New Barack Obama coffee: A blend, of course

A coffee plantation in Hawaii hopes to perk up profits with a new brew: Barack O Blend, a smooth medley of Hawaiian, Kenyan and Indonesian beans that honors the multinational roots of President-elect Barack Obama. So far, it seems to be working.

“We are getting bombarded by orders,” said deepa Tiare Alban, owner of Kona Joe Coffee on the Big Island, which began advertising the blend on its website Dec. 30.

But customers will have to wait until after Jan. 20, Inauguration Day, to receive their bag of Kona Joe Presidential Coffee, which will be packaged by Supreme Bean Coffee Roasters in North Hollywood.  Alban said she didn’t want to ship the product earlier out of respect for the current officeholder, President Bush.

Obama, whose father was Kenyan, was born in Hawaii and lived for several years in Indonesia.  “I thought: These are three great coffee-growing regions, so why not make a blend?” Alban said.

Asked to describe the Barack O Blend, she said, “It is very rich and very easy to drink.” For proprietary reasons, she declined to give the exact mix of coffees.

And the roast?

“It’s neither dark nor light,” Alban said. “It’s a blend, just like Obama.”

The coffee, which will also be sold at Alban’s plantation, costs $12.95 for a 7-ounce bag. Although hardly cheap, it’s not the most expensive coffee sold by Alban, whose Estate Trellis Reserve commands $55 per pound.

—Jane Engle, assistant Los Angeles Times Travel editor

[Photo: New coffee blend honoring Barack Obama costs $12.95 for 7 ounces.  Credit: Kona Joe Coffee]

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This entry was posted on Friday, January 2, 2009 at 4:29 pm by Jane Engle and is filed under Africa & Middle East, Arts & Culture, California, Hawaii, Hawaii's Big Island, Islands & Beaches, Los Angeles, News, Tips & Advice, Restaurants, Washington D.C.. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.