KONA COWBOY COFFEE RUB

I was bored the other day, my computer was down, and I decided to watch a cooking show that I had DVR’d.  They were talking about all kinds of rubs to put on meats to add exotic flavors before cooking.  Well, that got me thinking that there’s nothing more exotic than 100% Kona coffee and since I make PANIOLA 100% Kona Cowboy Coffee why not an exotic Kona Cowboy Coffee Rub?  So here it is.

Start with 2/3 cup of PANIOLA 100% Kona Cowboy Coffee.  I used the pre-ground package that we make ‘cause, well, you’ll see.  Then get a half-cup of brown sugar, packed down.  Just pat it.  Next, two tablespoons of coarse salt.  Kosher salt is perfect.  Now, pour it all into a food processor and grind it up.  Actually, if you use ground coffee you can just mix it up.  Now just rub it onto and into a nice steak and you’re all set.  Let the steak sit for a half hour and then grill away!  Ono!  As we say in Kona.

The Kona Cowboy Coffee Company is proud to provide the finest coffee available to rub on your meat.  You’ll get a delicious rub and a great cup of Joe with PANIOLA 100% Kona Cowboy Coffee, grown on Hawaiian volcanoes and roasted in the Rocky Mountains … the one with no bitter aftertaste and no acidity.  CAFÉ PINON de Nuevo Mexico is the Southwest’s favorite with pinion nuts and a perfect way to improve your coffee experience during the day.  And our MOKA-JAVA is a medium dark roasted blend of Indonesian and Ethiopian coffees that just might be high octane!   We also make COWBOY ACTION COFFEE, the Official Coffee of the Single Action Shooting Society!   If you are a Chai drinker, you’ll love the Coconut or Mango Spiced Chai we bring in from Honolulu. 

The Kona Cowboy Coffee Company has updated our website with new prices, new products and more!  Order on line and we’ll do our best to get it to you as fast as possible.  Go to www.KonaCowboyCoffee.com and look at the coffees.  Go to the “Chocolates” page and find our new Cowboy Coffee Choco-Drops, a coffee caramel smothered in milk chocolate and dusted in cocoa powder!  We have new Mescalero Morning Cowboy Coffee Candles on our “Bath Products” page, too.

The purpose of this missive is to unite Kona coffee lovers and perhaps learn a little about coffee and all the benefits of coffee at the same time.  Join up, become a member, comment and have fun!  You can also join the Kona Coffee Fiends group on Facebook and we’d appreciate it if Facebook users would “LIKE” the Kona Cowboy Coffee Company page at www.facebook.com/pages/Kona-Cowboy-Coffee-Company/.   You can also find us on tweeting onTwitter at http://twitter.com/#!/jackshuster.  And look us up on the web at www.KonaCowboyCoffee.com to order your gourmet coffee and coffee products.

You know you’re a coffee fiend when all your kids are named "Joe"!  So enjoy your coffee, make it Kona, and remember, Kona is the home of the Hawaiian cowboy…and we had cowboys in Kona before there were cowboys in Texas!

BREW GOOD COFFEE AND SAVE MONEY!

Financial guru Dave Ramsey reminds is that we don’t think much about our daily money-wasters . . . but we need to. There are so many places in our daily routine where money can be wasted without us knowing it. One of the things that Ramsey says we waste money on in America today is coffee shops.  Back before coffee shops started popping up on every street corner, people brewed it themselves. We as a culture seem to have gotten away from that.  The Kona Cowboy Coffee Company urges you to save money and consider brewing GOOD coffee at home!  You can make coffee that’s as good or better than the coffee shop and you won’t need the caffeine to get your heart thumping—just take a look at how much money you dish out for that sugary concoction over a month or two.

The Kona Cowboy Coffee Company is proud to provide the finest coffee available for you to brew at home and save money.  You’ll get a great cup of Joe with PANIOLA 100% Kona Cowboy Coffee, grown on Hawaiian volcanoes and roasted in the Rocky Mountains … the one with no bitter aftertaste and no acidity.  CAFÉ PINON de Nuevo Mexico is the Southwest’s favorite with pinion nuts and a perfect way to improve your coffee experience during the day.  And our MOKA-JAVA is a medium dark roasted blend of Indonesian and Ethiopian coffees that just might be high octane!   We also make COWBOY ACTION COFFEE, the Official Coffee of the Single Action Shooting Society!   If you are a Chai drinker, you’ll love the Coconut Spiced Chai we bring in from Honolulu.  The Kona Cowboy Coffee Company has updated our website with new prices, new products and more!  Go to www.KonaCowboyCoffee.com and look at the coffees.  Go to the “Chocolates” page and find our new Cowboy Coffee Choco-Drops, a coffee caramel smothered in milk chocolate and dusted in cocoa powder!  We have new Mescalero Morning Cowboy Coffee Candles on our “Bath Products” page, too.

The purpose of this blog is to unite Kona coffee lovers and perhaps learn a little about coffee and all the benefits of coffee at the same time.  Join up, become a member, comment and have fun!  You can find the Kona Coffee Fiends group on Facebook and we’d appreciate it if Facebook users would “LIKE” the Kona Cowboy Coffee Company page at www.facebook.com/pages/Kona-Cowboy-Coffee-Company/222070817858553.  Just copy and paste to your browser.  You can also find us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/jackshuster.  And on the web at www.KonaCowboyCoffee.com to order your gourmet coffee and coffee products.

