When I am looking forward to mundane afternoon housekeeping duties or need a quick kick in the pants Maui Coffee Roasters always comes through. Their cappucino is one of the most perfect beverages ever, plus its only $1.50 after 2pm.

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all photos courtesy of Sean Hower, howerphoto.com

Village Cafe and Sweet Shoppe

villagecafeandsweetshoppe.com

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2000 Village Road

Lahaina, HI 97661

You probably don’t think of Kapalua as a place to head for a family restaurant, but that is exactly what I am going to tell you. The Village Cafe and Sweet Shoppe opened in December and has a lot going on inside their space. Located in the Kapalua Village Center at the top of office road, this is a hub of activity, check in’s for the condos, the start of many trail heads for hiking in the area, and at the heart of the gathering area is the cafe.

Forefront when you walk in is the sweet shoppe counter slash barista coffee bar. Fresh baked goods tempt you on pretty platters, Roselani ice cream in twelve flavors plus toppings, and espresso drinks made with Maui coffee. Chalk menu boards over head tell you what is available. There is plenty of seating to choose from, there are couches and soft chairs in the lounge area in viewing distance to the flat screen tvs, this is also a great area to put your feet up and have a glass of wine or beer. Delve in a little further in and you will pass a gorgeous large buffet with flower arrangements and head into their big dining room area. Tables in dark wood with comfortable high backed woven chairs and high ceilings all around you give this room a lodge feeling in the evening. If you prefer al fresco, head through the double doors at the back of the room, in the day breathtaking views of North West Maui will join you.

The Village Cafe serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. I brought my family for dinner on a Thursday night. Every night the cafe features a different themed dinner special for $22.75, like North Shore night on Saturday with coconut battered shrimp, and tailgate night on Friday with grilled skirt steaks and mac and cheese, all served with side dishes, soup or salad and ice cream inclusive.

My daughter was impressed by the crayons that were brought to keep her busy, they are triangle shaped and don’t roll off of the table, it was a nice detail. The keiki menu was extensive, there were eight items to choose from, like pasta, pancakes, yogurt and fruits, quesadilla, mac and cheese, and burgers. It looks like they got the memo: kids are persnickety eaters. Even better each item you can choose a side from the usual like french fries or fruit, to grown up items like green salad, and steamed veggies. The mac and cheese is the much loved style with skinny noodles and orange cheese, and veggies are a wonderful medley of fresh broccoli, asparagus, sweet pepper and zucchini. As picky as they are, my kid mowed through this dinner with zest not just because she loves broccoli, but to get to the dessert it comes with: Roselani ice cream and cookie.

My daughter and I share an affinity for calamari, so we ordered it here as a starter. We loved their version: dusted with a bit of cornmeal, crisp on the outside and served in strips. The jalepeno tarter is just what i want to dip it in, but it also has a . I also tried the artichoke dip starter, it comes to the table blazing hot with really crusty crostini.

For dinner the boys, photographer Sean Hower, and Tommy Russo started with the soup du jour, a mahi minestrone, both raved how good it was. Sean ordered the brisket while Tommy gambled on the special, Thursday is Southern night, fried chicken, mash potato and creamed peas. While the brisket was lovely, and the sauce on it was so good we wanted some for home, the fried chicken was voted the favorite with its crisp breading and tender juicy inside. We just couldn’t stop grabbing at his plate for samples.

i had the veggie lasagna that is served with ceasar salad. Baked in its own serving dish, it comes with a thick crust of cheese and lots of spinach. Seeing as I sampled so much of everyone else’s food I took a lot of it home for leftovers and it made a great meal for later. If it can hold up overnight in the fridge and stand up well for lunch the next day like my own homemade italian food I know its good.

Seeing as we were there is a sweet shoppe element, I saved room for that. The red velvet cupcakes are one of their signature items, get one in your mouth and you will see why. The luscious red crumb color topped with the white cream cheese frosting are just irresistible. They make their own pastries and sweets, it really makes a difference in taste and presentation. The tiramisu was a work of art, it was as beautiful as it was tasty: creamy square of coffee, ladyfingers and marscapone surrounded by shimmies of gooey chocolate with fresh raspberries stuck to it.

Owners Stuart and Debbie Katz are new to the restaurant business, with backgrounds in computers. Debbie Katz says, “I have lots of experience coming from the other side of the restaurant business as a customer. Its a different perspective being an owner.” Their comment card is important to them, they really want to shape their business into a place for residents and visitors alike. “Fill those cards out honestly,” Debbie Katz says, “I really want to know what is good, and what we should still be working on.”

