Media release | Fern Gavelek Communications

Leaders of the specialty coffee industry are traveling to the stateʻs largest agricultural district this weekend to learn about award-winning Ka‘ū coffee.

Representing three areas of the US Mainland, they include specialty coffee guru George Howell of Terroir Coffee in Acton, Mass.; Skip Fay of Dunn Bros Coffee in Minneapolis, Minn. and James Freeman of Blue Bottle Coffee in Oakland, Calif.

The notable coffee experts are participating in Ka‘ū coffeeʻs inaugural reverse trade mission as part of the third Ka‘ū Coffee Festival May 14-15 at the Pahala Community Center. They will learn first-hand about Ka‘ū coffee during Saturday festival activities, including guided tastings and farm tours. On Sunday, the men will give guest lectures to local coffee farmers at the free Ka‘ū Coffee College.

“We’re pleased and proud that these notable industry leaders are traveling to Ka‘ū to share in our community”, said Chris Manfredi who serves as lead festival organizer. “This strategic initiative to create collaborative relationships will benefit Ka‘ū growers and moves us another step forward on the path toward establishing Ka‘ū as a premium coffee growing origin.”

A pioneer of the specialty coffee movement in the early 1970s, George Howell founded The Coffee Connection, a high-end coffee retailer that was acquired by Starbucks in 1994. He is an expert on single-origin coffee and is a living legend in the industry.

Marshall “Skip” Fay is executive vice president of Dunn Bros Coffee Franchising, Inc. He opened Dunnʻs first franchised coffee house and roastery in 1994. Today there are 90 locations.

Named one of the New York Times’ “Nifty 50,” James Freeman is on coffee’s radar for his Blue Bottle coffee company in San Francisco’s Bay Area. Freeman’s network of coffee carts and cafes offer carefully made coffee drinks and he is committed to selling beans “less than 48 hours out of the roaster.”

The Ka‘ū Coffee Festival comes on the heels of recent coffee industry awards garnered by brews that hail from the rural southern end of the Big Island. Kailiawa Farm earned a Coffee of the Year award in the 2011 Specialty Coffee Association of Americaʻs (SCAA) annual international cupping competition. More than 120 specialty coffee submissions, representing 17 countries, competed in Houston. This marks the fifth consecutive year Ka‘ū coffees have placed at or near the top of international competition. Manfredi first introduced Ka‘ū to intentional competition in 2007 and his company, Ka‘ū Farm and Ranch, LLC, has sponsored the entries every year since.

On May 3, Hawai‘iʻs Pete Licata used Ka‘ū and Kona coffees to be the first from the 50th State to win the U.S. Barista Championship. The event is the culmination of 10 regional competitions organized by SCAA in which competitors produce espresso, cappuccinos and original signature drinks to exacting standards. Licata, of Honolulu Coffee Co., travels to Bogota, Columbia, June 2-5 to vie in the prestigious World Barista Championship.

All coffee-industry related activities at the Ka‘ū Coffee Festival are open to the general public; some require a fee.

Guided coffee tastings are $5 at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. and will be led by Licata and a host of coffee experts: Miguel Meza, coffee-quality consultant and co-owner of Isla Coffee Company; Dr. Shawn Steinman, coffee scientist and owner of Coffea Consulting; Andrew Hetzel, founder/director Cafemakers LLC; and Lorie Obra of Rusty’s Hawaiian Coffee, 2010 Grand Champion Hawaii Coffee Assoc. Cupping Competition.

Coffee farm tours are $10 throughout Saturday and Sunday and the Ka‘ū Coffee College is free. With the exception of the 1 p.m. recipe contest sampling for $5, all other festival activities are free, including a full day of entertainment headlined by Cyril Pahinui.

The Ka‘ū Coffee Festival is 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday. For a complete lineup of activities for the entire family, visit www.kaucoffeefestival.com; and follow the Ka‘ū Coffee Festival on Facebook and Twitter at kaucoffeefest.

According to AAA, the statewide average price for regular unleaded is $4.34 a gallon, 20 cents less than a week ago.

The average price in Honolulu is $4.21 per gallon, 22 cents less than last week, 17 cents less than a month ago and 76 cents higher than this time last year.

In Hilo, the average gas price is $4.24 a gallon, a quarter less than last week, 26 cents less than last month and 68 cents more than this time last year.

Kailua-Kona is still up around the $4.48 a gallon mark, with Costco being the exception at $4.33 a gallon.

Wailuku’s average is $4.78 a gallon, 12 cents less than last week, eight cents less than last month and 86 cents more than on this date last year.

