pick-me-up
A Red Cruiser sells Kona coffee from Hawaii in Zug
Many of the islands that make up Hawaii are known for their beautiful beaches, active volcanoes and large pineapple plantations. Coffee beans also grow here. Daniel P. Gross, who lived on the Pacific island for ten years, now sells the coffee in Zug.
Marco Morosoli
You can try Daniel Gross’ coffee on the Bahnhofstrasse in Zug.
Photo: Maria Schmid (Zug, March 17, 2023)
When the talk comes to Hawaii, many people start dreaming. Waikiki Beach, Diamond Head, Pearl Harbor and Mauna Kea are just a few names of places on one of the approximately 130 islands that make up the youngest US state.
Daniel P. Gross (68), who now lives in Rotkreuz, lived on the island of Hawaii or the Big Island for ten years and knows many of the Hawaiian places of longing not just from hearsay.
Daniel Gross got a taste for Hawaii through many trips to the Pacific archipelago between 1990 and 2010. Anyone who is there is in a different sphere in terms of time. When the Hawaiian starts work in the morning, the Swiss are already thinking about the bedtime story.
Considered the champagne of coffee
As luck would have it, Daniel P. Gross bought a home on the Big Island about 1,300 feet below a coffee plantation that is part of the Kailua-Kona Coffee Belt. Over time, he started talking to his neighbors who lived upstairs. “At that time I hadn’t had any relation to coffee,” says Gross of his approach to the special plant with its beguiling taste.
This laid the red thread to the beans of the same color. Gradually, Gross acquired a knowledge of coffee. The 50th US state is also the only one in which coffee grows. The stimulant that Gross came to know and love is considered the champagne of the coffee industry.
In his professional life, Gross worked in various industries. He was always open to new things. Always had a lot on his mind. He ran a small bed and breakfast lodge in Hawaii. His motivation: “I wanted it to be quieter there, because doing nothing was not possible either.”
A piece of Hawaii saved to Switzerland
As so often in previous years, Gross came to Switzerland for vacation at the beginning of 2020. He ended up in Rotkreuz. Then came the pandemic. «Corona locked me out. When nothing had moved after six months, I sold my house on the island of Hawaii.»
He then asked himself: “What can I take home from my stay in the Pacific that doesn’t exist in Switzerland?” The answer was obvious: “coffee”.
Daniel Gross enjoys his work.
Photo: Maria Schmid (Zug, March 17, 2023)
The 68-year-old had already made initial contact with a producer when he was still living in Hawaii. He has now been in business for more than two years. He likes drinking coffee with the changing clientele, he says.
Daniel P. Gross usually serves freshly ground Kona coffee from Thursday to Saturday at Les Deux on Zug’s Bahnhofstrasse. He belongs to the stronger variety and awakens tired spirits. This coffee is also a rarity. The global coffee harvest in 2021 was around 9.3 million tons. The Hawaiian harvest, on the other hand, only yields around 4,000 tons of coffee per year.
Gross says: “I saved a part of Hawaii for the new task in Switzerland.” But he never forgets the ten years in Hawaii: “Half of me is still there. It stays that way forever.”