Rusty's Hawaiian Typica Natural

About Rusty's Hawaiian Typica Natural

Rusty's Farm and mills are located in the rural Ka'u region, located on the south side of the Big Island. They grow and process their own cherry but also coffee from other local members of the Ka'u Coffee Growers Cooperative, a group of 30 Ka'u farms. Rusty's was originally purchased by Rusty and Lorie Obra as a retirement venture; they came from New Jersey, both with scientific and technical backgrounds. In 1999, they planted Arabica coffee varietals such as Bourbon, Guatemala Typica, Red Caturra and Yellow Caturra. At 2,000 feet above sea level, the trees thrive in rich soil, morning sunshine, afternoon mists and cool nights. The plot of growing land was formerly a sugar plantation that was converted to coffee. Processing is done in a Penagos micromill in their backyard, with drying tables in the front yard. Because of their science background, the two ran the farm like a laboratory. They tested different processing methods and roasts, looking for ones that would bring out the best flavors in Ka'u coffee. They worked the farm together until Rusty died in 2006, leaving Lorie with a decision of whether to continue their efforts without him. Shortly thereafter, Miguel Meza, who had been making great strides as coffee roaster in the midwest, joined Lorie on the farm. He saw the potential for Ka'u coffee, there for the unlocking, and with help from Lorie the pursuit went forward once more.

A view of the farm

 Rusty's Hawaiian Coffee has been attracting a lot of attention from coffee cogniscenti and for good reason. They have taken Hawaiian grown and processed coffee to a whole new level. They are a company with extreme quality standards and they are also very experimental, pushing the envelope with processing techniques and varietals uncommon to the region. The experimentation, combined with a pursuit of excellence, has provided them with several significant awards as well as very high scores in reviews. They were the winner of the Speciality Coffee Association of Europe's 2010 Outstanding Producer Award, and the winner of the Hawaiian Coffee Association's 2011 and 2010 Cupping Competition. Their coffee was also used by the winner of the 2011 United States Barista Champion, and also used by the 2nd place winner in the 2011 World Barista Championship.

Owner of Rusty's Farm, Lori Obra

 We have purchased coffee from Rusty's a number of times over the past several years and this year they called us offering a very small amount of a natural processed coffee they prepared with us in mind. The owner of Roastmasters has had a chance to visit the folks at Rusty's: Lori (Rusty's widow), their daughter Joan and her husband Ralph, at their home in Ka'u. Ralph recently wrote and asked if we had interest in a single bag, 100 pounds, of this Typica Natural coffee they had produced and processed. Like any coffee we are offered, a sample was sent, roasted, cupped and subsequently purchased. It is the only coffee that we will see from them this year and we were quite pleased with its character. Typica is coffee's original varietal, its base DNA, if you will. It was first discovered in the wild in the Great Rift Valley of Ethiopia, later cultivated in Yemen and has since spread to many places in the world. Many of the trees in Hawaii are Typica derived from seeds that originated in Guatemala.

Field sign

• Producer: Lori Obra
• District: Ka'u
• Altitude: 1900 ft. above sea level
• Coffee variety: Guatemala Heirloom Typica
• Processing: Natural/Dry Process
• Drying: Mostly sun, but finished in a low-temp mechanical dryer
• Harvest: December 2017, hulled March 2018

Cup Characteristics: Extremely smooth and very cleanly processed, not overbearing as can sometimes happen with natural processing. Chocolate and cherry cordial flavors with some tropical fruit, notably guava, both in flavor and texture. Low acidity with a long, unctuous finish.

Roasting Notes: Because of the bean size and moisture content this coffee will need considerable heat to develop the roast, although it is important to remember that natural processed coffees do tend to roast faster than washed. If roasting on a Behmor, try P2 first, and perhaps P1. As for roast development, we recommend you roast up to Full City; while there are fans of darker roasts of this type of coffee, we are not among them. Sweetness and floral notes are maximized at lighter levels, whereas at darker levels the roast itself dominates.