I can only assume that Maui residents can look forward to another 8-10 cents/gallon drop in price, to at least keep in pace with the rest of the state, which has seen an average drop of 22 cents/gallon.   Granted, Maui County and the Kailua-Kona area are always among the highest in the state…and country.

But, before you start celebrating by running out and buying a new SUV or full-size pick-up truck, many analysts are forecasting that oil could easily rise back to $150-200/barrel in the next 1-2 years if things continue to remain unsettled or get worse in the middle-east.  Of course, that would send gas prices soaring to the $5.00+ a gallon mark.  We can only hope they’re wrong.

It always amazes me how it takes weeks for lower oil prices to filter down to the gas pumps, but any increase in oil shows up at the pump overnight.  And, in some products its hard to see any lowering at all, like motor oil.  It is hard to justify the $3.00+ they have been charging for a quart of oil, even when gas was down in the last year.

Here’s a recent press release from the Hawaii Volcanoes Observatory located within the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park:

Volcano Watch | USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory

The steady stream of lava cascading down the slopes above Kalapana village died out shortly after March 5 this year, when the spectacular Kamoamoa fissure eruption began. That fissure eruption lasted four days and was followed by a pause in activity on the east rift zone that persisted for 17 days. On March 26, lava returned to Pu`u `O`o crater, which has been the main vent area for much of the 28-year-long eruption.

For the last month, the activity in Pu`u `O`o has remained relatively stable, with a small lava lake on the crater floor. Lava rises at one end of the lake, slowly migrates to the opposing side, and sinks. Occasionally, the lava level rises a small amount, but it has, overall, stayed deep below the crater rim. With lava confined to the crater in relatively unremarkable fashion, it begs the question, What’s next for Pu`u `O`o?

The answer will likely have important ramifications. If lava were to exit Pu`u `O`o on its east side, flows could return to the Kalapana area and again threaten houses (three occupied houses have been destroyed over the past year). If lava exits on the west side, flows will remain in the National Park and may be more accessible for visitors.

Let’s look at some recent examples of these two scenarios. In January 1997, an intrusion and fissure eruption occurred much like that in March of this year. The floor of Pu`u `O`o crater collapsed as magma drained back into the conduit—again, like the recent episode. There was a pause of 23 days, after which Pu`u `O`o slowly refilled with lava. Eventually, lava began pouring out from vents on the west flank of Pu`u `O`o.

These flows traveled south and eventually reached the sea, establishing the first of several lava tubes that carried lava away from Pu`u `O`o for the next 10 years. The flows expanded the west margin of the flow field, consuming more of the Chain of Craters Road. Since the flows were often just a short walk from the end of the road, lava-viewing was exceptional and because they flowed in the Park, there was no hazard to Kalapana residences.

In late June 2007, another intrusion and brief eruption occurred, and the floor of Pu`u `O`o collapsed as magma once again drained back into the conduit. This was followed by a pause of 10 days, after which lava started to refill Pu`u `O`o crater. On July 21, 2007, fissures opened on the east flank of Pu`u `O`o, and flows focused on the Fissure D vent. Flows were directed northeast for the first four months after which a vent wall collapse diverted them to the south.

The Fissure D vent (also called the TEB vent) remained active for three-and-a-half years and sent flows down the east side of the flow field. These flows destroyed several occupied houses and buried a significant amount of private property in Kalapana Gardens and Royal Gardens subdivisions. Because the flows were on state and private property, access to them was severely restricted, making lava viewing more limited.

The two examples above show the very different consequences for flows exiting Pu`u `O`o from the east versus the west sides. But in both cases, flows traveled south towards the ocean. There is a third possibility that flows could exit Pu`u `O`o and travel north of the rift zone. In this case, the flows could slowly migrate northeast toward communities north of Pahoa. This possibility, however, is much less likely, as Pu`u `O`o prefers to send its flows down the much steeper slopes to the south.

Right now, it’s impossible to tell whether lava will leave Pu`u `O`o on the east or the west side. As Pu`u `O`o’s magma reservoir continues to pressurize over the coming weeks, we may begin to see more changes on the surface that could provide an indicator.

While it is too soon to tell what course the eruption will take in the coming weeks, HVO will continue to keep a close eye on Pu`u `O`o and watch for Pele’s next move.

For those of you who are not familiar with the Merrie Monarch Festival, held annually in Hilo, this is the consummate hula competition drawing competitors from around the world.  This week long celebration of the “hula” dance form is held in celebration of King Kalakaua, aka the Merrie Monarch, who was responsible for reviving this art form which had been previously banned by the missionaries in Hawaii.

