"kona" news and stories

Some brews, such as Guinness, shine in colder weather while others are more suited to the beachy crowd (ever seen a Corona commercial?). As per American craft beers, plenty of breweries have a summer seasonal in their arsenals, but these eight feature a whole slew of suds to keep you refreshed despite the heat waves (we listed our faves alphabetically).

8. Abita - Maybe it's the local swelter in which they were created, but Louisiana's Abita brews seem well-suited to any hot day, especially Purple Haze, Restoration and Strawberry Harvest -- as fruity as it sounds.

7. Bell's - Some say that spring isn't actually here until Bell's Oberon is released (a notion we far prefer to a neurotic groundhog) and their Two-Hearted Ale may be the best summer IPA in the biz.

6. Brooklyn - Sure, they offer a Summer Ale, but with year-rounds including a nice Weisse, a baseball-adorned Pennant Ale and a refreshing Pilsner, summer in Brooklyn is secure.

5. Harpoon - Harpoon has an aptly named Summer Beer made in the Kölsch style, but their UFO Hefeweizen garnished with a touch of citrus is one of the most drinkable American wheats on the market. The light, crisp Harpoon IPA is only mildly hoppy and is another winner.

The final four after the jump!

The Big Island City Council in Hawaii has just passed a resolution to require coffee sellers to use more Kona Coffee in their "Kona coffee blends." Currently, the required minimum amount for a coffee to be labeled with the Kona blend term is only 10% of the beans. The new resolution ups the amount to 75% - an increase the growers and officials say is necessary to protect the Kona coffee name and reputation, as well as the financial well-being of the growers. They borrowed the 75% standard from California wine growers, who require that 75% of the grapes used in a wine to come from California grapes.

Proponents of the change, which passed through the council in a unanimous vote, say that not only will this protect the (wee deserved) reputation of Kona coffee as a luxury product, but it will ultimately prove to be better for consumers, who will know with certainty what they are paying for when they buy a Kona Blend and won't end up overpaying for a substandard product that bears the region's name.

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Coca-Cola isn't the only one pursuing brand extension by capitalizing on the U.S. coffee craze. I grabbed a 17-stick pack of  Wrigley's Doublemint Kona Creme at my local convenience store the other day. The only good thing about this new coffee-flavored gum from Wrigley's is that  they omitted the Doublemint part and kept the flavor to Kona Creme.

And just what does Kona Creme taste like? Imagine a cup of light and sweet from a coffee truck, sans caffeine. As a staunch enemy of decaf, I'd much rather restrict my coffee candy intake to such high-test java candies as Pocket Coffee.

I can't possibly imagine what the product development gang at Wrigley could have been thinking, especially since most folks use gum to eliminate coffee breath as opposed to getting it. Did they  want to tap into the underserved market for brown chewing gum?

The gigantic 76-pound jackfruit grown on Hawaii's Big Island two years ago now has some company. Joining it in Guinness World Records is the  world's heaviest mango – a whopping five pounds, seven ounces – grown in Kailua, Kona.

Colleen Porter, who has a small mango and avocado orchard, tended the freakish fruit for two months, even covering it with plastic bag to keep birds from eating it. Before she harvested it she almost gave up growing altogether. I know it's a long shot, but given Hawaii's track record so far, I'm holding out for the world's largest Kona coffee bean.

[image: The Honolulu Advertiser]

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I will admit that both of these were gifts, but I am a big fan of chocolate covered coffee beans and often buy them as snacks for myself. I love the smoothness of the chocolate with the crunch and flavor of a coffee bean - sort of a deconstructed mocha. But how do the more than twice as expensive Dean & Deluca beans stack up to their Trader Joes counterpart?

Dean & Deluca's confection had excellent chocolate surrounding a large bean. The flavors blended amazingly well and the whole thing had a distinctly caramely tone to it, though the coffee bean flavor was evident. Excellent ratio - a bit more than 1:1: - of chocolate to bean.