You know you’re a coffee fiend when you’ve built a miniature city out of little coffee stirrers!  So enjoy your coffee, make it Kona, and remember, Kona is the home of the Hawaiian cowboy…and we had cowboys in Kona before there were cowboys in Texas!

SCIENTIFIC COFFEE

We’ve been reading a number of blogs about the science of brewing coffee so here are some hints:

Buy good coffee beans: They should be whole beans, sustainably farmed, and roasted within the past few weeks.  PANIOLA 100% Kona Coffee is available in whole bean.  It comes in a regular roast.  A lot of aficionados think that with darker roasts, you're missing out. We know of some writers who use the weird analogy that dark roast is just like taking a nice steak and charring it beyond recognition.  We don’t agree.  It’s up to you.  But, for espresso at home, we have PANIOLA in a dark, espresso roast.  Ask for the “Ruidoso Roast” when you order.

Grind your coffee just before brewing: Roasted coffee is very delicate and perishable. Coffee has many more flavor compounds than wine, but those compounds deteriorate quickly when exposed to oxygen. Grinding your coffee just before you brew it keeps those compounds intact, and it's the number one thing you can do to improve your coffee at home. Our PANIOLA 100% Kona is whole bean.  Our other gourmet coffees are roasted in small batches and packed in half-pound bags so they won’t sit around and go stale.

Store your coffee properly: Beans which you aren't using immediately should be kept in an airtight container and away from sunlight. A major point of debate in the coffee world is whether to freeze or not freeze your coffee. We fall somewhere in between. If it's going to be more than two weeks before brewing, we freeze our coffee. Otherwise, we avoid it.  Freezing allows for condensation when you take it out of the freezer and you want to keep your coffee dry!

Use the right proportion of coffee to water: A major error people make is not using enough coffee. We empathize—it almost seems wasteful to add that extra scoop. But a simple ratio of one tablespoon for each cup is a great starting point and the simplest way to get into that perfect zone by adding or subtracting to taste.

Focus on technique: It's beyond the scope of this guide to go through step-by-step instructions for every method, but underlying all of them is the fact that brewing great coffee is about precision and consistency. Each brewing method has its own particular techniques, but by doing the same thing over and over you fix your mistakes and improve incrementally.

We’ll talk about things like quality tools, the grind size of your coffee beans, water temperature, agitating your coffee beans and the ratio of water to coffee next time.  Pretty scientific, huh?

The Kona Cowboy Coffee Company is proud to provide the finest coffee available for you to brew scientifically.  You’ll get a great cup of Joe with PANIOLA 100% Kona Cowboy Coffee, grown on Hawaiian volcanoes and roasted in the Rocky Mountains … the one with no bitter aftertaste and no acidity.  CAFÉ PINON de Nuevo Mexico is the Southwest’s favorite with pinion nuts and a perfect way to improve your coffee experience during the day.  And our MOKA-JAVA is a medium dark roasted blend of Indonesian and Ethiopian coffees that just might be high octane!   We also make COWBOY ACTION COFFEE, the Official Coffee of the Single Action Shooting Society!   If you are a Chai drinker, you’ll love the Coconut Spiced Chai and Mango Spiced Chai we bring in from Honolulu.  The Kona Cowboy Coffee Company has updated our website with new prices, new products and more!  Go to www.KonaCowboyCoffee.com and look at the coffees.  Go to the “Chocolates” page and find our new Cowboy Coffee Choco-Drops, a coffee caramel smothered in milk chocolate and dusted in cocoa powder!  We have new Mescalero Morning Cowboy Coffee Candles on our “Bath Products” page, too.

The purpose of this blog is to unite Kona coffee lovers and perhaps learn a little about coffee and all the benefits of coffee at the same time.  Join up, become a member, comment and have fun!  You can find the Kona Coffee Fiends group on Facebook and we’d appreciate it if Facebook users would “LIKE” the Kona Cowboy Coffee Company page at www.facebook.com/pages/Kona-Cowboy-Coffee-Company/222070817858553.  Just copy and paste to your browser.  You can also find us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/jackshuster.  And on the web at www.KonaCowboyCoffee.com to order your gourmet coffee and coffee products.

You know you’re a coffee fiend when you go to AA meetings just for the free coffee!  So enjoy your coffee, make it Kona, and remember, Kona is the home of the Hawaiian cowboy…and we had cowboys in Kona before there were cowboys in Texas!

ONLY 2 OR 3 CUPS A DAY?

That morning cup of Joe is a daily, practically sacred ritual for many of us. A large body of research has confirmed that a coffee habit is perfectly fine for most people, and may even have some health benefits – from fighting depression in women to lowering the risk of stroke and prostate cancer.

But is there too much of a good thing?

A study published recently in Mayo Clinic Proceedings suggests that when it comes to coffee, too much appears to be more than 28 cups per week, at least if you are under 55.