Some of the other highlights on the menu that I look forward to trying are the build your own burgers, where you get to choose your own protein from angus beef to magi to veggie with bun, cheese sauce and sides. At breakfast the quiche with salad and pog vinaigrette or cinnamon swirl french toast intrigues me.

One of the perks of having such a dynamic space is the ability to have events here. Come by on May 5th at 5:30 for a social media tweet up mixer, no social media experience necessary, or the wine tasting reception on May 11 with Winemaker Ray Signorello at 6pm. On Mother’s Day seafood is the special with a shrimp frittata and caramelized sea scallops on the menu.

No more drive through white coffee hook ups! The Folks at Big Wave Espresso were real nice, but it was a tough go at it and they decided to close.

If you need your caffeine but cant leave the car try Akamai Coffee down Dairy road in front of Maui’s Home Depot

Maui Coffee Farmers, Gerry Ross and Janet Simpson, win Best Coffee on Maui for the second year in a row at the Hawaii Coffee Association’s 2nd Annual Statewide Cupping Competition held this past weekend on The Big Island at the Sheraton Keauhou Beach Resort.

They scored high enough overall to be placed second in the state with their coffee, grown and harvested at Kupa’a Farms. The first place award went to coffee grown in the Ka’u district of the Big Island.

“Kupa’a” means “firm” or “solid” in Hawaiian and although the name originated in reference to the once rocky soil it now reflects the solid, life-giving practices they use to grow food. Kupa’a grows a number of different types of coffee varieties but most of their coffee comes from red catuai, Kona tipica, and yellow catuai which has yellow cherries. Kupa’a Farms uses only organic farming practices on their farm in Upcountry Maui, where they also grow organic fruits and vegetables.

Yellow Catuai courtesy of Kupa'a Farms

Talking Coffee Shop with Wailuku Coffee Company’s Megan Childers

When Cafe Marc Aurel closed the terror was palpable in the editorial office of Maui Time, where we survive on coffee. Luckily we were only out of a coffee options for about a month before Megan Childers and her partners, Jackie Goring opened Wailuku Coffee Shop in the location on 26 N. Market Street. Megan Childers is no newcomer to the coffee house culture and concept opening her first cafe in Washington as a drive through when she was 17.

@JenRusso: How do you make the perfect espresso?

Megan Childers: It starts with fresh beans, and we have a special grinder that works the beans into a fine ground without bean shock. Tamp the grind into the portafilter and you have to have 220 degree water to make the perfect espresso. The perfect espresso has 5 millimeters of crema, and takes about 18 to 22 seconds to pour.

JR: Ummm, bean shock?

MC: Yeah, you have to be careful with the grinding process. Ordinary grinders can heat up the beans with friction as they break down the beans into the ground product. The heat changes the flavor of the coffee, and not in a good way.

JR: Where do you get your coffee?

MC: Maui Oma Coffee Roasting Co. They get green coffee beans from all over the world and they roast them here.

JR: Do you have Maui or Hawaii coffee for sale?

MC: Not now, but we are planning to have some Maui and Kauai coffee in the future. We plan to harvest our own fields in Kipahulu of “Kanaka Kope” this year too. These plants have been growing on my fiance’s family land since the 1800′s. Its a huge undertaking. It takes 13 pounds of coffee cherry to make one pound of coffee. We anticipate getting about 4 pounds from these trees. And we will be harvesting ourselves, once a week for six weeks.

JR: Wow, that is going to be incredible. I want to taste that coffee. What is the worst cup of coffee you have had?

MC: Kopi Luwak. Marc Aurel had a bag of it and made me a cup. Its really gourmet expensive stuff where the luwak eats the coffee cherry and poops out the bean that is roasted.

JR: What is the most popular coffee at Wailuku Coffee Company?

MC: French Roast. People love it, they are very comfortable with the french roast, and ours is really good. With the French Roast its a longer darker roast. Most people don’t know that the darker roasts have less caffeine because the beans have been roasted longer. The closer to raw the bean is the more the caffeine. The lighter roasts are stronger. Its confusing.

JR: Your iced toddy coffee is incredible, its my favorite. What is the secret?

MC: Toddy is the way you brew it. Its a cold water extraction. We put 5 pounds of grinded coffee in a filtering bag and put in a vat of water for 24 hours. From this we have a concentrate that is diluted in pitchers. You can actually buy the Toddy concentrate for $14 a pitcher here and keep it in your fridge. It should last you about a month. The cold water process makes coffee with no bitterness, no acidity, its easy on sensitive stomachs. You can also order a hot toddy, and we will heat that cold process coffee up for you.

