(FSB) -- I didn't plan to go to the Hilo Coffee Mill. In fact, on my tour of Big Island farms, I intend to skip coffee entirely. Not that there was any shortage of Kona coffee tourist experiences - they are some of the only agritourism operations with the marketing sophistication to, say, leave brochures in hotel lobbies - but I was looking for the more unusual crops.
Plunked onto a verdant 24-acre property, the company's store struck me as rather plain: Inside were just some shelves with bags of coffee, a few employees working at desks in the back.
As my boyfriend and I began to browse the copper-colored coffee bags with a squinty unfamiliarity, a well-caffeinated employee rushed up and asked whether we would like a coffee tasting.
Ah.
.. really we'd just like coffee to go, I said, reluctant to be roped into a sales pitch.
Sure! she replied, bringing us over to a minimalist coffee counter.
Would you like our Ka'u medium roast, our Hamakua Full City Roast, or our pineapple cheesecake flavored coffee?
she asked.
We stared blankly and gave in to the tasting experience as little paper cups appeared before us.
That's where the reluctance ended.
To me, coffee is either good or not good - I don't have the credentials to be a snob about it - but I can attest that Hilo Coffee Mill's java ranks high up in the good category.
Mill co-owner Jeanette Baysa, 52, sidled up to us as we chose the Hamakua Full City Roast (and bought a pound of the beans to go). Baysa felt like an old friend as she offered us a tour of the mill.
How often do you give tours? I asked.
Whenever people ask!
We love giving tours, she replied.
Turns out tours are also free. Sold.
Baysa led us to an identical building next door where the coffee roaster was warming up and explained the business. Hilo Coffee Mill's specialty is Hawaiian-grown coffee from all over the Big Island; Kona, yes, but it revels in showcasing coffee from lesser-known regions such as Puna, Ka'u, and Hamakua.
Baysa and co-owner Kathy Patton, 59, formerly owned an espresso cafe in the town of Hilo, but were annoyed by the variation in coffee quality they would receive from vendors.
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