I recently met Sam Suiter, a man who impressed me. He is the Director of Operations for a family owned business named Honolulu Coffee Co.  When I first met Sam it was in passing. He said he was on island to open a 2nd coffee shop at the south end of the Hilton Waikoloa Beach Resort. The first shop is at the north end of the Hilton’s rather expansive property.  Sam offered that I should come by the shop and try their coffee. Which I did. Many offers come into my life and I try to honor them all but when it’s an offer to try some coffee I am often skeptical. Since we moved to Hawaii my coffee tastes have become rather refined. No Starbucks for me, thank you!!  If it’s Kona coffee it has to be the best. As Zig Ziglar said, “Good things are seldom cheap and cheap things are never good.”

Since it is a beautiful, albeit windy, day I decided to walk the short mile from home to the Hilton property. Arriving at the southern coffee shop, the newest, I inquired about Sam’s whereabouts. The staff greeted me with aloha (warm, welcoming love) and informed me he was at the northern shop and offered me something to drink.  I grabbed a cup of ice water and headed to the other end of the property. I could’ve taken the monorail (Yes, the Hilton Waikoloa Beach Resort property is so large there is a monorail from one end to the other) but I chose to walk it. I was a man on a mission.

Upon arriving at the northern coffee shop I found Sam and he offered me a wonderful latte. Generally speaking I don’t drink lattes other than the occasional iced mocha latte. All that milk gets in the way of good coffee. Upon his recommendation I tried his latte. Tom, his maestro barista, had been flown in special to train the new crew at the new shop. He made me a beautiful latte which was very well balanced and smooth. Sam also had me try a shot of their drip coffee. It was light on flavor, low on acid with a smooth finish. The flavor was what I have come to expect from a better Kona coffee, hints of cocoa.

Sam and I talked for awhile and we found one thing we both have in common. We are connoisseurs of the finer things in life. It was nice to meet a kindred spirit, especially surrounding coffee.  Honolulu Coffee Co. sells a gamut of coffee drinks, pastries, and, of course, bags of coffee. Their coffee comes in 10%, 25%, and 100% Kona blends including extra fine and peaberry.  The blend is coffee from Panama and Costa Rica.

If you are in the Waikoloa Beach area you should stop in and grab a latte from Honolulu Coffee Co. and head to the lagoon or Buddha Point and relax. Life is all about the experiences we have and this was a good one.

Aloha,  James Christopher

ThruJimsEyes.com

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