{"product_id":"kona-kaffa-champagne-natural-noelani-farm","title":"Kona Kaffa Champagne Natural — Noelani Farm","description":"\u003ch2\u003e\u003cspan role=\"text\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTasting Notes\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLime zest and ginger blossom aromatics.\u003cbr\u003eRaspberry, delicate and tea-like in the cup.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.coffeereview.com\/review\/kona-s12-kaffa-washed\/\" title=\"Kona S12 Kaffa Coffee Review 95 pt\"\u003e95 pt Coffee Review score\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRoast:\u003c\/strong\u003e Light\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRegion:\u003c\/strong\u003e Hōlualoa, North Kona, Hawaiʻi\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eProducer:\u003c\/strong\u003e Noelani Farm\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAltitude:\u003c\/strong\u003e 750 masl (2,500 ft)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eVariety:\u003c\/strong\u003e S.12 Kaffa\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eProcess:\u003c\/strong\u003e Champagne Natural\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eExtremely limited:\u003c\/strong\u003e only 3 lbs of this lot exist, offered in 4oz bags. This will be our last Kaffa release for some time. After this lot was produced, most of the Kaffa trees at Noelani Farm were lost to fallen trees during Hurricane Lala.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cspan role=\"text\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eVariety — S.12 Kaffa\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eKaffa is the region of southwest Ethiopia where \u003cem\u003eCoffea arabica\u003c\/em\u003e originated, and the place the word \"coffee\" comes from. In 1952–1953, P.G. Sylvain collected seeds from plants in several areas of Ethiopia, including Kaffa, and sent them back to the USDA. Some of these varieties, like S.6 Cioiccie, we've offered before from Coffea Diversa.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn 1955 the USDA distributed Sylvain's collections, along with dozens of varieties selected by plant breeders in other countries, to coffee regions around the world. CTAHR in Kealakekua, Kona, received seeds of S.12 Kaffa at that time. The variety showed resistance to coffee leaf rust and interested breeders in the 1960s and 1970s as rust spread across the Americas. Leaf rust didn't reach Hawaiʻi then, but University of Hawaiʻi researchers found that S.12 Kaffa showed some tolerance to root-knot nematodes, which had become a problem reducing yields in Kona.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDespite these strengths, S.12 Kaffa has never been planted commercially anywhere in the world.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cspan role=\"text\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA 15-Year Search\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI first became aware of S.12 Kaffa in 2008, while searching the coffee collection at CTAHR for varieties with the potential for excellent cup quality to plant at a then-new farm called Hula Daddy. It was the only variety in the collection from southwest Ethiopia, the same region the Geisha variety came from, and I felt it might have potential.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe trees in the original Kealakekua collection were in rough shape and producing few cherries, but a replica of the collection grows on Oʻahu at HARC Maunawili. In 2009, when I traveled to HARC to collect seeds of SL34, Mokka and Laurina (Bourbon Pointu) for Hula Daddy, I also collected a handful of S.12 Kaffa seeds. Hula Daddy decided not to plant them. I planted six seedlings in a shady spot at Rusty's Hawaiian farm in Kaʻū, but wild coffee sprouted up around them and it became impossible to tell which trees were the Kaffa.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI didn't get to taste this variety until 2017, when Juli Burden sent me a sample harvested from the single tree at Maunawili. Maunawili is a very low-altitude site, yet the sample showed excellent complexity and many of the flavors I associate with other Ethiopian landrace varieties: citrus, ginger and flowers.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI asked Juli for a few seeds from that tree to try planting once again. Once they sprouted, I entrusted four of them to Kraig Lee of Kona Farm Direct, who by then was growing plants for farmers of many of the varieties I had selected for Hula Daddy years before: SL34, K7, Laurina and Mokka. When those trees fruited, I asked Kraig to plant some at Noelani Farm next to the Geisha trees he was planting there. In 2021, 50 Kaffa plants went in at the very top of the farm, at 2,500 ft.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLeaf rust finally arrived in Kona in 2020. Since then, the Kaffa plants have appeared resistant to the strain of rust we have here. They are also nearly as productive as Catuaí and far more vigorous than Geisha. But how would the variety taste at high altitude?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn April 2024, we finally found out. It did not disappoint. The lime zest and ginger I had tasted before in this variety, and often find in other Ethiopian landraces like Sidra, were there. The mouthfeel and acidity were excellent. It was a coffee as special and unique as I had hoped.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSince then we've been slowly collecting the harvest every few weeks. We finally have enough of this variety that a handful of people will have the opportunity to taste it. It's a coffee I've waited 15 years to share.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e— Miguel Meza\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cspan role=\"text\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOrigin — Noelani Farm, Hōlualoa\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLocated in the Hōlualoa area, Noelani Coffee Farm is one of the Kona District's highest-elevation farms, at 2,500 ft. The first plantings, from 2018 to 2020, were of the K7 variety, and 1.5 acres of Geisha were added in 2021. Noelani's washed K7 scored \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.coffeereview.com\/review\/kona-k7-2\/\"\u003e95 points on Coffee Review\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe first Geisha harvests began coming in in November 2023, in tiny amounts every few weeks. The cool, cloud-shrouded, perpetually misty climate at this altitude is more like Boquete, Panama, than most other farms in Kona. Noelani Geisha has consistently \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.coffeereview.com\/review\/kona-geisha-washed\/\"\u003escored 96-97 points on Coffee Review\u003c\/a\u003e: \"High-toned, tropical, exquisitely balanced. Orange blossom, cocoa nib, guava, young ginger, cedar in aroma and cup.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cspan role=\"text\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eProcess — Champagne Natural\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis coffee is processed using our \u003cstrong\u003eChampagne Natural method\u003c\/strong\u003e, developed in 2019 and refined through ongoing experimentation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCherries are:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSorted and sanitized\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFermented in a bioreactor with selected wine yeast\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSugars are metabolized into acids, alcohols, and aromatic esters\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAt the end of fermentation, the fruit becomes \u003cstrong\u003ecrisp, tart, and lightly effervescent\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe coffee is then:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDried at controlled temperatures in a humidity-controlled drying room\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRested in cherry before milling\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhere our washed Kaffa showed cherry, vanilla and almond, the Champagne Natural adds raspberry and lifts the variety's lime zest and ginger into a brighter, more delicate, tea-like cup.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eExplore more rare Kona varieties: \u003ca href=\"\/products\/kona-laurina\"\u003eKona Laurina Champagne Natural\u003c\/a\u003e and \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/paradiseroasters.com\/collections\/coffee-reviews\/products\/kona-geisha-rose-washed-light-roast?variant=49289070313762\" title=\"Kona Geisha Rosé Washed -100% Kona Coffee\"\u003eKona Geisha Rosé Washed\u003c\/a\u003e, or browse our \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/geisha-coffee\"\u003eGeisha Coffee Collection\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Paradise Coffee Roasters","offers":[{"title":"4oz \/ Whole Bean","offer_id":67483584659746,"sku":"kona-kaffa-cn-4","price":100.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"4oz \/ Auto Drip","offer_id":67483584692514,"sku":"kona-kaffa-cn-4-AD","price":100.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false},{"title":"4oz \/ French Press","offer_id":67483584725282,"sku":"kona-kaffa-cn-4-FP","price":100.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1403\/7057\/files\/F6115BFA-AD2D-4518-8CF6-50C5BCE53F16.jpg?v=1731472091","url":"https:\/\/paradiseroasters.com\/products\/kona-kaffa-champagne-natural-noelani-farm","provider":"Paradise Coffee Roasters","version":"1.0","type":"link"}