Kohala Coffee Mill

1 Reviews on “Kohala Coffee Mill”

• Atreyu

  What to make of this place… how do describe it succinctly and precisely at the same time? This is one of the most unusual places that I have been to yet. It is a comfortable hangout for locals, and by-passers alike which sees a good trade and musicians playing there frequently. Kohala Coffee Mill is less like a meal, and more like the homely whistle-stop cafe that is lauded about in stories. It was around lunch-time again, and knowing full well that I am into coffee and all that – plus Hawaii does grow a fair bit of it – my dad knew that this was going to be right up my alley. Additionally, what didn’t hurt was its inclusion in the Lonely Planet book. Getting here, it was another day trip around the island and the car was passing through the tiny town of Hawi. This town was so small, that in looking for the Kohala Coffee Company, we were basically out of town before we knew it and the car needed to take a U-turn to get back. With an eagle eye, I managed to spot where this place was and in we went. The inside of the place is much like a gift shop. All around it are nick-nacks and things to buy, such as coffee beans. It is diminutive, and only has a couple of tables at most inside while the majority of the seating is done just outside the front door. It is calming, quirky in looks and there is definitely hints of a hippie vibe going on with the place. What doesn’t hurt there is that they urge you to recycle your materials just outside. Service is friendly, and quite basic. From back home it is nothing new, more or less the go with modern places. You walk up to the counter, place your order and pay then they call out the name you give them and you come and collect your item. The people behind the counter were pretty friendly, and laid back suiting the feel of the place even more. Plenty of extras are there for self-service. The best way to describe the menu in brevity is that it is very healthy. It is basically a range of sandwiches (available as burger, roll, bagel or whatever is available), and salads for savoury items, a small range of sweets for dessert, plus plenty of different concoctions using coffee. A range of specials are always available as per the blackboard advertising them. Drinks also come in tea varieties, smoothies, and various kinds of chilled beverages. No surprises here, the drink of choice – again – was a good old cup of the Joe. There were a few different choices of brew to select, with an espresso, a single origin, and a 100% Kona coffee blend – and there might have been a couple of others, that was all from memory that I stated. I went with the Kona blend again, and it was the Buddha’s Brew on for the day. The coffee certainly had a bit more flavour than I have been accustomed to recently. It was not too bland, had a bit of a body to it, and was a pleasant drink. Basically, it did its job and was slightly stronger than normal; the buzz was surreptitious. So, overall not a bad coffee I shall say. Initially, the meal I was ordering was going to be an ulu burger. I was not sure what that was at the time – turns out it is breadfruit – but they were run out of it. As a backup, I still got a burger and had the wild Alaskan salmon. It was with all the vegetable trimmings (alfalfa, tomato and onion) and the choice of cheese was Muenster. While I was up again reordering, one sweet on the counter took my fancy (raspberry chocolate chip pumpkin bread) and I got that while I waited. Since it was had at a later date, and back at the apartment – just wait for the critique in a few paragraphs time. Getting back to the burger, this was quite tasty. Unlike a lot of other burgers that I have had during that trip, or in general, this was more fresh and healthy. The vegetables were thick and crunchy, the bread was a wholemeal bun, and the big bit of salmon was thickly cut, and grilled. This salmon was beautiful, flaked really well and had a wonderful flavour to it. The muenster cheese was a bit stark with the rest of the burger’s fresh composition, however I am one to like the strong, bitey tastes of such cheeses. All of this combined to make a satisfying lunch. In the meantime, I managed to try a bit of the tuna melt. This was also good. Whomever ordered it, got it on thick, grainy bread which was good quality and well textured, and the tuna on the sandwich was definitely the fresh variety – not that canned crud that might not do it for some people (I am not that keen on it myself) which makes all the difference. Afterwards, my parents decided to try out some of their ice cream. My aunt and uncle did that as well. Between the two pairs, the flavours of ice cream were coffee-toffee, coconut cream and a mango sorbet. It is not often said with as much conviction, but this time around this is definitely some ice cream to splurge for. Whatever the flavour said it was, I well and truly could detect it was that. The coffee-toffee was both sticky and sweet with the toffee part, as well as having the distinct and strong taste of coffee mixed in. The coconut had is smooth taste in it, and there must have been mango juice in the sorbet for it to have the flavour that it did. On top of that, the texture was really smooth, practically like a thick lot of cream, and it was ice cold as well. This was a really good way to end the meal. Now, back at the apartment and trying the pumpkin bread I got (of course to go with coffee), it was still pretty good. The texture of the sweet was soft and moreish, tearing apart well. Also going for it was a mixture of flavours: the sweetness of pumpkin, the tartness of raspberry and the plain delicious nature of chocolate. These three combined to make a dynamic marsala of tastes that managed to not have it feel too sweet or cloying. Having this on the side with some coffee was perfection; if only I can find this back home in Australia, then I would be a really happy man. There are a number of strengths that this place has going for it, and a break from the norm with food is just one of them. They have a reputable level for customer service, the characteristic look and feel to the place have secured it as a stopover with travelers, and it doesn’t do too badly with getting a small little gift for someone as well on the side. I quite liked this find; this is no tourist trap but just plain honesty and something slightly eccentric for those who like to try new things.It’s not the kind of place I would often choose to go, but removing that bias it does what it does with a great deal of competence. And for that reason I am awarding it that 4.0-score.

  August 10, 2016, 7:27 pm

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