Quality Control at Royal Kona Coffee

Quality Control -- Royal Kona Coffee from Hawaii

At Royal Kona Coffee, quality control is all about the science of coffee, but the science cannot be implemented without People who truly care. The President of Royal Kona Coffee from Hawaii tastes a sample from every batch of coffee packed from the previous day’s production at 10:00 am sharp every day. It’s ingrained into the organization that we will not settle on anything but the best for our customers. This is an accepted fact by the top chefs in Hawaii who use Royal Kona Gourmet Coffee. Famous chefs like Sam Choy, Roy Yamaguchi and Russell Siu have their own Signature Blend of Royal Kona Coffee. You can purchase these same signature Chef Series coffees here.

Our coffee quality program is built around a premise that says, “If we buy great green coffee, blend it to the correct recipe, roast it to perfection and then pack it in a, “Stay Fresh” Oxygen free environment, then and only then will our customers be satisfied. Given these goals, our quality program for Royal Kona Coffee from Hawaii utilizes a series of checks and balances throughout our manufacturing process to make this become a reality.

Purchasing of Green Coffee

When we purchase green coffee we bring in samples from farms located all over the globe and cup them under professional cupping standards for quality. Only the best coffees are selected for Royal Kona Gourmet Coffee. Once the approved coffees have been ordered, the original cupping sample is saved to be compared and cupped side by side when the order is received. This ensures we are receiving the same high quality coffee that was ordered.

Storage of Green Coffee

The green coffee used by Royal Kona Coffees from Hawaii is stored under optimum environmental conditions where the temperature is maintained at 70 degrees F and 70% humidity. It is critical that the coffee maintain moisture content of 12%.

Blending Royal Kona Gourmet Coffee for Roasting

We have one associate who is responsible for preparing our coffee blends for roasting. Regardless of how good the coffee is, it will not have the correct taste profile if it is not blended to the correct recipe. The Blendmaster starts with a computer generated roast chart. Each ingredient bean is charted by weight as it is added to the blend. The burlap sacks from each bag of coffee are saved until the end of the roasting shift. These bags are then counted and reconciled to a computer report which indicates how many bags of each coffee should have been used to correctly blend the day’s roasts. Our check and balance is that our Green Coffee Manager completes this daily audit of the green coffee used to be sure our recipes are followed to the letter.

Roasting to Perfection

Our coffee is roasted in two state of the art computer controlled roasters. Every batch of coffee is roasted to an exact standard for Royal Kona Coffee from Hawaii. The standard is controlled by a computer program called a roasting profile. Each type of roast has its own unique profile. The roasting profile determines the exact temperature in the roasting drum and the time in which it is roasted to an exact standard. The roaster is so sophisticated that the temperature can also be radically varied by use of exhaust fans and dampers to achieve results that the average coffee company just cannot achieve. The coffee comes out perfect with a great flavor and a uniquely sweet finish for every single batch.

After roasting each batch of Royal Kona Gourmet Coffee, we test for roast color and chemical composition in an analyzer called an Agtron. Our Roastmaster finely grinds a small sample of coffee which is placed inside of the Agtron analyzer. Light is reflected off of the coffee. The amount of light reflected is inversely proportional to a numeric value pre-assigned to each roast profile.

The Agtron test is so important that it is spot checked by our Quality Control Manager to make sure the values are correct. A coffee blend roasted just slightly lighter or darker than our standard will taste significantly different than the desired profile.

A Great Cup of Coffee Results from a Lot of Satisfying Effort

There is an old saying, “The proof is in the cup” and at Royal Kona Gourmet Coffee this saying is a reality.

The Royal Kona Coffee - Pledge of Quality

All Royal Kona Coffee from Hawaii is vacuum packaged for freshness, uses only the highest quality ingredients, utilizes, “Best Practices” in its manufacturing facility and treats its valuable employees to a safe and ethical workplace. We guarantee your unconditional satisfaction with our products. If you are disappointed for any reason we will refund your money or replace the product FREE OF CHARGE.

"You have my word" -- Jim Wayman, President of Royal Kona Coffee