Island X Hawaii // 67-106 Kealohanui Street C-1, Waialua, HI 96791 // (808) 637-2624
Meet Bill Martin, a North Shore surfer and Waialua coffee roaster. He enjoys doing one as much as the other, and is an expert at both.
International Traveler and Surfer
Bill graduated from the University of South Carolina in international relations, which was useful for his world-wide travels. In his younger years, he chased down perfect waves by traveling to various exotic surf spots. From Europe to Maui then New Zealand to Australia, Bill worked odd jobs in between surf sessions.
Old Sugar Mill
After spending a short stint in New Zealand, and then a year in Australia during its bicentenary, some surfers told him about other exotic and uncrowded surf spots in Malaysia and the Indonesia’s Bali, Java, and Sumatra. He recalls, “I thought I was going to be a surf hobo,” and had no intentions of getting into the coffee industry. Nor did he think he’d own a business named after one of his favorite surfing locations.
While reading a surfing magazine in the seventies, Bill came across an article about a secret surf spot. The authors wanted to share about the epic waves yet keep it a secret, so they gave it a covert name. They dubbed it Island X. Bill followed suit and named his company after it. Nowadays, that secret surf location is known to many as Panaitan Island, between Java and Sumatra, in the vicinity of Krakatoa. Bill describes it like this:
It’s a serious big left-hand barrel. You know when you get the Kona winds here, those real clean days? It’s real oily perfection. The light offshore wind makes the surf super clean. Like Bali–since it’s right there in the doldrums–there’s not that much wind. It’s not as raw and powerful as [Hawaiian waves], but definitely smooth and perfect.
Strangely, his descriptions of the surfing conditions at Panaitan Island is similar to how his Old Sugar Mill Brand Waialua Coffee roasts turn out at Island X Hawaii.
Roasting Processes
Bill roasts coffee almost every other day to maintain quality and freshness. Each batch he roasts is approximately 20 pounds. The beans are roasted to an oily perfection, and the washed processed beans, although not as raw and powerful as the natural processed beans, definitely has a clean, bright taste. He sells both in medium and dark roasts, and the medium roast natural process is his most popular seller.
Entrance to Island X Hawaii
Bill prides himself on bringing attention to this specific distinction (wet process versus dry process) in the coffee making process. He asserts not many people know or understand washed coffee versus natural process coffee, so he markets his coffee that way. “Coffee is processed in either one of those processes, or a mixture of those two, and most consumers haven’t really heard of that…until now.”
It’s not a game changer, but as a roaster, he is able to highlight a specific part of the coffee process that many coffee shop owners cannot. He displays signs in his shop that helps customers differentiate between the two, and provides samples of the different processes so customers can taste it for themselves.
Island X Hawaii and Dole Company
His company, Island X Hawaii, is operated from a warehouse in Old Waialua Sugar Mill, although the sugar mill no longer produces sugar. Instead, the coffee and cacao that Dole Company grows and harvests from nearby fields is processed behind his shop. Visitors are treated to free mini-tours where they are taught about harvesting, washing, fermenting, and roasting coffee.
Bill working on his roasting machine
Contrary to popular belief, Dole Company who grows and harvests Waialua Estate has only been in the business of growing coffee trees since 2005. Dole Company grows the coffee, and sells a large quantity of the raw beans to Island X Hawaii where Bill roasts and packages them under the Old Sugar Mill Brand label.
He learned how to roast mostly by trial and error, but got some help from the mainland seller who sold him his coffee roaster. When choosing how to best roast the coffee, Bill sought guidance from Dr. Shawn Steinman, Hawaii’s coffee expert on how to best prepare the beans. After several attempts, Bill settled on a medium and dark roast for the Waialua Estate, which he believes highlights the beans’ best flavor.
