Maui Mokka® takes top honors at statewide cupping competition

On July 18, 2014, MauiGrown Coffee reaffirmed their coveted place in the coffee world by capturing 1st Place for their Maui Mokka® — Natural at Hawaii Coffee Association's 6th Statewide Coffee Cupping Competition held in Kealakekua on the Big Island of Hawaii.

The 2014 field included 77 total entries. The Commercial Division included 22 entries, 12 of which came from the District of MAUI. In the Commercial Division, MauiGrown Coffee's Maui Mokka® — Natural and Aloha Hills Kona Coffee tied for 1st Place with a score of 87.3 out of 100. MauiGrown Coffee also took 2nd Place in the Maui District Division for their Maui Mokka® — Natural.

According to the Maui Coffee Association's 2014 Cupping Committee, the quality of coffees entered in this year's competition was of the highest level, and they commended the winners for being an accomplished group of farmers who raise great Hawaiian Coffee!

"Great coffee doesn't just happen," said Kimo Falconer, president of MauiGrown Coffee. "It takes a dedicated team of farm workers to produce award—winning coffee and I couldn't be prouder of our Maui Mokka® team."

The Maui Mokka® variety of coffee originated in Yemen and was planted on the Kaanapali Estate by Pioneer Mill 25 years ago. Today, it is one of four exceptional coffee varietals grown and harvested in West Maui.

Maui Mokka's small, roundish chubby beans produce a cup delightfully fused with a range of subtle chocolate flavors. During this year's cupping competition, judges described the Maui Mokka® varietal as "a winey, sparkly coffee with good acidity, nice body and hints of a fruit and nut bar. It has notes of boysenberry and blackberry and tones of cocoa and bittersweet chocolate and finishes like a good port and a cigar."

According to Falconer, the soil and nutrition, the water cycle and the sun are just part of the process of producing a sweet coffee cherry.

"We allow the coffee cherries to stay on the tree until they turn purple which produces the maximum amount of sugars concentrated into the fruit," said Falconer. "After harvesting we let the coffee age for almost six months in the coffee pulp to bring out the various fruit flavors. The coffee bean is then milled, bagged and sent off to our customers worldwide."

"Roasting is also critical to bringing out the maximum flavor of the coffee," said Jeff Ferguson, co—owner and manager of the MauiGrown Coffee Company Store. "We invite the public to taste the fruits of our labor at our store in Lahaina. We offer a medium roast and a dark roast to please all palates."