Kauai Coffee Visit

Coffee by the sea

A few weeks ago, I went on my first visit to a coffee farm. While on Kauai with my family we visited Kauai Coffee, which isn’t too far from Poipu (a town on the south of the island known for hot, sunny weather).

Coffee flowers

I bent over to inhale the perfume from these flowers, and trust me, the smell is intoxicating. Very similar to jasmine.

The coffee tickler

There was a fairly in-depth self tour around part of the coffee plantation. A number of the facts were very interesting. For example, the electricity used on the farm is generated from waterfalls elsewhere on the island. I also found out about the “coffee tickler”, a machine that gently flicks little arms past the coffee bushes to take off the riper berries.

There was, of course, a coffee sampling area in the visitor center. I went wild, and tried almost every one of the dark blends. It was followed by the most wonderful caffeine rush.

The gorgeous landscape for growing coffee

Solitude and Getting Away

I came across the article “Where Home Is Really About Getting Away From It All” a few days ago.

Small island near Kīlauea Lighthouse on Kauai

My family just went on a week-long trip to Kauai. The scenery was breathtaking. There’s something so unique about Hawaii. But it was a vacation. A nine day long vacation, which felt long enough to lose track of time and color my dreams. It was relaxing, but there was no delusion about permanently “escaping” the real world.

In fact, even though I was on vacation there were definitely some things that took me by surprise. It’s amazing to me that on an island 3,000 miles from the continental United States I can get baby food and diapers *cheaper* than I can in Seattle. Why is so much of the food shipped in? I read in a travel guide borrowed from someone on our flight that 90% of Kauai’s food comes from somewhere else. There are also problems with where to put all their waste. It’s not like garbage can get dumped 100 miles away – unless it’s into the ocean.

The New York Times article about getting away from it all really seemed to be a collection of men bent on escaping reality by moving where there were no other humans. They could afford to do it, too. Their only problem appears to be loneliness.

I love taking trips, but also have to remember that there is a reason I moved where I am – there is beauty here too.

View from my backyard in Seattle