Coffees of Hawaii- French Roast 100% Kona Blend

Today is another 'Coffees of Hawaii' Coffee- It's a French Roast 100% Kona blend




Upon opening the bag, I didn't even have to look at the label to see it was a French roast. Very dark and oily, this bean has a very distinct smell. Anyone who knows anything about French roasts, knows that this kind of coffee is not just for any novice. You have to like a very burnt taste to your coffee.

The bean isn't burnt really, it's just the taste it takes on after being roasted for a period of time. Basically french roasted coffee is roasted longer than a light roast. When roasting the beans, they pop (or crack) once and then they're closer to a light roast, after a second time, it's closer to a french roast. It's not that common to see a Kona French Roast. Mainly because coffees from Kona or other island areas like to roast lighter, to preserve the natural flavor of the region. And I'll be honest, I'm not a big fan of french roasts. Some people think this is the darkest roast there is, but it's not. Many italian roasts are even darker and I've heard of a "Spanish" roast (never seen or had it though) that is the darkest they get. But the longer you roast a bean, the more it's going to take on the flavor of the roasting itself. And this French Roast is definitely no exception. One more thing you might not know about darker roasts either, they have LESS caffeine. Some people think they have more because of how smoky and burnt they taste, but that is not the case. Just a little tidbit of info from me to you.

The Coffee itself is a little smoother than other dark roasts I have had, that is probably because of the Kona. The roast itself makes the beans oily and I can see a very faint film of oil on the top of my coffee as well. It's definitely not as bitter as other coffees. I can even smell a very faint odor of dark chocolate and berry. And the fact that this is a Kona blend, makes it all that more special. I will always have a spot in my heart for Kona coffee, and even though it's a *blend* I can still taste the unique flavor of the bean. Even sitting here with the open bag nearby, the smell of the beans are so potent, they fill the room. I'm definitely not a black coffee drinker (sorry guys!) but this coffee??? I might make an exception...

Starbucks...600 down....16000 to go

As most of you are aware (really ALL of you should be aware if have ever met me) I am anti-Starbucks. I will be the first to admit I wasn't always this way. I once got a speeding ticket because I was caffeine deprived and upon seeing a Starbucks sign on the highway, I gunned it and was pulled over for going 20 miles over the speed limit. My excuse of getting carried away by the excitement of coffee didn't help me at all with the police officer, he only gave me an odd look and finished writing my $200 ticket.

But people can change, and after some time working in the indie coffee shops, I see that Starbucks is nothing but a fast food chain of coffee. They even have drive-thrus in many of them to make things even faster for the person on-the-go and in need of some overpriced over-roasted crap coffee. But when i woke up this morning and saw that the coffee chain had changed it's number from 100 to 600 stores that were closing nationwide, I was...well...not surprised. I KNOW a lot of it has to do with the economy. Money is tight and when people are trying to pinch pennies, the first thing to go is their expensive coffee habit. Start brewing at home and save that $5 a day. But it's also because Starbucks got greedy. WAY too greedy and full of itself. They expanded too fast, thinking the failing economy could not possibly touch it. But they were wrong. In many cities, you can see multiple stores on a radius of just a few blocks. The saying that there is a Starbucks on every block is true in many cases. They saturated the world with their overpriced shit coffee and overly cheery "baristas" with their green visors and perma-grins. I refuse to label these workers baristas, since all they do is froth some milk and push some buttons. I know it's not their fault, they work for a company with good benefits and decent tips, and I can't really blame them for donning that green apron every day. I even had some job offers to work for Starbucks. But every time, I turned them down, scared of what it would do to my skills, to my mind...to my soul. I love coffee too much to just push some buttons and call out drinks that take me 30 seconds to say.

So 600 stores are closing. It's the economy plus corporate greediness.. PLUS lack of quality. You can't dismiss that. It is nothing new to say their coffee quality is sub-par. Yea, as a friend of mine pointed out, they DID start out as a little coffee shop in Seattle, they developed a customer base, and they branched out... to become the biggest Coffee Company in the world. But like many small businesses that expand so quickly, they lost their heart along the way. They lost what it means to take a second and make a good cup of coffee. It became something to do as quickly as possible, take the order, make the drink, call it out, and have the customer be on their way. Like you're in an assembly line, nothing more than a nameless faceless drink order. If you come in often and become a regular, they might remember your name and your drink, say hello to you as you walk in the door like Norm from Cheers. But generally speaking, you're just someone waiting in an eternal line to get a drink that isn't worth half the amount of money you spent on it. Am i bitter? No. I just know what good coffee is, and that knowledge prevents me from ever going back to the coffee chain. Once you've been enlightened, everything else, is just shit...and who wants to pay $5 for shit?? I know I don't. So goodbye 600 stores, hope those workers find other jobs quickly and at the very least Starbucks takes care of them. I AM sorry those people are losing their jobs. It's not their fault the stores are closing but they have to pay for it. They're saying possible 12,000 jobs could be eliminated because of this. They are going to try and re-distribute these employees in other stores though.

Though maybe other businesses can learn a valuable lesson from Starsucks, regardless of how big you get or how much money is coming in, remember how it all started. With a quality company and quality products. People stop seeing all that and just see dollar signs. But in the end, it's the almighty dollar that damaged them.

Greed is one of the seven deadly sins for a reason...