and missing them dearly), we have so much to be thankful for. 

Each other. We both took a chance and made this happen...together.

Family and friends. This has been a very big year for Eric and I and our families and friends have been so supportive of us.

All the folks we have met along the way. We have formed new bonds with many people and learned so much from them.

Coffee, peanut butter, nature valley bars. Without them, we would not survive. 

Wherever you are, we hope you take time to appreciate the farmers around the world (especially the organic ones) that dedicate their lives to growing our food...and our coffee.

*Link to our new video tour of WWOOF Camp #2!*

"Turkey Time" 11/21/2012

"Last Minute Thaw" 11/21/2012

"Prepping the Imu" 11/21/2012

"Layer of Ti Leaves" 11/21/2012

   
   



    

     

"Meat on Leaves" 11/21/2012

day seventy one

Oh, the life of a WWOOFer. I originally wanted to use this post as a platform to vent about all the chaos and craziness I have experienced this week, BUT I am taking a note from Eric, who manages to keep a smile on his face and laugh instead of getting sucked into the twilight zone. So, I will spare you (for now) and highlight the good parts of the week!

Eric and I attended our first coffee festival: The Kona Coffee Cultural Festival! The festival was a week-long event and we made it to the last two days.

It was incredible to see how important coffee is to the people of Kona and to celebrate our love for the bean with them. As we met and talked with different coffee farmers and their family members, we found ourselves relating to them on many different levels. Now that we have done what that they do every day and every year, we have a complete respect for their work. We also understand the sacrifices and dedication it takes to not only run a farm but to make a living off of it as well.  

We also got to sample the farmers coffee offerings. Coffee, coffee honey, coffee jam, coffee peanut brittle, etc.. I will eat ANYTHING with coffee in it. It is clear that each farmer is not only passionate about their coffee but they are also very proud to share it with world. The event ended with a parade full of music, dancing, and coffee-decorated floats. The only thing that could have made it better was if instead of candy, they threw cups of coffee out to the crowd...but I guess that's not very practical.

On a similar note, we are knee deep in coffee on the farm. We have been putting in extra hours this week as round #5 of coffee is picked. Every day, after a full day of work, we wait around for the Marshall Islander pickers to drop off their bags of cherry. The bags get weighed, dumped into a hopper, and we all assume our assigned positions. Pulping 1,000 pounds takes about an hour. It's loud, it's sticky, and if you are not careful you will ram your head directly into a stainless steal pipe...twice.

I smell like a fermentation tank and I cannot for the life of me get the coffee slime out from under my finger nails. Just another day in paradise.

"The Many Kona Coffee's" 11/10/2012

"Coffee Lei's" 11/10/2012

"End of Parade" 11/10/2012

"Watching the Kona Coffee Parade" 11/10/2012

  

day fifty seven

This morning I awoke to the sound of coffee cherries gently dropping into empty buckets. I opened my eyes to the vibrant blue sky and bright sunshine. In the near distance, a picker softly sung, what sounded like a Spanish opera song. These are the mornings I will miss the most. 

Tonight will be our last night at Holualoa Farm.

I remember stepping off of the plane after the thirteen hour flight from New York. We were exhausted and figured there was about a 50% chance that we'd actually get picked up. I remember our first night at the farm. Eric spent the first couple hours setting up booby traps on our shack door while I silently contemplated whether or not we would actually survive the night. Feeling like we were in a scene from Jurassic Park, every noise had us up shining a flashlight out into the darkness. Neither of us slept.

We've come along way. Eric and I have completely immersed ourselves into the gratifyingly dirty world of coffee farming.  

Over the last two months, we have literally poured our blood, sweat, and (mostly my) tears into this farm. We have tended to all thirty acres of coffee-land and helped process the first harvest of the season. 

Although we volunteered, we are not leaving here empty-handed. We are leaving with a sense of accomplishment, stronger muscles and an even stronger work ethic. We have learned that a farmer wears many different hats and their work is never done. 

With our new set of skills, we're ready to see what awaits us at the next farm...from everything we've heard, things may get interesting!

