11.30.12 - THE 42nd ANNUAL KONA COFFEE CULTURAL FESTIVAL, November 2-11, 2012 by Therese Lee

I am not a coffee drinker. I used to be. I went to Starbuck's religiously to get my grande, no foam, extra hot latte every day. But one day, after I had spent some time in London, I switched to tea. Don't know why. It just happened and I've been a tea drinker ever since.

Kona Coffee could switch me back! I had the absolute pleasure of spending time on the Big Island of Hawaii to participate in the 42nd Annual Kona Coffee Cultural Festival to learn about local life and about the labor intensive and time consuming effort it takes to make a really good cup of coffee. Who knew that the bean first looks like a cherry and must be picked when it is at the perfect shade of red? The cherry shell must then be removed to get to the bean. The bean is then dried in the sun for days, and must not get wet during that process! Once it is dried, it is split in two and a final, paper-like film is scraped off. THEN the bean is ready for roasting.

All of this was demonstrated to our crew at the Kona Coffee Living History Farm Tour and the Greenwell Farms Tour. Both are part of a 700 coffee farm network on the Big Island - a place that is fertile and bursting with new life at all times. Because it is the only island with an active volcano, new land is created every day from the flowing lava. The black rock dominates the scenery, but when it breaks down anything can be planted on it and will grow like crazy. Bright green plants and trees, plumeria, hibiscus, bouganvillea, and many other vibrantly colored flowers burst into view wherever the eye travels. The island feels like the seat of creation.

We were lucky enough to be sponsored by the Sheraton Kona Resort and Spa on beautiful Keauhou Bay. "Keauhou" means "new beginning" and the hotel and property certainly provide a perfect setting for that. In fact, the Sheraton is the ONLY place in the world where you can have an amazing dinner and see MANTA RAYS swimming in the water next to you. During the day, you can walk the beautiful grounds sculpted by black lava, next to blue, blue water filled with bright yellow tang and other exotic fish.

Many of the Kona Coffee Cultural Festival events were held at the hotel, including the Coffee Cupping Competition, where men sip coffee in a blind taste test ala a wine tasting, and The Aloha Makahiki Concert featuring traditional Hawaiian music and hula. All of the events are highlighted at www.konacoffeefest.com, and will be included in an upcoming volume on the Big Island for REEL GAY TV, to be released in January, 2013.

I would encourage anyone and everyone to attend next year's event. It is an amazing time filled with the spirit of the local people and traditional Hawaiian lore. To my mind, the Big Island is one of the most beautiful places on this planet.