UNITED STATES 22nd July 2010

Much-lauded coffee farm Rusty's Hawaiian, from the Ka'u region in the southernmost part of island of Hawaii, took top honours in the Hawaii Coffee Association's cupping competition in mid-July, Andrew Hetzel reports.

The judges at the competition awarded Rusty's Hawaiian 91.10 points, to come top of the 67 entries from every growing area in Hawaii. Lorie Obra (pictured), the owner and operator of Rusty's Hawaiian, in June won the SCAE's Outstanding Producer Award for 2010 at the Association's Awards for Coffee Excellence evening in London.

In total, three Ka'u farms placed among the top five at the cupping competition, including Paradise Meadows (third) and Kehau Coffee Farm (fifth), while Kupaa Farm in Maui, came second and Kuaiwi Farm in Kona took fourth place.

Rusty's Hawaiian, which also won the prize for providing the best coffee from the Ka'u region, was one stop on the SCAE's 2009 origin visit to Hawaii last October, as was the winner for the Puna district, Hilo Coffee Mill, which represented Manny's Brew Coffee Farm. (To see the full report on the SCAE visit to Hawaii, click here to see the digital version of Café Europa's issue 39).