OUR STORY In 2010, the opportunity emerged to buy a small coffee farm in a disregarded, impoverished region of Hawaii. With little to lose, we thought, “Why not?” As we integrated with the community of farmers and sampled coffees from around the Big Island, we were surprised by the variety and quality that goes largely overshadowed. We wanted to change that. Over the next years we taught ourselves to cultivate, process and roast. We then trialed and tasted the differences between coffee washing experiments and roast profiles. Our end-goal was always the same: the objectively best coffee we could produce from our land. When we discovered methods and flavors we liked, we taught neighboring farmers to do the same and offered them higher wages for their coffees than they’d ever seen before. To our amazement, our efforts began paying off. In July of 2013, one of our Puna coffees won Grand Champion in the Hawaii Coffee Association’s Statewide Cupping Competition and became the first non-Kona or Ka’u farm to do so. The same year, the USDA honored our efforts to improve high-quality coffee output by providing
us a grant for importing specialized coffee grading equipment. With this machine, we can help independent Puna and Hamakua farmers improve their coffee quality, reputation and livelihood effortlessly. (And later that year we were awarded a Hawaii Senate Certificate for doing just that!) Finally, as the year closed, our Honeyed Yellow Caturra coffee placed in Coffee Review’s “30 Top Coffees of 2013”. Today, we serve on the board of directors for the Hawaii Coffee Association – Hawaii’s largest organization serving all islands and industries, from cherry to cup. We’re excited to continue serving Hawaii’s coffee lovers, from retailers to roasters, baristas to farmers, and at-home drinkers. Since moving, our lives have been full of sweat, adventure, discipline and persistent learning. What began as a charming coffee farm in the rainy jungle-town of Mountain View has become an award winning farm, micro-roaster and processing mill for boutique Hawaii coffees. A love for wild and beautiful places brought us to the Big Island. Respect for the terrain and appreciation for the farmers who craft from it has kept us here.
OUR APPROACH: A D I F F E R E N C E Y O U C A N TA S T E
Big Island Coffee Roasters is an artisan coffee farm, mill, micro-roaster and purveyor of fine Hawaiian coffees, located on the east side of the Big Island. We are vertically integrated, meaning several of our coffees are harvested, processed and roasted within a few miles of where they’re grown. Our hands carefully tend coffee through the many delicate steps between cherry and roasted bean. Besides roasting for our customers, we also toll-roast and process for other coffee farmers so they can sell under their own brand. Doing so has afforded us the opportunity to taste many different coffees throughout Hawai’i. Those which are excellent or particularly unique, we buy direct. Some coffees you’ll not find anywhere else. By virtue of being neighbors with the farms we source from, our coffees remain seasonal and fresh, meaning their inherent flavors and aromas retain more character, nuance and depth. Once at our roastery, all coffees are stored in GrainPro bags, which keep coffees from being affected by Hawaii’s humid climate. It’s a difference you can taste! We source from like-minded farmers throughout Hawai’i. Some farms are large and specialize in producing vast quantities of green coffee. Others are small “micro-lot” farms which grow coffee alongside other crops. Most of our coffees are specialty grade. Some are mechanically harvested, but most are hand harvested. All of our coffees are non-GMO. Unless noted, our coffees are single origin (unblended).
COFFEES “ V O T E D H A W A I I ’ S F AV O R I T E A R T I S A N B E V E R A G E I N 2 0 1 5 ”
H AWA I I A N C O F F E E S U B S C R I P T I O N A Curated Subscription of Our Private Collection
Membership to the Wild Coffee Lovers Club is for coffee lovers who want access to the best artisan coffees from Hawaii. Many of our subscription coffees you’ll find nowhere else in the world. We offer two coffee subscription models for you to choose from: Roastmaster’s Choice Collection & Custom Collection. The Roastmaster’s Choice Collection is a curated monthly coffee subscription from our collection of Specialty Hawaiian coffees. Examples include award-winning Hawaiian coffees, micro-lots, new varietals, small-lot peaberries, experimental processes, coffee flights, and more. Shipments are often accompanied by a personal letter detailing the coffees, as well as tasting notes, brewing tips, samples and/or gifts. We respectfully ask that members of the Roastmaster’s Choice Collection are flexible, adventurous, and genuinely interested in tasting new coffees. In Custom Collection your subscription is customizable: from size, to schedule, to origin. You’re coffees are freshly roasted and shipped on your schedule. If no schedule is selected, we’ll ship on the first week of each month. Regardless of your subscription, coffees ship free. No commitment required. To apply, visit bigislandcoffeeroasters.com/memberships or call 808-968-6228. BIGISLANDCOFFEEROASTERS.COM
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HELLO@BIGISLANDCOFFEEROASTERS.COM
AWA R D S & P R E SS Hawaii’s Favorite Artisan Beverage, 2015 Brutus Magazine, October 2015 BARISTA Magazine, Field Report, Aug. + Sept. 2015 Edible Hawaiian Islands Local Hero Award: Hawaii’s Favorite Artisan Beverage Honolulu Magazine, Hawaii’s Young & Caffeinated, Dec. 2014 Coffee Review: 92, 93, 94 + Top 30 Coffees of 2013 2013 Grand Champion, Hawai’i Statewide Cupping Competition 2013 Senate Certificate for contributing to the development of Puna as a coffee growing region