A Visit to my Cousin’s Coffee Farm
Friday, July 13, 2012 at 4:00AM 
By Sandy Hu
I come from a line of Kona coffee farmers on my mother’s side of the family. My grandpa and grandma Honda had a small coffee farm, as did many of my aunts and uncles. Today, my cousin Randall in Holualoa, Hawaii, is the only one carrying on the tradition.
Instead of a recipe demo for Video Friday, we’re visiting Randall’s farm and picking some coffee! To learn more about Kona coffee, read The Hawai‘i Coffee Book, A Gourmet’s Guide from Kona to Kaua‘i by Shawn Steiman, c. 2008, published by Watermark Publishing. And, if you ever visit the Big Island of Hawaii, enter the world of the immigrant coffee farmer with a trip to The Kona Coffee Living History Farm that vividly and authentically recreates the experience.
Then try this recipe from Tehani Bray, a winner of the Kona Coffee Cultural Festival cooking contest, whose recipe was published in The Hawai‘i Coffee Book.
Kona Mocha Roca
Recipe Contest Entrant Tehani Bray
1/2 pound butter
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon light corn syrup
1/4 cup 100 percent Kona coffee, strongly brewed
2 cups chopped macadamia nuts, ½ cup reserved for topping
8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
Melt butter with sugar, syrup and coffee over medium to medium-high heat in a large nonstick pan or a stir-fry pan. Stir continuously with a wooden spoon. When butter is melted add the macadamia nuts. After mixture comes to a boil, set your timer for 11 to 12 minutes and keep stirring. The mixture will thicken and turn darker. Pour the candy onto a large cookie sheet and smooth it out with the back of a spoon. Sprinkle the chocolate chips on the top, and when they begin to melt spread the chocolate evenly over the candy. Sprinkle the remaining nuts on top. Let it cool. (Optional: use the refrigerator to speed up the cooling process.) When it is cool, you can lift the whole thing off the cookie sheet or break it into small pieces.
Serves 8
Recipe from The Hawai‘i Coffee Book, A Gourmet’s Guide from Kona to Kaua‘i by Shawn Steiman c. 2008, by Watermark Publishing.
Note: This recipe doesn’t use a candy thermometer to determine when the candy is done. I cooked my mixture for the stated time and my candy was a little grainy, but still very tasty; I might cook it a little longer next time. While my candy didn’t come off the cookie sheet in one piece as described, I was able to chunk out nice pieces using a metal spatula. I used 60 percent cacao chocolate chips, which are more bittersweet than semi-sweet.
Caution: Butter and sugar will become very hot; be very careful when pouring the mixture out.
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Reader Comments (1)
thanks