Today a Facebook friend posted "Personius Maximus Kona Coffee with breakfast this morning. mmmm." I figured he was joking since his last name is Personius. Funny. Personius the Greatest. I replied that "I enjoyed some Ethiopian Harrar," the subject of Post No. 246.I later looked it up and, sure enough, there is such a coffee known at Personius Maximus although it appears to be extremely rare as a Google search returned just two entries in the entire web-o-sphere.
The one site selling the coffee for $38.00 per pound had this to say:
This Kona is medium bodied with floral undertones. It has excellent high notes and a full nose. As always, it is freshly roasted to a medium roast, preserving all of the varietal characteristics Kona is known for. The owner of the 'Personius Maximus' Estate, Jerry Personius is as passionate about his coffee as we are. We truly believe this to be the finest coffee in the world!
I also learned that Kona coffee is the market name for coffee cultivated on the slopes of Hualalai and Mauna Loa in the North and South Kona Districts of the Big Island of Hawaii. This coffee has developed a reputation that has made it one of the most expensive and sought-after coffees in the world. Only coffee from the Kona Districts can be legally described as "Kona." The unique Kona weather pattern of sunny mornings, cloud cover or rain in the afternoons, little wind and mild nights combined with porous, mineral rich volcanic soil, creates favorable coffee growing conditions.
Personius Maximus is a small family run coffee company. The farm originally started as an organic Macadamia nut farm, but as the market for macadamia nuts started to fall off, Jerry started a coffee nursery, raising the saplings to sell to the local farms.
ReplyDeleteThe Kona coffee market expanded rapidly, and Jerry was able to work that in as part of his crop on his small 5-acre farm on the side of Mauna Loa. Though most of the business is with local farms, he has established a small distribution network of his own brand.
There is no website to get Personius Maximus, and that is by choice. Jerry would prefer to know those that are drinking his coffee. All orders are taken over the phone, and part of the joy is having a relationship with the buyers.
The price per pound is high, although not $38. His market price is $20, which is still at a premium compared to Dunkin' Donuts coffee. But it is 100% pure, 100% organic, and the flavor dominates all others.
It's not for everyone, it can be price-prohibitive, but for those who place a premium on their daily coffee ritual, it does not disappoint.
Not actually organic... sprayed with glyphosate aka roundup fyi
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