JR: What is the best thing to eat with a cup of coffee?

MC: You can’t beat a fresh baked croissant. I remember the first time I gave my fiance a coffee with his muffin, and he was never a coffee drinker, but he said this is so good! That is the way pastries were meant to be eaten, with coffee.

JR: You just rolled out a new menu. What is the good stuff?

MC: Build your own breakfast sandwich starts with egg, cheddar and tomato, your choice of bacon, ham or turkey, and you can put it on croissant, bread or bagel for $5. At lunch we have this soup in a fresh baked bread bowl that is ridiculously good for $6.50. It takes a little longer because we literally bake the bread after you order it. We considered pre-baking the bread before lunch but we decided not to compromise here, its worth the wait. Right now we are serving clam chowder or minestrone in it.

JR: I have heard of foam art, what exactly is that?

MC: Milk foam is created with steam. I can hear it whizzing around in the milk and I know I have got good foam. You have to be careful with nonfat and soy, those make more foam then whole milk. When you order a cappucino its 1/3 espresso, 1/3 milk, and 1/3 foam. You can order it dry, that is less milk, or wet, that is less foam. You can make designs with the foam, its called latte art. I practice my latte art every day.

JR: What makes your coffee shop unique?

MC: Well, besides being the only coffee shop in Wailuku, we are just trying to be a great coffee destination. We want to cater to both sides of the coffee drinker, those that need to get something quick and and those that want to just hang out and leisurely enjoy their coffee. I pride myself on being friendly to everyone who walks through that door, whether I see you everyday or if this is your first time here. We want to provide “excellent service, delicious, healthy and affordable food, and the best espresso on the earth.

Wailuku Coffee Co

26 N. Market Street

Wailuku, HI 96793

808-495-0259

Getting coffee from a seasoned Barista or coffee expert can really take your coffee experience up a notch. For appreciators of coffee like me, that makes all the difference. I won’t just settle for a cup a joe from the gas station in the morning, I seek out the coffee experience. When I discovered Big Wave Espresso, a drive through coffee shack at 333 Dairy Road, I was pleasantly surprised with some of the most exotic coffees and gourmet coffees on the island. Owner Floyd Tatum explains it like this, “I want to bring local people the full coffee experience but at a good price. All the rich flavor, a good balanced cup, with a lot of caffiene kick. And I am doing it without killing your pocketbook.”

Some people dream of opening a business and plan the process out for years before execution. For Floyd and his wife Letty it has been about six years of planning to open Big Wave Espresso. Coming from the Seattle area they know their coffee, but they are excited to grow their business here with Maui grown coffee. Floyd says, “I have tried all kinds of coffee, and some of the best coffee in the world is grown here.”

The shack itself is modest and has a tropical look adorned with bamboo and grass skirts. You can drive through or walk up for service. The menu is extensive. The first day I am there Floyd asks me if I like coffee, I said yes, he says, “try the white coffee, we are the only ones in Hawaii serving it.” Well that sounds like a challenge I can’t refuse. White coffee is brewed from a flash roasted bean for less acidity. If you look at the hot brewed liquid you would think it was a murky tea, but don’t let it fool you. This brew packs a caffiene punch. Floyd makes his white coffee with white chocolate and cream, called the White Wash, and it turns in to this amazing white chocolate delight with a caffiene zing that lasts the whole day. White coffee is supposed to be gentler on the stomach than traditional brews.

My second visit they recommend the special of the day “The Chronic,” Floyd says, “I am offering it on the menu for the first time, but this is what I make for myself everyday.” The chronic is strong and sweet, thick and very shake like. This is my second cup for the day, I could be up for hours this evening, and luckily its a Saturday and I want to watch Saturday Night Live. A Tuesday drive through visit reveals a $2.50 latte special, I buy a couple for the office.

They coffee cart is all about the beverages and light on the food. The only accompaniments right now are banana nut or apple crumb muffins. If you aren’t a coffee drinker they also serve smoothies, sorbets, and energy drinks like Monster. The Tatums are also supporting live music on Maui by throwing an all ages once a month “Rock the Lot” music night where they have a band come down and play. Last month it was Mobius project, a band with young members that cannot get gigs inside alcohol serving establishments. “Rock the Lot” also raises donations for the Maui Public Library system, an effort the Tatums are very passionate about.

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