The researchers found that younger men who passed the 28-cup weekly threshold – which works out to about four cups per day – had a 56 percent increased risk of death from all causes. Younger women who were heavy coffee drinkers had a greater than two-fold increased mortality risk. A cup was defined as eight ounces of coffee.

"The older people, over 55, were not affected by these high amounts of coffee," study co-author Dr. Chip Lavie, a cardiologist at the John Ochsner Heart and Vascular Institute in New Orleans, said in a video statement.

Now, these findings left us scratching our heads here at The Salt, where we've reported in the past on many of the health benefits linked with coffee drinking. Turns out, we are not alone.

"This result is surprising," Rob van Dam, an epidemiologist at the Harvard School of Public Health, told me via email, "because results from other cohort studies in U.S. men and women suggest that coffee consumption is associated with a slightly lower risk of premature mortality."

In fact, van Dam's own research has found no increased risk of death from any cause in people who drank up to six eight-ounce cups of coffee per day. And last year, research published in the New England Journal of Medicine suggested that people with a daily coffee habit had a lower risk of dying during the 14-year study period than those who abstained.

What's more, van Dam notes that recent studies have suggested that coffee consumption does not increase the risk of dying from heart disease, stroke or cancers – all major causes of death. That body of research, he tells us, is "reassuring."

So what accounts for the increased mortality seen among heavy coffee drinkers in the new study? The data set used provides clues.

Lavie and his colleagues looked at data for more than 40,000 people, ages 20 to 87, who were enrolled as part of the Aerobics Center Longitudinal Study, a long-term study conducted between 1971 and 2002. The researchers followed up with the participants for 17 years on average. But they were only asked about their coffee consumption once – so, as Lavie himself notes, we don't know how their coffee habits changed over time.

Another limiting factor: smoking. Heavy coffee drinkers in the study were more likely to be smokers – which makes sense, since the data were collected beginning more than 40 years ago. Van Dam thinks the research didn't do enough to control for smoking. In fact, as we've previously reported, lots of studies in the 1980s failed to control for the link between coffee drinking and smoking, which is one big reason why early research appeared to give coffee a bad rep. Evidence suggesting health benefits from coffee began to emerge only as studies separated the two habits.

So, what's the bottom line for coffee drinkers?

Lavie says his findings suggest that sipping two to three cups per day is pretty safe, and possibly beneficial. But Van Dam notes that if you're generally healthy (and not pregnant or nursing), the "totality of the evidence" suggests that four cups of Joe per day shouldn't be harmful.

But of course, don't forget to listen to your body.

"If people think they experience detrimental symptoms related to too much caffeine, such as difficulty sleeping or nervousness," says van Dam, "they should try reducing their intake."

The Kona Cowboy Coffee Company is proud to provide the finest coffee available for you to limit to two or three cups a day.  You’ll get a great cup of Joe with PANIOLA 100% Kona Cowboy Coffee, grown on Hawaiian volcanoes and roasted in the Rocky Mountains … the one with no bitter aftertaste and no acidity.  CAFÉ PINON de Nuevo Mexico is the Southwest’s favorite with pinion nuts and a perfect way to improve your coffee experience during the day.  And our MOKA-JAVA is a medium dark roasted blend of Indonesian and Ethiopian coffees that just might be high octane!   We also make COWBOY ACTION COFFEE, the Official Coffee of the Single Action Shooting Society!   If you are a Chai drinker, you’ll love the Coconut Spiced Chai we bring in from Honolulu.  The Kona Cowboy Coffee Company has updated our website with new prices, new products and more!  Go to www.KonaCowboyCoffee.com and look at the coffees.  Go to the “Chocolates” page and find our new Cowboy Coffee Choco-Drops, a coffee caramel smothered in milk chocolate and dusted in cocoa powder!  We have new Mescalero Morning Cowboy Coffee Candles on our “Bath Products” page, too.

The purpose of this blog is to unite Kona coffee lovers and perhaps learn a little about coffee and all the benefits of coffee at the same time.  Join up, become a member, comment and have fun!  You can find the Kona Coffee Fiends group on Facebook and we’d appreciate it if Facebook users would “LIKE” the Kona Cowboy Coffee Company page at www.facebook.com/pages/Kona-Cowboy-Coffee-Company/222070817858553.  Just copy and paste to your browser.  You can also find us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/jackshuster.  And on the web at www.KonaCowboyCoffee.com to order your gourmet coffee and coffee products.

You know you’re a coffee fiend when you've worn out the handle on your favorite mug!  So enjoy your coffee, make it Kona, and remember, Kona is the home of the Hawaiian cowboy…and we had cowboys in Kona before there were cowboys in Texas!

MARINES WRITE COFFEE BOOK

Coffee is delicious and maybe even an integral part of your work day, but did you know that the tasty beverage has a rich history in the American military experience?

Since the Civil War, coffee has played a part in the life of the soldier. Civil War Captain Robert K. Beecham wrote in his book Gettysburg: The Pivotal Battle of the Civil War, that “The power of the soldiers to endure the fatigue of the march and keep their places in the ranks was greatly enhanced by an opportunity to brew a cup of coffee by the wayside.”