*BTW, if you haven't done so already; subscribe by email to be entered into the 'win-a bag-a Kona' giveaway. Last day to enter is November 8th!* 

"Casey at Gravity Table" 11/1/2012

"Eric Pushing Parchment" 11/1/2012

"Parchment Coffee on Drying Deck" 11/1/2012

"Last Day with Albert" 11/1/2012

"Coffee Pickup" 10/30/2012

day fifty

This week flew by. Monday was spent doing some training with one of the top coffee roasters in Kona. The rest of the week was spent working on several different projects on and off the farm. I hope we stay this busy...we haven’t touched a weed-eater in four whole days!

This post is short and sweet because we are also posting the story of how and why we came to Hawaii. Click the link below for part one!

why are we WWOOFing?: part one

"Roaster Training" 10/22/2012

"Casey and Duck" 10/25/2012

"Eric and Mulch" 10/25/2012

"Banana Picking" 10/25/2012

"Hike to 3,000 ft." 10/21/2012

day forty three

I just held a duck! My favorite time of the day is feeding the birds. For one, it means the day is finally over and second I just love those darn birds. So today, I went over to my favorite duck and just picked her up. I think it was pretty good for both of us. In addition to my tender moment with the duck, it's been a big week. We met with one of the top cuppers in the coffee industry, the Iron Man Triathlon was in town, BARBIE IS FIXED (thank you for all of your concern), I didn't break any more farm equipment, and Eric's been nominated for his lead role in the "video tour of WWOOF camp"!

Although Eric and I were warned by locals to avoid town over the weekend as thousands of people from all over the world took over the quiet town of Kona, we did just the opposite. We woke up at 5am and headed straight into the heart of the Iron Man Triathlon madness. We were there as the cannon went off and watched as athletes jumped into the clear, choppy water to begin their 2.4 mile swim. We were there a couple hours later when they got out of the water and climbed on their bikes to ride 112 miles through the windy, hilly desert. And yes, we were even there cheering and high-fiving the athletes as they came in from running 26.2 miles with the 95 degree heat bearing down on them. In total, we committed 16 hours to the event, surviving on the same stuff they did; free power-bars and energy drinks. We left inspired and to be honest pretty exhausted.

Wednesday we took a VTO day (volunteer time off) and met with coffee expert Shawn Steinman, who has literally written a book on coffee. Sitting in white rocking chairs on a long wooden porch at a coffee farm down the road, we talked nothing but coffee for several hours. With tourists flooding in to the bright, open storefront, overlooking the farm, Shawn gave us an introduction to coffee cupping. Coffee cupping is basically like wine tasting. It involves comparing, identifying and analyzing the different characteristics and attributes of individual coffees. Together we cupped several different Kona coffees and found they had drastic differences. In these particular coffees, we picked up on hints of grapefruit and lemon, intense earthy aroma's, and lingering aftertastes. It will take a lot more practice to get on Shawn's level (like eight years) but for our first time we did pretty well. It was a great experience and got Eric and I really excited to learn more...and although we spit out most of the coffee that day, we still got a pretty good buzz.

All in all we may never be Iron Men but we are one step closer to our goal.

"Coffee Cupping" 10/17/2012

"Slurping and Spitting" 10/17/2012

"Morning of Iron Man" 10/13/2012

"Camera's on Winner" 10/13/2012 

"Painted Church" 10/15/2012

video tour of WWOOF camp

Many of you have been asking about our living conditions here on the farm so we decided to throw together a quick tour of what we call WWOOF Camp. Join Eric as he guides you through the luxurious accommodations that we have been enjoying for the past month and a half!

day thirty six

Barbie died and we totaled the Gator.  

Barbie. So Monday morning, a six mile visit to a coffee farm on our moped turned into a 100 mile joy ride to Waimea and back. However, we ran out of "joy" around mile 80 so I guess technically it was an 80 mile moped ride and a 20 mile pickup truck ride. The first 80 miles of the trip we’re going smooth. It was great scenery, beautiful ocean views and we even found a secluded beach with sea turtles (see video below). To celebrate the success of the first leg of our trip, we stopped for a hearty slab of carrot cake and a few cups of joe at the Waimea Coffee Shop. I don’t know if it was the sugar high from the carrot cake or the caffeine boost but on the way back down the hill, I spotted what seemed like a good opportunity to set a moped land speed record. Well, Barbie must not have been in the record setting mood because just as we hit about 55 mph (which feels like 200 mph on a moped) she decided she had enough fun for the day. Twenty miles from home, in the middle of the hot, black Hawaiian desert and with 2% battery remaining on the phone, our fun had also come to an abrupt stop. Luckily Albert picked up and before the phone died, mid-convo, he got our location and came to get us...three hours later.