If you’ll follow this link to the Big Island Video News site, you’ll get a taste of what’s in store for attendees at this year’s competition.

The Festival includes a parade, demonstrations, arts and crafts, and lots of food, as you would expect .  The final competition is held on Friday and Saturday and has been sold out for months.  Whether you have plans to attend or not, if you plan on being on the Big Island this week, even if that happens to be in Kailua-Kona on the other side of the island, it would serve you well to double check your reservations on car rentals, as they will be in very short supply this week.

If you have not already reserved your car for this week, I can pretty much assure you the odds you finding one are very, very slim.  This is not the week to be price-shopping for rental rates…you’re just looking for wheels!

Other events that have this same impact on the Big Island include the annual Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament (July 25-29, 2011) and the Ford Iron-Man World Championship Tri-athalon (Oct. 8, 2011), both held in Kailua-Kona.  Either plan ahead or plan around these dates to avoid the crowds.

Media release | USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory

Following an almost 17-day pause in eruptive activity, lava is once again visible on Kilauea Volcano’s east rift zone according to the U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.

At 10:09 a.m. HST on Saturday, March 26, 2011, lava returned to the Pu‘u ‘O‘o crater. HVO Webcam images (http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/hvo/cams/POcam/) showed lava slowly filling the deepest parts of the crater.

An abrupt deflation occurred about the same time that lava appeared in the crater, but the deflation then switched to inflation by 11:00 a.m. The eruption of lava was also heralded by a brief seismic tremor burst, in which tremor levels doubled and then began to slowly decrease.

At 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, Jim Kauahikaua, HVO’s Scientist-in-Charge, said, “Lava is currently confined to the Pu‘u ‘O‘o crater and, so far, poses no threat to structures within Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park or outside Park boundaries.”

On March 5, the Pu‘u ‘O‘o crater floor, on which nearly 75 m (250 ft) of lava had accumulated during the past year, began to collapse around 2:00 p.m. Three hours later, a fissure opened southwest of Pu‘u ‘O‘o and began erupting fountains of lava from active vents that eventually extended to Napau Crater.

Lava continued to erupt from the Kamoamoa fissure until the night of March 9, when all activity on Kilauea’s east rift zone paused. Since then, no lava had erupted from east rift zone vents until today.

Kauahikaua stated that additional information about the return of lava to Pu‘u ‘O‘o will be posted on HVO’s Web site as it becomes available.

For daily eruption updates, status reports, and information on recent earthquakes in Hawai‘i, please visit the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory website at:  http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov

The major airlines have raised airfares for the 7th time this year, so for those who keep asking whether they should wait to buy a ticket to Hawaii, the answer would seem to be a resounding no.  However, it is important to remember what is primarily responsible for this latest round of price increases…the higher cost of oil.

The price of oil has surged ever higher over the last 6-8 weeks, as things became unsettled in north Africa.  The question that must be asked is, will things settle down there once the fate of Moammar Gadhafi becomes clearer.  The leadership of Egypt succumbed to the public outcries for a change as the call for more political reform becomes more wide spread throughout the oil producing region.

Should things settle down and the climate become more stable, it is possible that oil prices will also settle down and hopefully, fall back some.  Of course, that is also dependent upon who actually comes into power and what their political and religious outlook is.  We can only hope that whomever ascends to fill the vacuum, they will bring stability and reason with them.

In the meantime, we can look forward to more price increases and probably more or higher fees, such as USAirways recent increase in their excess and overweight baggage fees.  In the short term, if your travel plans fall within the next 30-60 days, it might be a good idea not to wait for the next round of price increases to be announced.

Well, I found another video and report that give the best description I have yet to find on the damage that Kailua-Kona suffered from the recent tsunami.  The media in general has down-played damages from the tsunami and the catastrophic events in Japan has overshadowed it as well, but for those who may be interested, follow this link:  Big Island Video News…3/16/2011

Anyone who had plans to stay in Kailua-Kona would do well to call ahead and verify the status of your reservations.  The Kona Village Resort will likely be closed for repairs for months.

The King Kamehameha Hotel and Resort also sustained damage, although their damage was limited to the first floor and so should not affect too many, however, the damage did include the hotel reception area and they have not indicated how long or how much that will affect their operations.

Several businesses along Ali’i Drive were severely damaged and will take some time before re-opening, the most notable of which is the Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. restaurant.  Several hundred yards of Ali’i Drive itself was badly damaged and while the road has re-opened, it is undetermined when permanent repairs will be completed.

They also have some video coverage of the volcanic activity and resulting forest fires that has temporarily closed the Chain of Craters road.