White House open to local coffee
By Sean Hao
Advertiser Staff Writer
Lingle administration officials were claiming at least a partial victory in their effort to get the White House to serve Hawai'i-made coffee.
Advertiser library photo • March 21, 1997
Hawai'i is the only state in the country with a commercial coffee industry and during the governor's recently concluded trip to the nation's Capitol she let Bush administration officials and first lady Laura Bush know it.
The Lingle administration said that its proposal to serve only Hawai'i-made coffee at the White House was met with a favorable response.
Though there's no agreement for the White House to serve Hawai'i coffee yet, the proposal was met with a favorable response, said Steve Bretschneider, chief marketing officer for the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism.
"I think the next step is to send them some samples and an order form," he said.
The idea to serve Hawai'i-grown coffee in the White House is part of a broader effort to take innovative and more daring steps in marketing local goods and services, Bretschneider said. DBEDT also is working on ways to increase the profile of other Hawai'i industries, including biotechnology, alternate energy and homeland security, he said.
"We're trying to change the game a bit," Bretschneider said. "This is a good first step."
Support for promoting Hawai'i coffee grown throughout the state, however, rather than the more recognized Kona brands, isn't universal.
"Send them the cognac" of Hawai'i coffee, said Michael Nagasaki, project manager for the Kona Pacific Farmers Cooperative, which sent five pounds of Kona coffee with Lingle. The governor also delivered coffee grown on several other Neighbor Islands.
"Since Kona coffee is the most widely recognized Hawai'i coffee, why not just ride Kona," Nagasaki said. "We can only produce so much coffee, so the rest of Hawai'i's coffee industry would benefit."
Nagasaki would also like Lingle to push the military to buy local coffee.
Bretschneider said it's up to the White House to decide which Hawai'i coffee it prefers.
"We're a state agency," he said. "We're neutral."
Yesterday, White House spokesman Ken Lisaius said he did not know where the White House coffee is grown.
He said the White House uses several common store-bought brands, but would not identify them individually.
"All I can say is we use American brands," Lisaius said.
Reach Sean Hao at shao@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8093.