The Gator. Yesterday after lunch, me, Casey and Albert took the Gator up to about 2,500 feet, to the orange trees. It’s a steep, rocky, wet ride up to the orange trees but it’s well worth it. They were some of the best oranges we have ever had. After 15 minutes and a few juicy oranges, we headed back down to the farm except this time we took an alternate trail; an even steeper, rockier and wetter trail. Why Albert decided to take us on the steeper, rockier and wetter trail and not the one we had barely survived on the way up, is a bit of a mystery. Anyway, about halfway down the hill, we were blocked by a giant tree that had fallen across the trail. Unable to turn around and climb back up the mountain, we had no choice but to walk down and take the tractor, the blue Isuzu and a few chain saws back up and clear the trail. Once we cleared a path, we headed down; Albert in the tractor, me in the Isuzu and Casey in the Gator. Long story short, the Gator got away from Casey, coasted down hill about 100 feet and ultimately crashed into a coffee tree. Fortunately, Casey wasn’t in it and thankfully wasn’t hurt. Unfortunately, the front suspension and frame of the Gator weren’t as lucky.

In the interest of Casey’s health and the prevention of any additional property damage, Casey has officially retired from operating any John Deere machinery.

"Joy Ride" 10/8/2012

"Eric at Waimea Coffee Co." 10/8/2012

"Barbie's Final Resting Place" 10/8/2012

"Gator, Blue Isuzu on Blocked Trail" 10/10/2012

day twenty nine

Lucky. That's how I feel right now. Along with proud, invigorated, excited, alive, and so happy. We have been here for a whole month and as much as I would like to complain some more about sharing the bathroom with a spider and wearing the same outfit every day, I can't. This month has been so thrilling, challenging, eye-opening and really, really fun.

Boogie boarding in the rough waves at Magic Sands Beach, snorkeling above coral reefs with sea turtles and schools of bright yellow Tang fish at the pier, cruising to town and enjoying a cup (or two) of award winning Kona coffee feet from the sea, can't bellyache about any of that. Spending a night making 270 Lau Lau's (pork and beef wrapped in a Taro leaf, wrapped and tied in Ti leaves and left to steam for five hours in what I'm pretty sure used to be an oil drum), trying Kalua pig, lomi-lomi salmon, Poi (or what Eric would call "Common Paste") and listening (and attempting to speak) to the locals talk-story in pidgin ("Choke lau lau, eh brah?")- this was just the weekend! All that and we toured three more coffee farms- Kona Joe's, Heavenly Kona, and Hula Daddy.

Our original plan was to only spend one month at each farm but we have decided to extend our stay at Holualoa Farm for a second month. The shack isn't so bad after all! Now that the coffee pickers are here and the first pick has officially started, there is too much excitement to leave. The pickers, armed with their baskets and holding hooks (to bring the high branches closer), begin at the bottom of the farm and work their way up. At the end of the day they all head to the mill to weigh their bags before the coffee gets processed. The pulper was fired up this week and we got to watch the first 700 pounds of cherries go through a series of machines removing the fruit from the seed.

Along with all the anticipation from the fresh harvest, it's been a great week. Sure, I busted the exact pipe Albert told me not to hit with the mower, cutting off the water supply for the entire farm (I knew getting on that thing wasn't a good idea), but we learned how to fix driscopipe. And yes, it was a sad day when Eric had to bury one of the calves (the one we aptly named 'Mangey Moose'). We came to learn about organic coffee farming, who knew it would be so all-inclusive?

So, one month down but many more ahead. We have a big week coming up- we hired coffee expert and author of The Hawai'i Coffee Book, Shawn Steiman for a private training on coffee cupping and we will also begin shadowing the Master Roaster at a nearby farm. It is amazing what happens when you take a chance and open yourself to new experiences!

"Lao lao luau" 9/28/2012

"Morning coffee" 9/30/2012

"Kealakekua Bay" 9/30/2012

"Pulper/ Demucilager" 10/3/2012

"Eric mowing" 10/4/2012