as you probably know better than me, there is part kona, 100% kona, and 100% kona peaberry reserve(?). and i myself never bought the peaberry until last summer, and its the expensive one, and the best, but still no better to me than good 10$ coffee available almost anywhere, like starbucks, seattle best, espresso royale,...
maui is my favorite island, and has the best wine store too, where the wine is no more expensive than in atlanta. but maybe the coffee is more there. i suspect kona coffee is the beneficiary of good marketing and small supply, and the general popularity of the islands.
but i feel the same about pricy african coffees like "blue mountain" or whatever. being an italophile, nothing beats a hot espreso from almost any coffee shop in italy, and their top brand is lavazza, available for $10, or $20/lb even at ripoff tourist markets like pike place in seattle.
i used to proudly use a bialetti too at home, and had several sizes, but once one of my italian friends sampled my fare and pronounced it "horrible". It took many years after that to admit it, but now that I have my own espresso machine i know what he said was true.
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