This tradition of coffee and the military particularly fascinated marines Michael Haft and Harrison Suarez. When Haft and Suarez joined the Marines they expected a tough journey, but they didn't anticipate an obsession with coffee. As their enthusiasm with the beverage grew, they began to realize that they had joined the ranks of many soldiers before them who relied on the drink as a way of life.

In The New York Times Haft and Suarez wrote of the importance of the ritual that drinking coffee provided. "We would often share with our platoon sergeants and squad leaders while we gathered around a map and discussed our plans for the day. Whether in the forests of North Carolina, the mountains of California, or the deserts of Afghanistan, the ritual provided a sense of continuity."

Haft and Suarez went on to write a book about their discovery of the link between coffee and American soldiers.

Perfect Coffee at Home is the definitive guide to coffee, told through the eyes of two Marines looking to make the most of their morning coffee ritual.

In this first-of-its-kind digital book, Michael Haft and Harrison Suarez will take you through the third wave coffee renaissance and teach you everything you need to know. Plus they'll use illustrations, interactive graphics, videos and a soundtrack to make the whole story an immersive experience.

From French press techniques for beginners, to microscopic views of coffee particles for experts, Haft and Suarez have created a fun, accessible, and fascinating window into how you can take part in the ongoing coffee renaissance.

The Kona Cowboy Coffee Company is proud to provide the finest coffee available for you to write a book about.  You’ll get a great cup of Joe with PANIOLA 100% Kona Cowboy Coffee, grown on Hawaiian volcanoes and roasted in the Rocky Mountains … the one with no bitter aftertaste and no acidity.  CAFÉ PINON de Nuevo Mexico is the Southwest’s favorite with pinion nuts and a perfect way to improve your coffee experience during the day.  And our MOKA-JAVA is a medium dark roasted blend of Indonesian and Ethiopian coffees that just might be high octane!   We also make COWBOY ACTION COFFEE, the Official Coffee of the Single Action Shooting Society!   If you are a Chai drinker, you’ll love the Coconut Spiced Chai we bring in from Honolulu.  The Kona Cowboy Coffee Company has updated our website with new prices, new products and more!  Go to www.KonaCowboyCoffee.com and look at the coffees.  Go to the “Chocolates” page and find our new Cowboy Coffee Choco-Drops, a coffee caramel smothered in milk chocolate and dusted in cocoa powder!  We have new Mescalero Morning Cowboy Coffee Candles on our “Bath Products” page, too.

The purpose of this blog is to unite Kona coffee lovers and perhaps learn a little about coffee and all the benefits of coffee at the same time.  Join up, become a member, comment and have fun!  You can find the Kona Coffee Fiends group on Facebook and we’d appreciate it if Facebook users would “LIKE” the Kona Cowboy Coffee Company page at www.facebook.com/pages/Kona-Cowboy-Coffee-Company/222070817858553.  Just copy and paste to your browser.  You can also find us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/jackshuster.  And on the web at www.KonaCowboyCoffee.com to order your gourmet coffee and coffee products.

You know you’re a coffee fiend when you don't sweat, you percolate!  So enjoy your coffee, make it Kona, and remember, Kona is the home of the Hawaiian cowboy…and we had cowboys in Kona before there were cowboys in Texas!

POD MACHINES

Whenever we do a trade show, someone is bound to mention that they have “one of those cup machines.”  So, I grin and bear it, explaining to them that if they bought a good one it will have a cup that they can fill with good coffee.  Then they stand there with a blank stare or a puzzled expression because it was probably a discounted Christmas present from a box store and didn’t come with that little empty cup.   I came across this item about pod machines from Erin Meister, who trains baristas and inspires coffee-driven people for Counter Culture Coffee:

POD MACHINES

          “Lured by the convenience of having "coffee," "espresso," or "green tea" at your fingertips without any grinding or effort beyond the push of a button?  Know that the little plastic cups in the lazy Susan are but a pale comparison to their fresh counterparts, since you have very little control over when the coffee (or "cappuccino") was harvested, roasted, or even ground.  Coffee can taste much better than this, especially when you don't need to feel guilty about all those plastic K-Cups you're tossing into landfills.

          “To my mind, these types of convenience caffeine dispensers are little more than an update on the rest-stop coffee vending machine: Sure, the liquid spewed out is "coffee" by the strictest definition, but is it truly good for anything except preventing highway hypnosis?”

I agree. Erin!  Get a good coffee maker and get excellent coffee.  The Kona Cowboy Coffee Company can tell you where all our coffee is grown and, in some cases, can give you the grower’s phone number!

The Kona Cowboy Coffee Company is proud to provide the finest coffee available for you to stuff into that little plastic cup.  You’ll get a great cup of Joe with PANIOLA 100% Kona Cowboy Coffee, grown on Hawaiian volcanoes and roasted in the Rocky Mountains … the one with no bitter aftertaste and no acidity.  CAFÉ PINON de Nuevo Mexico is the Southwest’s favorite with pinion nuts and a perfect way to improve your coffee experience during the day.  And our MOKA-JAVA is a medium dark roasted blend of Indonesian and Ethiopian coffees that just might be high octane!   We also make COWBOY ACTION COFFEE, the Official Coffee of the Single Action Shooting Society!   If you are a Chai drinker, you’ll love the Coconut Spiced Chai we bring in from Honolulu.  The Kona Cowboy Coffee Company has updated our website with new prices, new products and more!  Go to www.KonaCowboyCoffee.com and look at the coffees.  Go to the “Chocolates” page and find our new Cowboy Coffee Choco-Drops, a coffee caramel smothered in milk chocolate and dusted in cocoa powder!  We have new Mescalero Morning Cowboy Coffee Candles on our “Bath Products” page, too.

