aloha kona coffee

truth be told, the closest i ever come to drinking coffee is when i order up a mocha milkshake, however the abundance of coffee farms in the islands combined with the number of coffee lovers in my 'ohana means i am always on the lookout for small producers who grow their beans au naturale.

an abbreviated version of six degrees of separation was all it took for my recent discovery of aloha kona coffee, a small sustainable family farm located up on the fertile, coffee-producing slopes of holualoa on the big island. the farm was started by dana & mark leong and their story is a sweet one - maui girl meets oahu boy. marry & start a family. fulfill dream of ditching the corporate rat race and moving to the country to live off the 'aina. oh, and in between they both crossed the finish line of the ironman a few times.

although akc is not certified organic (which can be a lengthy and expensive process), the leong 'ohana nixes pesticides in favor of organic homemade teas to keep their coffee plants healthy and happy. production is kept in-house with every family member pitching in from tending to their own section of the farm to assisting with harvesting, roasting and packaging the final product.

the estate grown beans are roasted fresh (from medium to espresso) for each and every order, and, if you prefer your cup o' joe to have a different intensity or fancy a batch of green beans to roast yourself, simply drop aloha kona coffee a note to request a special order.

and, coffee aficionados will be happy to hear that the akc 'ohana is sweetening the pot for h|h readers with savings of 10% off your next caffeine fix!

• secret code: kona08
• expires: dec 31st, 2008

p.s. behind the scenes farm tours of akc's holualoa property is available by appointment (email for more details).