Dennis McQuoid and his Beach Bum Cafe were featured in this morning’s Honolulu Star Advertiser. The article, very well-written by Joleen Oshiro accurately describes his brew bar concept, despite it being a relatively new one in Honolulu.

“I make the coffee right in front of the customer, and I discuss the farm it comes from, the elevation and the varietal,” he says. “I can tell them where the farm is and what makes it special. I even have a map of the Hawaiian Islands so I can show people as I prepare the coffee.

I get a mention in the article along with colleagues Miguel Meza, Shawn Steiman and Matt Milletto.

What McQuoid is doing is no small thing, says Andrew Hetzel, an internationally known coffee expert based on Hawaii island who helped McQuoid start his business.

Hetzel calls McQuoid’s shop a “modern concept.”

“We usually see this type of place in more developed coffee markets in the world, like Japan, Korea or Australia. There are still only a few in the U.S.”

Through Hetzel, McQuoid consulted heavy hitters on the Hawaii coffee scene to select his lineup of coffees.

One of them, Shawn Steiman, author of ”
The Hawaii Coffee Book,” says that by exposing consumers to variety, McQuoid is boosting Hawaii coffee.

“Dennis gets his coffee from all over Hawaii,” Steiman says. “He cues people in to the idea that Hawaii has more than one coffee farm — in fact, there are about 830 farms — and that not all coffees are the same.

“His coffees cover an enormous range of taste experiences.”

McQuoid also serves experimental offerings from R. Miguel Meza, another globally renowned coffee consultant, who roasts beans on Hawaii island.

Meza says McQuoid’s shop is perfect for highlighting coffee like his experimental Sumatran- and Kenyan-style roasts.

“The response is very good feedback. What people are interested in we can possibly take from the experimental level to the production level,” Meza says.

Be sure to check it out!

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