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Hello World! Here comes Pete Licata and Hawaiian Coffee

 
 
 
 

Step right up ladies and gentlemen and witness the amazing.  The truth is out there.  And it goes by the name Pete Licata.

Western Regional Barista Competition (WRBC) Today, Pete Licata, barista trainer for Honolulu Coffee Company (Honolulu, HI), won the Western Regional Barista Competition (WRBC) with a smooth, classy performance that should impress anyone.  Not only did he add a dazzling technique for his espresso shots (layering the portafilter with different coffees of different particle sizes) but he used 100% Hawaiian Coffee.  

Yup, you heard me.  Coffees from a generally discounted coffee origin won a regional barista competition.  It seems I’m not the only one who thinks these coffees are worth drinking!

Pete’s coffee’s came from two farms in two different Hawaiian regions.  The larger portion came from Hula Daddy in Kona, Hawai‘i.  The variety, I imagine, was ‘Typica’.  Moreover, the coffee was composed of three different processes- washed, pulped natural (aka honey), and dry processed.  What a complex concoction!

The smaller portion of the coffee came from MauiGrown Coffee in Ka‘anapali, Maui.  The variety used was ‘Mokka’, probably dry processed.  As far as I know, this is the only commercial producer of ‘Mokka’ on the planet.  Yeah, it’s good stuff.

All the coffees were roasted by Hula Daddy's superstar roaster: Miguel Meza.

Contrary to what I told the Honolulu Star-Bulletin last week, Pete is not the first Hawai‘i barista to compete in an SCAA competition.  According to Chester Huan, Melody Haldwell (living on Kauai at the time) competed in the WRBC back in 2005.  Chester competed in the US Barista Championship in 2003 and the WRBC in 2006.

Pay attention, World!  It’s a whole new game with “The Pete” at the helm of the espresso machine.  Oh, and be prepared to be dazzled by Hawaiian coffees!

PRODUCTS YOU WILL LOVE!

REVIEWS & COMMENTS

  • AWESOME!

    Son Ton | Tue, 01/24/2012 - 01:59

    This barista is awesome. We can tell that he is extremely passionate about the coffee that he brew! Coffee is flowing in his vein for sure!

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  • FUN LOOKING BACK

    Wakeknot | Fri, 09/30/2011 - 19:54

    given that he not only won the region, he won the US, and then finished second in the world. Way to go! (and his coffee is avaiable on Roaste so even better!

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  • ANY CONTROVERSY LEFT?

    EricBNC | Mon, 09/05/2011 - 18:35


    Any controversy left since he is involved in each step of the coffee production? Some claimed he had an unfair advantage but I can't see it.

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  • HAWAI'I'S MOKKA

    Shawn Steiman | Fri, 03/05/2010 - 22:28

    Ok, I went and discovered the truth about Hawai'i's Mokkas- I was spot on. My sources are coffee breeder Dr. Chifumi Nagai and retired scientist Dr. Bob Osgood, both of the Hawaii Agriculture Research Center (HARC).

    True 'Mokka' is a mutant of 'Bourbon'. It is found in Brazil, though I'm not sure if it was first discovered there. HARC imported this with the help of Brazilian coffee scientist Dr. Medina-Filho in the 1990's. Yes, it's a very small tree.

    The variety grown in Kaanapali came from seed planted at the University of Hawaii (UH) agriculture research station in Kainaliu, Hawai'i (Kona, for all intents and purposes). Those original trees were imported to Hawai'i in the 1960's by UH researcher Dr. Hamilton. This variety seems not to be the true 'Mokka'. Dr. Medina-Filho thinks that it is 'tall Mokka', a hybrid between true 'Mokka' and 'Typica' produced in Brazil. It is similar to their 'Ibairi' variety.

  • WHERE IN THE WORLD IS MOKKA

    Shawn Steiman | Tue, 03/02/2010 - 14:54

    Tim,

    Thanks for the heads-up on the Colombian Mokka. I've heard rumors of it being grown elsewhere. I met a Panamanian fellow at last year's symposium who said he was going to be planting it on his farm.

    Of course, it is probably worthwhile to mention that true Mokka is a super dwarf that is more like a low-lying hedge bush. There's a number of larger, more manageable varieties that are related (I don't know the relationships; I'd guess intentional crosses). Hmm, I should look into this to get my story straight!

  • MOKKA IN PRODUCTION

    Tim Dominick | Tue, 03/02/2010 - 14:12

    Hi Shawn,

    Interestingly, Finca Esperanza in Colombia grows Mokka on a small but commercial scale. It has an amazing retention of what I find to be a distinctly East African cup profile. If the Maui grown Mokka maintains a similar cup I can imagine it would bring something very special to Pete's espresso.

    It is a challenging coffee to roast.

    Cheers!