The purpose of this blog is to unite Kona coffee lovers and perhaps learn a little about coffee and all the benefits of coffee at the same time.  Join up, become a member, comment and have fun!  You can find the Kona Coffee Fiends group on Facebook and we’d appreciate it if Facebook users would “LIKE” the Kona Cowboy Coffee Company page at www.facebook.com/pages/Kona-Cowboy-Coffee-Company/222070817858553.  Just copy and paste to your browser.  You can also find us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/jackshuster.  And on the web at www.KonaCowboyCoffee.com to order your gourmet coffee and coffee products.

You know you’re a coffee fiend when your only source of nutrition comes from "Sweet & Low!"  So enjoy your coffee, make it Kona, and remember, Kona is the home of the Hawaiian cowboy…and we had cowboys in Kona before there were cowboys in Texas!

CIVET COFFEE

Whenever we do a trade show, someone is bound to jokingly ask about “that coffee that comes from a monkey’s …”  So, I grin and bear it, explaining to them that it’s not a monkey and, no, we don’t have it.  Then I came across this item from Erin Meister, who trains baristas and inspires coffee-driven people for Counter Culture Coffee:

KOPI LUWAK

          “Sure it's "exotic," this Pacific Island coffee that's processed by being digested and, ahem, excreted by a cat-like cutie called a civet (which is what the luwak means, kopi being "coffee"). The beans are harvested from the feces, washed (obviously), and, typically, roasted before leaving its country or source of origin, usually in fancy-seeming vacuum-sealed packs or encased in some other elaborate packaging that just reeks of "fancy coffee."

          “That's not all that reeks, however: Many of the civet coffee on the market is from farms where the animals are force-fed coffee cherry and kept in cages too small for them to turn around. Beyond that, regardless of their animal instinct to eat ripe fruit, the cat-like creatures can't always be counted on to eat the highest quality of coffee, and the animals' and plants' health, environmental conditions, and other myriad dubious factors pretty much guarantee that the only sure thing you'll get with an order of kopi luwak is a crock of, well...”

Thanks, Erin.  Lots of reasons not to spend your money on that!  Now if you want to buy expensive coffee that doesn’t come from the business end of a wild animal…or even one in a cage…the Kona Cowboy Coffee Company has PANIOLA brand 100% Kona Cowboy Coffee estate grown on the western slope of Mauna Loa volcano on the famous Kona Coast of the Big Island of Hawaii.  Sure, you might think it’s expensive but it will be the best darn coffee you’ve ever tasted!

The Kona Cowboy Coffee Company is proud to provide the finest, animal digestion-free coffee available.  You’ll get a great cup of Joe with PANIOLA 100% Kona Cowboy Coffee, grown on Hawaiian volcanoes and roasted in the Rocky Mountains … the one with no bitter aftertaste and no acidity.  CAFÉ PINON de Nuevo Mexico is the Southwest’s favorite with pinion nuts and a perfect way to improve your coffee experience during the day.  And our MOKA-JAVA is a medium dark roasted blend of Indonesian and Ethiopian coffees that just might be high octane!   We also make COWBOY ACTION COFFEE, the Official Coffee of the Single Action Shooting Society!   If you are a Chai drinker, you’ll love the Coconut Spiced Chai we bring in from Honolulu.  The Kona Cowboy Coffee Company has updated our website with new prices, new products and more!  Go to www.KonaCowboyCoffee.com and look at the coffees.  Go to the “Chocolates” page and find our new Cowboy Coffee Choco-Drops, a coffee caramel smothered in milk chocolate and dusted in cocoa powder!  We have new Mescalero Morning Cowboy Coffee Candles on our “Bath Products” page, too.

The purpose of this blog is to unite Kona coffee lovers and perhaps learn a little about coffee and all the benefits of coffee at the same time.  Join up, become a member, comment and have fun!  You can find the Kona Coffee Fiends group on Facebook and we’d appreciate it if Facebook users would “LIKE” the Kona Cowboy Coffee Company page at www.facebook.com/pages/Kona-Cowboy-Coffee-Company/222070817858553.  Just copy and paste to your browser.  You can also find us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/jackshuster.  And on the web at www.KonaCowboyCoffee.com to order your gourmet coffee and coffee products.

You know you’re a coffee fiend when you don't need a hammer to pound nails!  So enjoy your coffee, make it Kona, and remember, Kona is the home of the Hawaiian cowboy…and we had cowboys in Kona before there were cowboys in Texas!

