Joachim Oster

Male

Kealakekua, HI

United States

Profile Information:

What is your position in the coffee industry?
coffee grower, coffee enthusiast
Where are you located? ( City and Country )
Kealakekua, Hawaii, USA
How many years have you been in the industry?
5+
If you are a barista or shop, are you interested in a barista exchange with another coffee shop/barista?
yes
What cities or countries are you interested in traveling to?
Coffee growing regions on Mauritius, and St. Helena.
About Me:
Grew up on farms and vineyards of the Moselle/Rhine region in Germany. Slaved in Manhattan for two decades but wanted to have dirt under my feet and fingernails again. Found a dilapidated coffee farm with a beautiful orchard on a vacation in Kona, Hawaii. Realizing that pure Kona coffee is next to Napa wine the most prestigious food product in the USA, we started our own 'coffee brand' from tree to cup all under our control. The work is hard, healthy, complex and rewarding. The family is happier than ever and there's always time to sneak down to the beach or hike in the jungle.
About My Company:
Currently we have two brands of 100% Kona Coffee: http://www.athenaofhawaii.com is grown at an 1,400ft elevation and the http://www.bluehorsekona.com beans are grown at 1,200ft. Our coffee is grown without pesticides or herbicides, inspected and certified by the Hawaii Dept. of Ag., processed, roasted, packaged on our farm. We sell mainly retail roasted and green, but have a few wholesale customers - mainly small roasters and cafés. Our small family farm business seems to serve an increasing desire of people wanting to know where their food comes from.
What is your favorite thing about the coffee industry?
Coffee opens the mind of people. Which effects the coffee industry as a whole and makes it friendlier, smarter, more ingenious than others
Website:
http://www.bluehorsekona.com

Comment Wall:

  • israel

    Hola, Joaquín, nice to make your acquaintance. I can relate to wanting dirt in finger nails, and often, all over during rainy season! I had to wait until early retirement but I am happy as a bug doing great coffee. We planted all new on abandoned farm in mountains full of great coffee history. Temperatures here go down into 40's; the trade winds keep these mountains pretty healthy for coffee growing. We also have a couple of brands, all produced, processed, roasted, etc. by us: a small microlot, but proud. Congratulations on concentrating on excellence. We wholesale, and do online. Will talk again, Israel

    Jan 25, 2009

  • israel

    Hola, Joaquín, yes, PR still can protect our coffee industry, but Wallmart et al bring nondescript coffee in paying tariffs and still can sell it here. We have major problems, can't deny it, and right now we are fighting hard to get major changes to start forward again. Those of us who produce specialty coffee and market it wisely do fine, but not the others. Present gov. (I am not political) seems to be on right track. Ditto for Yauco Selecto, the experts tell us. I spoke with the farm manager and he said things were not going well--it has gone from owner to owner. Is that Dr. Colon? give me link to article, pls. Spain is in our near future when we solve volume probelms, hopefully this year. We lose most of our crop bec. of insufficient pickers, so we are working on resolving that to act on other markets. Thanks, israel

    Mar 22, 2009