Hawaiian K’au From Paradise Roasters Review




  • You may have heard of this coffee, Hawaiian K’au, and the name Rusty’s Hawaiian in the past couple weeks. If not, that’s okay.

    Rusty’s Hawaiian is a coffee farm owned by Lorie Obra, who won this year in the 2010 Hawaii Coffee Association Cupping Competition, and also won another competition, the 2010 Outstanding Producer Award from the Speciality Coffee Association of Europe. You can read more about the Hawaii Coffee Association Cupping Competition here.

    Paradise Roasters was lucky enough to grab a very small micro-lot of 20lbs.

    I am curious to find out if this coffee is really all that it says it is…Is it really a 90+ coffee or just a coffee getting too much hype?



    From the aroma, I am getting a very bright, almost under roasted aroma to the coffee. Underneath all that, you can detect dried fruit, and berry notes. There’s a citrus play, and a hint of brown sugar that is starting to appear.

    There are hints of a dried fruit play, with a sweetness lingering around in each sip, but in the end the sourness coming from the coffee is unbearable. The taste reminds me again of an under roasted coffee, although the beans were a nice dark brown color.

    I am actually surprised at how much of a letdown this coffee is. I was hoping for a better outcome.

    Overall, I am giving this maybe a 3 out of 5 cups. This isn’t the worst coffee I’ve had, but it isn’t good either.

    If there is anyone who has bought this from Paradise Roasters I want to hear from you. What were your thoughts on this coffee?



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    August 13th, 2010 | Jamie | 7 Comments | Tags: , ,

About The Author

Jamie Ferguson

From sunny Sarasota Florida, Jamie Ferguson has been drinking coffee since a very young age. Jamie is just your average jane who has a serious addiction to coffee, but more so has a bigger love for the heart, and the dedication that is put into growing, processing and roasting coffee. Come and join the adventures...

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  • http://www.dailyshotofcoffee.com Mike @DailyShotOfCoffee

    I’m really disappointed to hear about your experience with Paradise Roasters. I had some mouth watering experiences with them last summer.

  • Jamie

    Same here Mike. I really love some of their coffees, but I can’t begin to go through the possibilities of what could have happened.

    I am hoping I can find someone who has bought it, and tried it to see what their opinion was.

  • envirofusion

    Being from the islands I have to say that I really don’t like ANY of the coffee’s here, all taste burnt & bitter – too much acid.

  • Jamie

    Hmmm. That’s interesting. I’d love to try other coffee from the islands to compare.

  • http://www.hilocoffeemill.com Kathy

    That’s a surprise. I personally tasted it during the Ka’u Coffee Festival when it was fresh roasted and it was truly a great coffee. Maybe it was either roasted improperly, old or stale, or just a personal preference.

    We don’t carry Rusty’s coffee but we do carry another from Ka’u and it always gets fantastic customer reviews and comments.

    Just a bad batch from the roaster?

  • Jamie

    Kathy,

    I received the coffee two days after it was roasted, and have had a positive past experience with Paradise Roasters. I will not say what I think the reason is only to not come off rude, or end up being wrong.

    I will have to order some of your Ka’u, and try it.