NEWLY UPDATED WEBSITE

The Kona Cowboy Coffee Company has updated our website with new prices, new products and more!  Go to www.KonaCowboyCoffee.com.  Check out our MOKA-JAVA blend of the finest Ethiopian and Indonesian coffees.  Try the new Coconut Spiced CHAI we bring in from Honolulu.  Go to the “Chocolates” page and find our new Cowboy Coffee Choco-Drops, a coffee caramel smothered in milk chocolate and dusted in cocoa powder!  We have new Mescalero Morning Cowboy Coffee Candles on our “Bath Products” page, too.

You will notice that the price has gone up on PANIOLA 100% Kona Cowboy Coffee.  That’s because of the coffee berry borer, a pest plaguing coffee farms in the Big Island's Kona district.  The pest has affected up to 80 percent of coffee farms, leaving some coffee fields in such bad shape that they've been abandoned, creating havens for the beetle.

The insect is smaller than a sesame seed and bores its way into coffee cherries, digs homes and lays eggs. The beans from those cherries aren't usable for making coffee. The pest has reduced the coffee crop and in some cases made farms impossible to harvest for commercial purposes.

Officials plan to distribute the most effective repellent and train farmers to use treatments. They also intend to research new types of pest control that could be more effective at killing the borer and study the insect's genome to find out how it might be similar or different to other pests.

The beetle, known as Hypothenemus hampei, is native to Africa. It was formally identified in Hawaii in 2010 after farmers reported spotting it for a couple years.

No one knows how it arrived in Hawaii, but it's seen in many other coffee-growing regions throughout the world.

So, in a world of supply and demand, less Kona coffee means higher prices and, while prices have been steadily rising over the five years we’ve been in business, we have absorbed the price hikes for our customers.  We just can’t afford to continue that and stay in business.  Thus, Kona is now more expensive…everywhere!

We’re certainly not a large company but we continue to pride ourselves on providing the best coffee available to our customers.  You’ll get a great cup of joe with PANIOLA 100% Kona Cowboy Coffee, grown on Hawaiian volcanoes and roasted in the Rocky Mountains … the one with no bitter aftertaste and no acidity.  CAFÉ PINON de Nuevo Mexico is the Southwest’s favorite with pinion nuts and a perfect way to improve your coffee experience during the day.  And our MOKA-JAVA is a medium dark roasted blend of Indonesian and Ethiopian coffees that just might be high octane!   We also make COWBOY ACTION COFFEE, the Official Coffee of the Single Action Shooting Society! 

The purpose of this blog is to unite Kona coffee lovers and perhaps learn a little about coffee and all the benefits of coffee at the same time.  Join up, become a member, comment and have fun!  You can find the Kona Coffee Fiends group on Facebook and we’d appreciate it if Facebook users would “LIKE” the Kona Cowboy Coffee Company page at www.facebook.com/pages/Kona-Cowboy-Coffee-Company/222070817858553.  Just copy and paste to your browser.  You can also find us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/jackshuster.  And on the web at www.KonaCowboyCoffee.com to order your gourmet coffee and coffee products.

You know you’re a coffee fiend when you can type sixty words per minute ... with your feet!  So enjoy your coffee, make it Kona, and remember, Kona is the home of the Hawaiian cowboy…and we had cowboys in Kona before there were cowboys in Texas!

WEATHER IN YOUR COFFEE CUP

Did you know that your morning cup of coffee can help you predict rain?  It’s a trick used by backpackers that can come in handy for anyone planning to be out of doors: pour a cup of coffee and carefully watch the bubbles. 

Backpacker Magazine writes, If the bubbles amass in the center, you’re in a high-pressure system, which is making the coffee’s surface convex (higher in the middle). Since bubbles are mostly air, they migrate to the highest point.  Bubbles in the middle of your coffee cup mean it’s going to be a beautiful day.  

If the bubbles form a ring around the sides of the mug, you’re in a low-pressure system, making the surface concave.  Bubbles on the sides of your coffee mug means that rain is likely.

Note: It has to be strong, brewed coffee to have enough oil to work, and the mug must have straight sides.

To make new bubbles, simply give your coffee a good stir.

Wow!  Now you can forecast the weather in Kona Cowboy Coffee Company’s four brands of gourmet coffees.  But if it looks cloudy, take an umberella.  You’ll get a great cup of joe with PANIOLA 100% Kona Cowboy Coffee, grown on Hawaiian volcanoes and roasted in the Rocky Mountains … the one with no bitter aftertaste and no acidity.  CAFÉ PINON de Nuevo Mexico is the Southwest’s favorite with pinion nuts and a perfect way to improve your coffee experience during the day.  And our MOKA-JAVA is a medium dark roasted blend of Indonesian and Ethiopian coffees that just might be high octane!   We also make COWBOY ACTION COFFEE, the Official Coffee of the Single Action Shooting Society! 

The purpose of this blog is to unite Kona coffee lovers and perhaps learn a little about coffee and all the benefits of coffee at the same time.  Join up, become a member, comment and have fun!  You can find the Kona Coffee Fiends group on Facebook and we’d appreciate it if Facebook users would “LIKE” the Kona Cowboy Coffee Company page at www.facebook.com/pages/Kona-Cowboy-Coffee-Company/222070817858553.  Just copy and paste to your browser.  You can also find us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/jackshuster.  And on the web at www.KonaCowboyCoffee.com to order your gourmet coffee and coffee products.

