Maui Estate Coffee

At 3,300 feet in Upcountry Kula, this is coffee grown at real elevation — the kind that actually affects how the plant develops and, eventually, what ends up in your cup. Erik Andersen planted the first trees in 1989 on about an acre and a half of family land, deliberately choosing coffee over protea or avocado. Not because it was easier — it isn't — but because that was the point. The farm ships direct, which matters more than it sounds. Hawaiian estate coffee has a provenance chain that's genuinely easy to muddy; buying from the people who grew it cuts through that cleanly. Worth knowing about if you're trying to find the real thing.

There is a side of Maui that is often unseen by most. The elevated land of Upcountry Kula, perched at 3,300 feet, is home to Maui Estate Coffee Co., the purveyors of the finest beans in Hawaii. As kama'aina of Maui, Hawaii, the Andersen family is well-loved and regarded for their kind, generous spirits and widespread creative pursuits from metal work to music, hula and the arts. In 1989, In 1989, Erik opted to plant coffee trees on an acre and a half of land at his family homestead homestead instead of the far less labor intensive protea plants or avocado trees. After nearly twenty years of "working my day job and raising three great kids," Erik was ready to pour his energy into harvesting coffee beans. Turns out, Kula's high elevation paired with its rich volcanic soil and intermittent bursts of sunlight between thick cloud cover are ideal conditions to grow and harvest coffee. Erik now works the land day in and day out to produce two harvests a year resulting in 1,000 pounds of wonderfully rich and smooth coffee.