A Lesson in Coffee

I thought it would be appropriate to give you all a quick lesson in the history of coffee.
So as legend has it coffee was discovered accidentally by Kaldi, a goatherd in Ethiopia. He noticed his keep behaving a bit oddly after eating the cherry like fruit of a certain plant. Intrigued he decided to try it and subsequently experienced the first human coffee buzz. Now the story goes that while Kaldi was dancing with his goats a monk passed by and scolded him for partaking in "the devils fruit." The monks then soon realized that this bean came in pretty handy when needing to stay alert for extensive prayer sessions. These events are thought to be what led to the consumption of the coffee bean in Ethiopia.
Fast forward through the path of distibution which has been met with a lot of intrigue and controversy and we come to
Chief Boki, governor of Oahu. Chief Boki acquired coffee trees in Brazil and brought them to the Hawaiian Islands in 1825 by way of the British warship HMS Blonde. Then in 1828 Reverend Samuel Ruggles brought the first coffee plant to Kona from the ornamental gardens of the Hawaiian chiefs on Oahu. Presently Kona coffee is grown in an area 20 miles long and 2 miles wide on the slopes of Hualalai and Mauna Loa. The area contains approximately 600 independent farms ranging in size from 3-50 acres. Total Kona coffee acreage is over 2000 acres and annual production is generally over two million pounds.
Dragon's Lair Farm, the farm I am on is about 5 acres with 2000 coffee trees. This is a small farm that not only grows but also mills and roasts their beans.
Now that you all have my intro to coffee history you will be prepared to learn with me about the actual plant and cherry that will become the coffee you may drink.

I carry with me...

I am sitting in my empty apartment and feeling a bit more than destabilized. It was only 13 months ago that I moved my possesions into this place that I would soon call home or at least the closest I've ever felt to a home. And now there's nothing left except large dust bunnies and a recycling bin. My pets are just as disoriented as I... Stella (the cat) confused because there is no place to hide, and Kenya (the dog) ecstatic because she can now chase Stella without any furniture to obstruct her path. I've sold most of the stuff I have accumulated in preparation for this move to Hawaii and as I look around I feel a sort of emotional vacancy. I am not one to be attached to stuff but I can't help but feel a sense of loss. A loss of the experiences those possesions carried and the things they witnessed.

Now I carry with me stories
I carry my worry, I carry my concerns
I carry with me the front steps of every house I've lived in
I carry keys to the storage unit where the objects that are an extension of me are waiting for me to return
I carry my phone, full of numbers of those I call and those who don't call back
I carry my grandfather's fishing lessons, my mom's creative spririt, and my father's voice
I carry vintage scarves telling stories of another woman's adventures
And I carry every fresh start
And every final drive away
I carry the desire to go unnoticed and at the same time not be forgotten
I carry laughter
I carry Stuart Little, and Charlotte's Web, and Nancy Drew, and Pippy Longstocking, and Punky Brewster
I carry my dreams
And the dreams of my ancestors

This isn't the first time I've started over and I know that it will only be a matter of time before I begin collecting stuff that fits into my life again. I guess the question is what will that life be and what will it look like?

What is a blog anyway?

I have generally stayed away from blogging with the belief that they are simply structured environments for exhibitionists to well...exhibit, and exist merely as a breeding ground for narcissism. So one would ask, being that I am in the process of blogging, am I an exhibitionist or maybe a bit narcissistic?
I am choosing to believe that when there is an overall objective or purpose to this type of public journaling such judgements can not be made. My purpose in all of this is to share my adventures in coffee land. I have been accused of late of being a boring blogger, not posting anything. And folks just to clear things up that's because I am still here in good ol' Cincy.
However, the countdown has begun and if you are following along we are at 13 days before I leave you for the land of hibiscus, and mango, and macadamia nuts, and kava, and snorkeling, and lava...oh yeah, and coffee.