You know you’re a coffee fiend when you're so jittery that people use your hands to blend their margaritas!  So enjoy your coffee, make it Kona, and remember, Kona is the home of the Hawaiian cowboy…and we had cowboys in Kona before there were cowboys in Texas!

DIP YOUR TOES IN COFFEE

A City University of New York professor discovered that carbonized coffee can be used to inhibit the smell of raw sewage, among other practical filtration purposes.

Now an upscale professional apparel company that made waves last year by earning nearly $430,000 on Kickstarter to develop its body-temperature-active dress shirt, seems to be applying that research. They are developing another product called Atlas, a sock that it describes as “like a Brita filter for your feet.” As of this writing, supporters had pledged more than $120,000, greatly eclipsing the $30,000 goal.

So what is coffee’s role in the new sock? Here’s more:

“The moisture-wicking, heat-management, and comfort capabilities of ATLAS are all made possible through its unique combination of fibers, a blend made up of cotton, recycled polyester and carbonized coffee. Odor control is difficult in socks. As such, we turned to nature to find an effective way to create a fresher sock, leading us to coffee. Atlas uses carbonized coffee which has been reclaimed from coffee roasters and shops, and is processed through a pharmaceutical process to remove the coffee oils (so it won’t smell like coffee!) and is then infused into our recycled polyester yarns.  Odor molecules which are largely made of carbon are strongly attracted to the carbonized coffee. Atlas has a unique structure (kind of like a sponge with lots of surface area), which allows the particles to absorb a lot of odor. It’s the same concept used in your Brita filter to absorb impurities – giving you clean, fresh water. The odor is released the when you launder your socks – returning to its full capacity.”

The Atlas socks will be produced since the Kickstarter goal was met, and socks will be available in two styles and multiple print patterns.  Better than just wading in your coffee.

We do not recommend twiddling your toes in Kona Cowboy Coffee Company’s four brands of gourmet coffees.  But you can if you’re not going to drink it!   You’ll get a great cup of joe with PANIOLA 100% Kona Cowboy Coffee, grown on Hawaiian volcanoes and roasted in the Rocky Mountains … the one with no bitter aftertaste and no acidity.  CAFÉ PINON de Nuevo Mexico is the Southwest’s favorite with pinion nuts and a perfect way to improve your coffee experience during the day.  And our MOKA-JAVA is a medium dark roasted blend of Indonesian and Ethiopian coffees that just might be high octane!   We also make COWBOY ACTION COFFEE, the Official Coffee of the Single Action Shooting Society! 

The purpose of this blog is to unite Kona coffee lovers and perhaps learn a little about coffee and all the benefits of coffee at the same time.  Join up, become a member, comment and have fun!  You can find the Kona Coffee Fiends group on Facebook and we’d appreciate it if Facebook users would “LIKE” the Kona Cowboy Coffee Company page at www.facebook.com/pages/Kona-Cowboy-Coffee-Company/222070817858553.  Just copy and paste to your browser.  You can also find us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/jackshuster.  And on the web at www.KonaCowboyCoffee.com to order your gourmet coffee and coffee products.

You know you’re a coffee fiend when the nurse needs a scientific calculator to take your pulse!  So enjoy your coffee, make it Kona, and remember, Kona is the home of the Hawaiian cowboy…and we had cowboys in Kona before there were cowboys in Texas!

HOW TO MESS UP YOUR COFFEE

For many of us, the promise of a good cup of coffee gets us out of bed in the morning.  Breana Lai, Associate Food Editor, EatingWell Magazine says that somehow, prying off the warm covers isn't so hard when she knows there is a warm cup of coffee waiting. We at the Kona Cowboy Coffee Copmay agree.  But coffee is very personal. Everyone has a choice coffee-brewing vessel, coffee style and coffee mug.

 Whether you choose to brew your coffee in a single-cup brewer, an automatic coffee maker or a French press, keep in mind there are variables that can affect the quality of the coffee you make. There is a reason the coffee from your local coffee shop tastes better. The coffee is freshly brewed, the beans were just ground, the milk was just steamed and the machine costs as much as a small car. 

While we can't all have the fancy machine (and barista to make the coffee), we can take some lessons from coffee shops to brew a perfect cup of coffee at home.  Here are 7 of the most common and easily remedied coffee-brewing mistakes that stand between you and a great cup of coffee:

1. Dirty Equipment: 
Make sure all parts of the machine have been rinsed thoroughly and no coffee or soap residue remains.

2. Old Beans: 
If you can't remember when you bought your coffee, it's time to buy some new beans! Only buy as much as you will consume in 1 to 2 weeks.  Now you know why the Kona Cowboy Coffee Company packages their coffee in half-pound bags.

3. Pre-Ground Coffee: 
Coffee that has already been ground is more susceptible to oxidation. Grinding your beans as close to brewing as possible ensures freshness.  Our Paniola brand Kona Cowboy Coffee comes in both regular roast and espresso roast in whole beans.

