Fresh Cup Magazine, providing specialty coffee and tea professionals with unique insight into the trends, ideas, products and people that shape their world.
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CAFÉ CROSSROADS BY JENNIFER WARD BARBER Kona de Pele Kailua-Kona, Hawaii Abraham Kim, co-owner fter the financial meltdown of 2008, Abraham Kim did what probably no other young stockbroker did: He moved to Hawaii's Big Island to farm coffee. Three years later, the now-28-year-old co-owner of one of Kona's newest farm-to-cup operations is a convert. "Once I found out about the actual process that goes into one single cup, I was blown away," says the former Merrill Lynch employee, who admits to drinking instant coffee during his office days. So what happened? Back in 2007, Kim's father, a former luxury resort developer, had fulfilled a retirement dream and bought the farm eventually christened Kona de Pele. (Located 2,000 feet above sea level in the Captain Cook region, the farm has been in operation for nearly a century.) The senior Kim challenged his son, at a career crossroads, to think about investing in commodities such as coffee. Soon, he had convinced his son to move to Hawaii to oversee the business side of the farm. This past summer, Kim and his business partner and cousin, Sewon Park, opened their café on Ali'i Drive in downtown Kailua-Kona. Why Kona de Pele? In Hawaiian folklore, Madame Pele is the fiery goddess—the one full of wrath and vengeance. We're paying homage to her, the goddess of lava, which is the essence of the soil we're on. Everything on this island is because of her. Many people dream of moving to an island to grow coffee and run a café. For you, it sounds like it all happened very organically. Yes, it's been very grassroots. We didn't have much of a plan, but just started with baby steps. At first we didn't even think about making a business out of it; it was really just the joy of the farm. I don't want to sound like "that guy," but I saw it and saw an opportunity. Up until this I had no idea what good coffee was, and neither does the standard American who drinks Folgers every morning. What Kona has to offer is just something I sort of fell in love with and wanted the rest of the world to know. My fam- ily has always had an affinity for Hawaii; it was just a matter of time before we got here. I honestly think that I was born in the wrong place—I feel so naturally in my environment here. I've traded my suits for board shorts and flip-flops. continued on page 24 22 Fresh Cup Magazine freshcup.com