Kilauea, Kauai, Hawaii

Photographed - October 28, 2017, 1:00pm

Design, Atmosphere, and An Excellent Cup

4270 Kilauea Road, Kilauea, Kauii, Hawaii

Print Drop #1: Trilogy

The very first print available on Epicure Nicholas! And you’re here for it!

Design and aesthetics are a major draw of a great coffee shop. Sure, the coffee needs to be excellent - but it’s the way you feel in the space that keeps you coming back. Long after you leave, you likely won’t be thinking about the coffee itself, but the time you had there, the memories and emotions, the things you saw - something that caught your eye.

This print is an ode to that feeling and atmosphere.

Moody yet warm, calm and peaceful - but with the potential for excitement.

You are there to have some coffee, after all.

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The last post, on Trouble Coffee, reminded me of Trilogy Coffee, which I visited with my wife on our honeymoon in Hawaii. Maybe it was the alliteration. I’m pretty certain this was the only coffee shop of its calibur on the island at the time. That might even still be the case. Pretty excellent spot if you happen to be enjoying some time on the garden island.

I tend to really like sniffing out where the absolute best coffee is in a particular place I’m visiting. Or maybe it’s not so much that I like it as it’s a necessity if I’m going to actually enjoy a cup of coffee.

What I want from coffee, holistically.

Some folks just want a jolt, and they’ll be happy with any coffee they can get their hands on, even if it’s gas station sock water. I’m on the opposite side of the spectrum. I love coffee for its complexity of flavor, its origin story, the ritual preperation, the comfort and atmosphere of a beautifully designed space to enjoy it. It’s all about having an experience, not as much about getting amped up. If coffee had way less caffeine in it, I’d actually be thrilled about that since I’m pretty sensitive to it. If decaf were just as good, I would drink that all the time. But we all know even the best decaf can’t fully stack up. So, a life of getting hopped up so I can enjoy the rest of it is how it goes.

So, hunting down not just a great cup of coffee but a wonderful place to visit is one of my top priorities when traveling, and making a guide to share my findings was kind of the guiding light of Guidepost. I enjoy sharing all the other places I’ve found and visited, but finding truly excellent coffee while you’re away can be a bit of a challenge. It often involves cross referencing sources to find the best place you can, then going there and questioning the baristas, the industry insiders, on where to get next for the best of the best that city has to offer. There is a bit of fun underground niche-ness to that which is admittedly fun.

But, when your tastes are as particular as mine, you also have to evaluate every recommendation and see if it’s in line with what you’re looking for. Some people might like a coffee shop for some sugary indulgent cookies, even though the actual coffee isn’t great. Come off it. Get outta here. No thank you.

It’s the same with any sort of recommendation I suppose. That person is always telling you about what they like personally, and that’s great as an insight into learning what that person likes - but then you have to evaluate if that’s actually a good fit for you. So here’s a takeaway for you; If you ask someone for a recommendation for something, anything, ask them what they like there, what they like about it, why they’re recommending it. You can also preface your ask with as much specific information as possible.

For me, now, I’m ask for a place that does ultra-light nordic roast pour-overs where the focus is on bringing out amazing flavors in the cup. I like for the place to have a nice environment, but that pretty much always comes part-and-parcel with a truly exceptional cup. The kind of place that brews what I want to drink often has design also at the forefront. I imagine there’s a bit of overlap in intentionality, precision, elegance, artistry that makes excellence in one area pour over into another.

And, as a photographer of architecture & design, this gives me a feast for all my interests. It might just be the perfect kind of place for me.

Oh, you’re still here? Nice. Let’s talk photography.

The photos I took here, while I’m fond of several, have a lot of room for improvement. So, let’s use this as an opportunity to give some photography pointers on how you can produce some better images in similar circumstances.

But, in my defence, I was on my honeymoon, not a photoshoot. Seven years ago. So shuddup will ya?

This wider shot gives a bit more context, especialy with the presence of the menu. It’s very clear you’re in a coffee shop now. I also like how it’s split into 3 parts: Menu, Light, Window.

I started the shoot with some images of the interior. We were the only people in the shop at the time, so there wasn’t much else to shoot right as we ordered. (The actual first shot was of my wife, Regina, but that photo was again, not great. I just love her. I’ll put that one at the end.)

These first few shots capture the mood of the overcast day, and some of the design and material selection in the shop. While I don’t think any are exceptional (maybe I’m just being harsh?) I do like them. The colors, light, and mood are all the kind of thing I like to look for in an image. I like that little sconce, too. Looks custom made. Lemme look that up real quick.

Jesus, the light itself is a bronze deck light that sells for 399,00 € ($629). Not to mention the clearly custom woodworking beneath.

Excuse me for a moment while I try to license these photos to the manufacturer.

Alright, it’s an hour later and I’ve sent several emails. The fishing lines are out and now we wait for a bite. I’m pretty pumped that writing this little bit about these photos I was feeling a little meh on has got me fired up to get them out there. Funny how life works, ain’t it?

And now it’s 11pm and I am incredibly tired, so we’re going to have to pick this post up tomorrow.

Alright, it’s tomorrow. Great time to talk about a coffee shop, too.

Let’s start with what’s good about this image. It does effectively give you a feel for the space, you can tell that there are louvered windows that let in plenty of light and air. You can see the open doorway to the left telling you that it’s open to the elements, a benefit of its tropical locale. The menu and shelves full of products tell you you’re in a store. The particular array of products further tells you it’s a coffee shop - Bags of coffee, granola, high quality chocolate, coffee brewers, ceramic mugs and tea-ware. The artwork tells you a bit about the ethos of the place, and the architecture sets an airy tone. So it’s very good at conveying a ton of information about the space - but as a work of art, leaves a bit to be desired.

How could it be improved?

You can see little bits of people out the doors and windows - someone’s sleeve on the left, a torso through the left window, Regina sitting down at a table on the right. Waiting another moment for all of them to be out of the frame could have been better.

Alright, I could talk some more, but you’ve got things to do, I’ve got things to do, so let’s get moving on, eh?

Thanks for reading.