4. Wrong Size of Grounds: 
Each brewing method requires a different size of grind. Coffee that has been ground too fine is often bitter, but if ground too coarse it may be weak. Check your coffee grinder’s manual to find out which size is ideal.

5. Wrong Coffee-to-Water Ratio: 
 For every 6 ounces of coffee, you'll need 2 tablespoons of coffee grounds. Using more, your coffee may be too strong and taste bitter; use less and you'll end up with watery, weak coffee.  We recommend starting with ONE tablespoon of our full bodied gourmet coffees.  ‘Tis better to go up the next time than to pour what you just made down the drain.

6. Improper Water Temperature: 
If the water is too hot, you can scald your coffee, and if it's too low, the flavors will be mellow. The water should be around 200 degrees Fahrenheit, or just before boiling (water boils at 212 degrees Fahrenheit).

7. Impure Water: 
Tap water often contains minerals that can alter the flavor of your coffee. Use bottled spring water or filtered drinking water.  We use bottled water at every trade show where we sell our coffees.

Some folks say that you can’t mess up the Kona Cowboy Coffee Company’s four brands of gourmet coffees.  But you can!   You’ll get a great cup of joe with PANIOLA 100% Kona Cowboy Coffee, grown on Hawaiian volcanoes and roasted in the Rocky Mountains … the one with no bitter aftertaste and no acidity.  CAFÉ PINON de Nuevo Mexico is the Southwest’s favorite with pinion nuts and a perfect way to improve your coffee experience during the day.  And our MOKA-JAVA is a medium dark roasted blend of Indonesian and Ethiopian coffees that just might be high octane!   We also make COWBOY ACTION COFFEE, the Official Coffee of the Single Action Shooting Society! 

The purpose of this blog is to unite Kona coffee lovers and perhaps learn a little about coffee and all the benefits of coffee at the same time.  Join up, become a member, comment and have fun!  You can find the Kona Coffee Fiends group on Facebook and we’d appreciate it if Facebook users would “LIKE” the Kona Cowboy Coffee Company page at www.facebook.com/pages/Kona-Cowboy-Coffee-Company/222070817858553.  Just copy and paste to your browser.  You can also find us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/jackshuster.  And on the web at www.KonaCowboyCoffee.com to order your gourmet coffee and coffee products.

You know you’re a coffee fiend when you chew on other people's fingernails!  So enjoy your coffee, make it Kona, and remember, Kona is the home of the Hawaiian cowboy…and we had cowboys in Kona before there were cowboys in Texas!

MORE COFFEE PROHIBITION

A contemporary example of religious prohibition of coffee can be found in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The organization holds that it is both physically and spiritually unhealthy to consume coffee.  This comes from the Mormon doctrine of health, given in 1833 by founder Joseph Smith in a revelation called the Word of Wisdom. It does not identify coffee by name, but includes the statement that "hot drinks are not for the belly," which has been interpreted to forbid both coffee and tea.

Quite a number of members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church also avoid caffeinated drinks. In its teachings, the Church encourages members to avoid tea and coffee and other stimulants. Abstinence from coffee, tobacco and alcohol by many Adventists has afforded a near unique opportunity for studies to be conducted within that population group on the health effects of coffee drinking, free from confounding factors. One study was able to show a weak but statistically significant association between coffee consumption and mortality from ischemic heart disease, other cardiovascular disease, all cardiovascular diseases combined, and all causes of death.

For a time, there had been controversy in the Jewish community over whether the coffee bean was a legume and therefore prohibited for Passover. Upon petition from coffeemaker Maxwell House, the coffee bean was classified in 1923 as a berry rather than a bean by orthodox Jewish rabbi Hersch Kohn, and therefore kosher for Passover.

Some folks say that the Kona Cowboy Coffee Company’s four brands of gourmet coffees are certainly on their way to becoming spiritual!  You’ll get a great cup of joe with PANIOLA 100% Kona Cowboy Coffee, grown on Hawaiian volcanoes and roasted in the Rocky Mountains … the one with no bitter aftertaste and no acidity.  CAFÉ PINON de Nuevo Mexico is the Southwest’s favorite with pinion nuts and a perfect way to improve your coffee experience during the day.  And our MOKA-JAVA is a medium dark roasted blend of Indonesian and Ethiopian coffees that just might be high octane!   We also make COWBOY ACTION COFFEE, the Official Coffee of the Single Action Shooting Society! 

The purpose of this blog is to unite Kona coffee lovers and perhaps learn a little about coffee and all the benefits of coffee at the same time.  Join up, become a member, comment and have fun!  You can find the Kona Coffee Fiends group on Facebook and we’d appreciate it if Facebook users would “LIKE” the Kona Cowboy Coffee Company page at www.facebook.com/pages/Kona-Cowboy-Coffee-Company/222070817858553.  Just copy and paste to your browser.  You can also find us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/jackshuster.  And on the web at www.KonaCowboyCoffee.com to order your gourmet coffee and coffee products.

You know you’re a coffee fiend when your eyes stay open when you sneeze!  So enjoy your coffee, make it Kona, and remember, Kona is the home of the Hawaiian cowboy…and we had cowboys in Kona before there were cowboys in Texas!