This year we were fortunate to attend the Kona Coffee Cultural Festival. It is a business event, a convention for growers and roasters, but it is also a celebration of the unique culture of Kona, an agricultural district on the leeward side of the Big Island of Hawaii.

Before attending any festival events, Allan went to do a little shopping and get a burger for his daughter. There in McDonald's was a spontaneous jam session of singing, slack-key guitar, and hula. Here is a living culture, not something presented to tourists at a hotel luau. It feels like such a privilege to be there for the real thing.

The cupping contest is a major part of the festival. Tasters with discerning palates taste samples of the coffees submitted. They use descriptions similar to those used in wine tasting to characterize the different coffees. Ours was described in the following way. "Kona Cafe coffee has good body, rich fragrance, great taste and aroma."

The parade of the festival was a truly "cultural" event. Women from several of the Japanese Buddhist temples did a display of Bon dancing. Young drummers from the Daifukuji Mission, originally a support for recent Japanese immigrants, did their Taiko drumming through the entire course of the parade. It was a very compelling, joyous sound, and we walked alongside them the whole way. Kona coffee growing was started by Japanese sugar cane laborers in the 1850's. After they had bought their way out of their indentures, they leased land to grow coffee and make their own money.

Different schools and organizations showed their colors. Here are Allan and his farm manager, Lao, joining the Kona Young Farmers.

Allan and Lao also had a photo op with the Kona Coffee Cultural Festival Queen.

This year's crop looks very good.

Kona Coffee Cupping Judges	Allan with Miss Kona Coffee
Cultural Festival Parade	Cultural Festival Parade
Jam Session at McDonalds	Jam Session at McDonalds