A Taste Of Honey

Andy Powers discusses the character, clarity and ‘chatoyance’ of koa, the world-class tonewood of the Taylor 724ce

- David Mead

We were obviously very impressed with the Taylor 724ce in our review, and a large part of its glorious tone has to be put down to the koa used in its construction. Koa is a honey‑coloured wood that is indigenous to Hawaii and is known for its sweetness, warmth and clarity. Taylor has its own managed plantation in Hawaii and, as it turns out, this particular body wood seems to be a favourite for Taylor’s new president and CEO Andy Powers…

“It’s absolutely stunningly beautiful,” he tells us. “Even as I walk toward a chunk of koa, before I can touch it, before I can hear it, before I can smell it, I can see it from a long distance away and it strikes me as one of the most beautiful of all woods. The colours, the variegation… it has this luminosity that wood nerds refer to as ‘chatoyance’, kind of similar to the way we look at a seashell, this three‑dimensional reflective quality. So there’s that aspect.