Rainoldo Cancino Kona

Rainoldo Cancino, Cancino Family Farm; Kona, Hawaii, USA; Arabica Typica, Washed; Fancy; 2024

Yellow Flowers | Citron | Lemon Peel

An uncommon coffee in Singapore, this is a coffee from USA Hawaii. It is the only USA state that is an archipelago, and the only state in the tropics, making it warm enough to grow coffee. Hawaii consists of 137 volcanic islands, of which Mauna Loa is the world's largest active volcano by both mass and volume. Mauna Loa has likely been erupting for at least 700,000 years, and may have emerged above sea level about 400,000 years ago. Some dated rocks are 470,000 years old. 

Kona coffee follows grading and location requirements. It has to be grown in North and South Kona Districts on the west coast of Hawai'i island (Big Island of Hawaii). Coffee that is grown elsewhere in Hawai'i, cannot be called Kona coffee. Most Kona coffee are cultivated on the gentle slopes of Hualalai volcano (North Kona) and Mauna Loa volcano (South Kona). Coffees grown there benefit from the rich volcanic soil. 

Furthermore, Kona coffee beans are graded by the Hawaii Department of Agriculture (HDOA). Type 1 has 5 official grades and 2 unqualified grades. The main selection criteria is size and defect count. Extra Fancy is the highest grade, with size 19 and a maximum of 8 full defects per 300 grams. This is followed by Fancy, with size 18 and a maximum of 12 full defects per 300 grams. These 2 grades are specialty grade. What follows are commercial grades. Number 1 follows, with size 16 and a maximum of 18 full defects per 300 grams. Select are small size beans, with 5% defect. Prime is the smallest size bean that can be called Kona, and it allows for 20% defects. What remains are unqualified grades that cannot be called Kona although cultivated there: X-3 or 3X or Number 3, followed by Off-Grade. Type 2 Kona are simply peaberries, which are field anomaly resulting in tiny beans of good flavour.

Coffee was first introduced to Hawaii from Brazil in 1820s. Reverend Samuel Ruggles took some of those seedlings and planted the first coffee trees in the Kona region of Big Island in 1828. Only nearing to 1900 did Kona Coffee become more consistent and worthwhile for planting it in large plantations. The crash in the world coffee market in 1899 caused plantation owners to have to lease out their land to their workers. Most of these workers were originally from Japan, and they worked their leased land parcels of between 5 and 12 acres (0.4 hectare - football field). The tradition of running family farms has continued throughout Kona. The Japanese-origin families have been joined by Filipinos, mainland Americans, Europeans, and Latino families, one of which is the Cancino family.

The Cancino Family Farm became known for cultivating excellent coffee, as well as helping small, underperforming farms improve their cultivation. Farm after farm over the years, they have been replanting the coffee by practicing sustainable cultivation and diversifying farming methods without chemicals and mechanical equipment. Today, they have grown to over 350 acres under cultivation and continue to assist other farms. All coffees are hand picked in the harvest months of late August to January. Each evening, the coffee cherries are pulped with a pulper that includes a honey desiccator, which heats and dehumidifies air to dehydrate the coffee 'honey' (mucilage). After that, the parchment coffee are washed clean and then they are laid on dying platforms known as hoshidana for a few days of drying under Hawaii’s tropical sunshine. Traditional hoshidanas have wheels on the roof edges which run on tracks. When it rains, the roof is rolled over the drying beans to protect them from the rain.

Cancino Farm won 2nd place in the Heritage Division at the Kona Coffee Culture Festival 53rd Annual Cupping Competition in 2024.


Roast Level
Usually roasted for a chocolatey, nutty and spicy flavour, we have chosen to roast this coffee light. It has moderate moisture and high density given that it is Fancy grade. Given the high resistance to roast, we applied matching heat to achieve a light roast which presented unconventional flavour notes. It seems to us like a "midway" profile, showing yellow characteristics. The vibrant acidity is from the rich volcanic soil of Mauna Loa.


Brew Flavour
We use our usual Timemore Crystal Eye dripper with Abaca paper to brew this coffee, at 16g at 700μm to 250ml of 88°C water, at 1:15.6 brew ratio. The first impression is that it is yellow characteristics dominant. This impression extends from the dry fragrance to the cup, where it takes the form of a bouquet of flowers like lily and chrysanthemum. Yellow fruits come after, in the form of citron, and ending with lemon peel. As the coffee cools, the yellow characteristics become more pronounced, showing more flowers on a quiet base of lemony aroma. The mouthfeel is smooth throughout. Acidity is vibrant and balanced. The afternotes are pleasant and medium lasting.

This is the brew recipe, in 1 bloom and 2 pours (short and slow followed by long and fast):

0th sec: Pour 50g of water. 
30th - 60th sec: In 30 sec, add 70g of water slowly till 120g (short and slow @ 2g/sec)
60th - 100th sec: In 40 sec, add 130g of water till 250g (long and fast @ 3g/sec)


Savouring our world in a cup!
Enjoy!