When college is in session and stress is at an all-time high while sleep is at an all-time low, a student may choose to incorporate a little caffeine in one’s life to hopefully make it easier to stay awake and achieve those last-minute deadlines, or perhaps one is more of the kind that likes to sip and enjoy their coffee like how one likes to enjoy a good book. Below are some of the best and tastiest coffee brands I’ve come across throughout my life that provide me the extra kick I need, whether I’m completing a Java assignment or writing a complex poem.
-
Kauai Coffee
This coffee brand has been my family’s favorite for years, and I guess what’s partly to blame is my mom’s passionate love and worship for Hawaii. Everyday would I hear of how ever since she was six and took her first trip to Hawaii, she felt that it “called to her” and that she “belonged” there. Where do you think my parents took a honeymoon to? Hawaii. Where do you think my mom wants to retire? Hawaii (although they say it’s terrible for taxes). Where do you think she wants to plan our next vacation? Hawaii, and I’ve been there three times already, coming back with luggage full of chocolate macadamia nuts that we quickly scurry to the freezer, Red Dirt Shirts, Muumuus, Hawaiian shirts that would go directly into my dad’s closet, flower hairclips, pins, necklaces, and earrings all the like, Lilikoi juice and jams, tangled Kukui nut leis, and Plumeria perfume my grandmother would spray all over. You can say that we always come back with the entire Hilo Hattie store. When I’m not comforting her while she’s mourning over why Customs won’t let her bring her spicy Ghost Pepper sauce and her Ziplock bags of fresh Lillikoi that we got from the farmer’s market, I’m comforting her for her sorrow of how no sand at any beach can compare to Hawaii’s soft, white sand. Heck, I even got an entire QuizBowl question correct for my team on naming the islands in the Hawaiian archipelago during my high school’s Spirit Week just because she felt it was her duty to educate me on Hawaii. I can’t complain. I love Hawaii too. My entire family does.
One thing that has always captivated my mom is Kona coffee. For those of you who don’t know, Kona coffee is coffee grown on the Big Island of Hawaii, grown on Hualalai’s and Mauna Loa’s gradients, two of Big Island’s volcanoes. Kona coffee is purely made of Arabica beans, which is arguably the highest quality, tastiest, and sweetest coffee bean there is. The volcanic soil the coffee is grown in is full of minerals, which is good for growing conditions. Though it is quite expensive, my mom would still buy briefcases full of it. It is considered some of the most valuable coffee in the world.
Other than Big Island, Kauai has always attracted my mom more than the other islands in the Hawaiian archipelago, largely because it is less affected by American assimilation and more true to its native Hawaiian roots, while also having enchanting nature unlike anywhere else. That’s why when we first found this coffee brand in the store, my mom was overjoyed.
Although Kauai coffee is obviously not Kona coffee because it’s grown on Kauai and not on Big Island, the growing conditions for it is similar to that of Kona, and it has its own unique flavor to it. The flavor of the coffee is sweet, yet bitter, so it provides a very balanced flavor. Unlike most brands on mainland United States that claim to sell Hawaiian coffee when all they’re really selling is a blend (such as a Kona blend), which is about 10% Hawaiian coffee and 90% coffee from countries such as Brazil and Colombia, this particular brand is 100% from Hawaii. Like Kona coffee, it is 100% made of Arabica beans, but unlike Kona coffee, it’s relatively cheap and not much more expensive than other typical coffee brands you find in an American grocery store. What I love about this brand is that they sell both K-Cups and pure coffee grinds, so everyone can enjoy and drink up! The brand sells all these fun flavors, such as chocolate and vanilla macadamia nut, Hawaiian Holiday Spice, Hawaiian Toasty Banana Nut Cream, and more. We just like to get the original flavor, which is the Regular Medium Roast. I personally like to put some Vita Coco Coconut Milk inside of mine, with a little bit of sugar, and sometimes a teaspoon of vanilla extract. Perhaps you may drink yours with a little bit of Hawaiian bread on the side, some chocolate macadamia nuts, or maybe if you feel fancy and into the baking mood, a Hawaiian style doughnut (a Malasada), which is basically just fried dough rolled in sugar. If you really find yourself liking the brand and find yourself in Kauai, you can actually visit the Kauai Coffee Estate and take a free walking tour!
-
Chock Full o’ Nuts
For those of you who want a more strong, no-nonsense, slightly burned, “serve me pure caffeine” flavor and perhaps look like a true New Yorker, Chock Full o’ Nuts is the coffee for you. My dad would stuff our pantries with tins of these and drink Chock Full o’ Nuts almost exclusively. Part of it is because the brand actually had an amazing coffee shop in the 80s’ Manhattan, where my parents went to school, that rivaled big places like Starbucks. My mom says that it used to be her spot when she was sad or bored and wanted some alone time, and would go there only for their pastry. However, once my dad found out, he would go there all the time solely for their coffee. To this day, I associate Chock Full o’ Nuts with my dad solely because he would almost collect this tins, even though the shop was technically my mom’s place first. Because he bought so much, it almost became an inside joke inside of my family. Despite its name, their coffee contains no nuts, although it can have a mildly nutty flavor. The brand actually gets its name because the company actually started its business selling nuts. When they changed their core competency to coffee, they did not bother changing its unique, odd, and sort of funny name, and so Chock Full o’ Nuts stuck. Chock Full o’ Nuts is available in K-Cup form and coffee grinds, and is quintessential New York.