Local Coffee Spotlight: The Hilo Farmer's Market

 

There are some coffee drinkers who couldn't care less where their coffee came from as long as it's coffee. Others (my father included) are very, very specific about how they want their daily dose of dark brown happiness.

My dad's particular style includes grinding whole beans in a tiny blender before carefully adding appropriate amounts of water-to-coffee grinds.

"If it's not high quality," he says, "I drink it with cream and sugar. If it's good, I take it black."

As someone who spent fourteen days this summer writing in the desert, I took coffee where I could get it, which meant a lot of little orange instant packets and hot water from a machine. I was so ridiculously excited for drip coffee when I got home that I decided to make my first coffee spotlight the good old bean kind that you brew at home, and my favorite place to get whole beans is the Hilo Farmer's Market.

"Budda's Cup" coffee booth at the Hilo farmer's market
Photograph by Arah Ko

You are probably bored of me mentioning it already, but if you're ever visiting the Big Island, I highly recommend you take a trip to at least one farmer's market, and the biggest one is in Hilo on Saturdays and Wednesdays from as early as you can wake up to around 2 o'clock in the afternoon. The market sells everything from T-shirts to bone necklaces, spam musubi's, honey and Thai food. Half the fun is wandering around the crowded booths trying to decide what to buy, and, of course, there is the coffee. On the average Saturday there are at least four booths selling coffee from different local companies. Some of my favorites are "Divine Hawaiian," "Big Island Coffee Roasters," and "Big Island Coffee."

Divine Hawaiian, Big Island Coffee roasters and Big Island Coffee at last year's home coffee cupping
Photograph by Arah Ko

Since we are talking about local whole bean coffees I have to recommend that you also take a tour of the actual coffee factories-- the Island is covered in them and the majority have mouthwatering free samples. In Kona you can just drive along the road and you'll spot colorful signs advertising the brands parked along the coast. On Hilo side you have to hunt for them on google maps or Yelp, but it's well worth the experience. Plus, I prefer Hilo side coffee, it has a thicker, less acidic edge to it.

Have fun coffee hunting,

Yours Caffeinated,

Arah