KAU SUPER HONEY
ROAST | MEDIUM
PAHALA, KAU REGION OF THE BIG ISLAND
NOTES: MARASCHINO CHERRY, RASPBERRY, RED WINE & INTENSE COCOA NIBS
The boundaries of anaerobic fermentation is being pushed further into new exciting territories. Part of Delvin Navarro’s extended anaerobic fermentation experiments, the Kau Super Honey is an exotic and intense coffee that shows the effectiveness of modulating taste profile through the art of processing. Pulped, fermented in an anaerobic state for a staggering 500hr results in a coffee that is bold and boozy reminisce to cherry, barrel-aged bitters, and red wine. If you’re fan of experimental coffee and looking to get your hands on a rare coffee from Kau, this is it.
PRODUCERS: DELVIN & SHAWNETTE NAVARRO
FARM NAME: NAVARRO FARM
HARVEST PERIOD: HAND PICKED IN Q1 2024
VARIETAL: TYPICA & PACAMARA
PROCESS: PULPED FOLLOWED BY 500hr ANAEROBIC FERMENTATION IN AIRTIGHT GRAINPRO BAGS. DRIED ON RAISED BEDS FOR APPROXIMATELY 25 DAYS
ALITITUDE: 2000-2100FT ABOVE SEA LEVEL
ROASTING SCHEDULE
Note: We currently roast and ship out all orders on Tuesdays & Fridays
About Anaerobic Fermentation & Kau Super Honey
One method that has become increasingly popular over the recent years is anaerobic fermentation. Defined as an experimental approach to processing that ferments coffee in a oxygen free environment, it can impart distinct characteristics and levels of complexity that are sought out by specialty coffee consumers. While fermentation is, by its nature, an anaerobic process, the term “anaerobic fermentation” refers to the fermentation that occurs in a oxygen-free environment such as a contain, tank, or bags. Fermentation in the traditional aerobic environment results in a quicker, more intense process in which cells metabolize sugars in the presence of oxygen. Because of this, traditional open-air fermentation can only be one for a short period due to risks of over-fermentation of the cherries. Anaerobic fermentation, on the other hand, results in a much slower, less intense fermentation timeline. This give producers with a lot of wiggle-room to extend the fermentation and opening door to development of new and interesting flavors.
In the process of the Kau Super Honey, Delvin Navarro harvested coffee cherries, run them through a pulper, and bagged them in multiple GrainPro hermetic bags. With the mucilage in tack, the coffee were then left in these bags to be fermented for a total of 21 days before being transferred to raised beds where they were sun dried for another 30 days. After the coffee were dried and milled, Delvin dropped off a sample for us. We found the aroma from the green bean to be pleasant and sweet like ripe bananas & berries…. which is always a good sign. Much mahalo to Delvin for allowing us to get our hands on this fun batch. We are a huge sucker for any type of anaerobic processing and hope to be able to showcase this offering all year round.
About Delvin & Shawnette Navarro
Coffee farming runs pretty deeps in the Navarro family. In fact, Shawnette grandfather was actually one of the first farmer to grow coffee in the Kau region. Inspired by Shawnette’s grandfather and many of the older generation of coffee farmers, Delvin decided to pickup coffee farming as well. His journey in coffee farming started off working for Olson Trust, a private landowner that is invested into Hawaiian agriculture, conservation and sustainability. During the 9 years of working for Olson, Delvin earned invaluable experience in the agricultural aspect of growing coffee and producing quality crop. Despite this, it has always been on Delvin’s heart to further the coffee farming legacy of his family and to tend to the farm of Shawnette’s Grandfather. So in 2013, Navarro Farm was founded and the Navarro’s farm’s brand, Hawaiian Monarch Coffee, was created.
Like many coffee farmers starting off, Delvin started tending for his farm by pulling random coffee starts right out of the ground and planting them in neat rows. After many years of hard work, Hawaiian Monarch Coffee now produces top quality coffee that includes a whole range of coffee varietals which includes pacamara, red caturra, typica and red/yellow catuai. What really stood out to us when we first met Delvin was that not only is he a really hard worker, but he is very open-minded and isn’t afraid to try out new things. Along with maintaining his 17 acres farm single-handedly year-around, Devlin also experiments with different processing types such as natural process and honey process. Combining different processing types with the different coffee cultivar Delvin has at his disposal, he’s able to produce unique terroir that showcase the potential of Kau coffee. Delvin hopes that his work will inspire the new generation of farmers that are rising up here on the Big Island.
Having spent time touring the Navarro farm with Delvin and Shawnette, we were excited to purchase and showcase their coffee here at White Nene Coffee Roasters. We hope that this is a beginning of a long relationship and we feel very blessed to be working with such like-minded individuals with a passion for high quality Hawaiian coffee.