Waialua Coffee is estate grown on the North Shore of Oahu Hawaii on the Wahiawa Plain.  The plantation sits above the coastal towns of Haleiwa and Waialua at an altitude about 600 ft above sea level.  Located at 20 degrees north latitude the climate is warm and mild with average temperatures in the mid 80s Farenheit with an annual rainfall of 20". 

We discovered this coffee on an origin farm visit to Oahu in the summer of 2008.  The estate is managed and the coffee production program run by Dole just north of the center of the Dole Plantation.

In 1996 the decision was made to pursue diversified agriculture on land previously used for sugar cultivation.  The rich volcanic soil, regular irrigation and plentiful sunshine produce a premium Hawaiian coffee.  One hundred fifty acres of Coffea Arabica, Typica variety, are now under coffee production.  Rainfall is supplemented with regular irrigation.  Harvesting begins in October and continues through February.  The coffee is pesticide free and uses beneficial insects to assist in pest management.

Most of the coffee is wet processed. Ripe cherry is pulped washed and fermented for 18 hours.  The parchment coffee is fully sun dried on racks four deep in a covered drying areas.  After 2 weeks the parchment coffee is bagged and stored to keep it fresh until ready for dry milling.  Here the coffee is fully hulled and polished, then graded with a screen before being color sorted with an electronic eye for removal of defects so that the final product is premium quality Hawaiian coffee.

We have cupped this against Kona and find this coffee to be superior in cup character with a price point that is significantly below Kona.  If you are looking for premium single-origin Hawaiian coffee at a price you can afford, we know of no better than this one!  A treasured find for sure!.