Kona Friday FAQ

“What does Kona mean?”

Kona is a kind of coffee bean grown by the proud people of Hawaii. When brewed, it is considered (at least by the people of Hawaii) to be the best coffee in the world.

“What does the term ‘Kona Friday?’ mean? Where did it come from?”

I can not say Kona coffee is good or bad, however while vacationing in Hawaii, I was impressed by the several different coffee advertisements I saw. These coffee advertisers were saying to buy their brand because it is made in part with Kona beans, which is, as everybody knows, the best coffee in the world. At first, I thought it arrogant for these commercials to suggest they have the best coffee in the world. After all, who is to say which is the best. For instance, if I’m a Folgers kind of guy, then anything that isn’t Folgers is not the best. But then after considerable thought, I decided that anybody (or group of people) who has the tenacity to claim they have the best of anything deserves some recognition. And that is when I thought ‘You know, if Kona is so good, then maybe it should have its own holiday.’ Hence the term Kona Friday.

“When is ‘Kona Friday’ celebrated?”

Kona Friday is too big a holiday to be celebrated only once a year, therefore the official Kona Friday holiday is celebrated every Friday. Dedicated Kona Friday citizens should manually mark their calendar until the official Kona calendars reach circulation channels.

“How do I start my own Kona Friday?”

There are a few particulars to consider about Kona Friday

• Kona Friday is not the kind of holiday where people take a day off from work. Actually, it is a day where coffee drinkers in the office are celebrated.
• Kona Friday is a holiday which only coffee drinkers can celebrate. The exception to this rule applies to sites that serve the Kona Friday participants with a breakfast or lunch. In this case, the non Kona celebrants can serve or pay for the breakfast or lunch.
• “You should have a separate coffee maker and pot to celebrate Kona Friday”. A better quality coffee pot, might I suggest a Cappresso, should be used, however a Mr. Coffee can be substituted in an emergency.
• “This coffee maker should only be used for the Kona Coffee. On days other than Kona Friday, the coffee maker should be cleaned and put in a very safe place”.
• “A good brand or blend of coffee should be used to prepare Kona Coffee.” A mix including Kona beans is not required.

It is not considered good etiquette to mix the coffee with the normal coffee. Nor is it Kona-like to consider a flavored coffee to be a good coffee. A good coffee is usually a pure coffee that is not delivered in a can. If you consider flavored coffee to be good coffee then maybe you should elicit the advise of other coffee drinkers. See the ‘[The Great Caffeine Taste-off]‘ for more details.

“The coffee scoop used to serve the Kona Coffee should be used only to serve the Kona Coffee from its container to the coffee filter. It should not be used to scoop normal coffee, nor should it be used to scoop anything else. The coffee scoop should always be cleaned the day following Kona Friday to allow sufficient time for the scoop to dry. It should be also be stored with the coffee maker and pot”

Friday morning, bring out the Kona Coffee pot and prepare a fresh pot of coffee. Don’t forget to use the clean Kona scoop to measure the coffee. If the office requires that the person who empties the coffee pot to prepare a fresh pot then that person should clean the coffee pot, the scoop and the filter area. Kona Coffee (and its derivations) should be prepared using clean and pure utensils and supplies. Fresh coffee should be available all day until 5pm. Remember, flushing down a half a pot of coffee should not be considered shocking, but rather a decadent behavior that should not be advertised to non-understanding non coffee people.

When serving coffee, make sure the coffee is served in a clean dry cup. Some coffee drinkers think that rinsing their cups will make their cup clean. Wrong! A clean cup is a cup with no coffee stains, no water rings, and when serving good coffee the cup should be dry.

Do you have a nice coffee cup patina? If so use that cup on non-kona fridays.

“What about the non coffee drinkers”

Ignore them, this is a holiday which celebrates the coffee achiever. Chances are if they don’t drink coffee, they do not work as hard or with the caliber that a coffee drinker does anyway, certainly not at the same pace. Remember, there’s always a wet rag in any celebration and in the case of Kona Friday, the non coffee drinkers are the proverbial rag.

“Tell us more”

• Cream and sugar are optional. If the coffee achiever does use cream or sugar on Kona Friday, real cream and real sugar should be used.
• Store Kona coffee beans (preferably not ground) in a cool, dry place.
• When preparing the coffee, prepare it a bit stronger than the normal coffee blend. Strong coffee is good coffee.
• When preparing the coffee, be sure to use a pure filtered water. It is a little known fact to coffee philistines that water quality will affect the taste of the coffee. Therefore a good water will produce a better flavored coffee. It will also produce a stronger coffee. Remember, most coffee shops serve their coffee stronger than what the normal coffee produced with the humble Mr. Coffee produces, and therefore should be considered a good indication that strong coffee is good coffee.
• Myself… I like the darker roasts like Italian and French Roast, the thing is Kona Coffee’s are usually roasted to a medium, and will tend to have more caffiene then the darker roasts. If you are like me, then plan accordingly.