Hawaii Kona Coffee Rural/Farm Cultivation Status and Hawaiian Coffee Bean Variety Analysis

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Discovering Kona Coffee: Hawaii's World-Renowned Treasure

Visitors traveling to the Kona district of Hawaii have the opportunity to taste the world-renowned Kona coffee. Many believe that this premium coffee can even make connoisseurs' mouths water!

The mountain roads in Kona are narrow and winding, with coffee trees covering the slopes on both sides as far as the eye can see. The coffee leaves are bright and pleasing to the eye, the coffee flowers are small and white, and during their blooming season throughout the year, waves of floral fragrance can be detected everywhere. After the flowers fall, small coffee cherries form.

There are more than six hundred coffee farms of various sizes here, built adjacent to each other, all family businesses passed down through generations! The coffee-growing area on the island of Hawaii is quite extensive, approximately 1.5 kilometers wide and 50 kilometers long, located on the slopes of two ancient volcanoes: Hualālai and Mauna Loa. At elevations between 150 and 750 meters in the mountainous regions, the conditions are most suitable for growing excellent coffee.

Kona coffee is a specialty of Hawaii. Whether in famous resorts, supermarkets, rural shops, or roadside cafes, you can always smell the captivating aroma of coffee. Those who understand coffee appreciate its rich and invigorating character, smooth mouthfeel, and lingering fragrance. How did the coffee cultivation industry establish itself in this former monarchy and develop into a multi-million dollar enterprise?

The Origins of Coffee in Hawaii

It is widely believed that Marin was the first person to introduce coffee to Hawaii. Marin was a doctor and also an assistant to King Kamehameha I at the time. It is said that he introduced coffee trees to Oahu in 1813 and began cultivating them on the island. Around 1828, coffee tree branches were brought from Oahu to the Kona district on the island of Hawaii. Those coffee trees belonged to the Arabica species, and the coffee produced in Kona today remains of this variety. By the 1830s, Kona's coffee had grown quite flourishingly and was ready to be introduced to the commercial market.

Why Coffee Thrives in Kona

Although botanically speaking, coffee belongs to the evergreen shrub or small tree category, coffee plants can reach up to 10 meters in height, which explains why many people refer to them as coffee trees. Kona's geographical environment is most suitable for coffee cultivation because trade winds blow from the east side of the island, encounter the barrier of Mauna Loa volcano, and climb upward along the mountain terrain to 4,000 meters, at which point the wind becomes much gentler. The gentle trade winds cross the volcano to reach Kona, gently caressing the coffee trees, so that even the delicate coffee flowers are not harmed.

The slopes of the Kona district receive abundant sunshine, but clouds often block the sun in the afternoon, preventing the plants from being exposed to intense sunlight. The clouds also drizzle gentle rain, providing the coffee trees with sufficient moisture. The climate here is mild year-round, and plants face no danger of frost.

Harvesting and Processing

After planting coffee trees, how long must one wait before harvesting and sending them to market for sale? Generally, coffee trees must be planted for at least 3 years before they can produce satisfactory fruit. Coffee trees flower several times a year, so harvesting workers must manually pick the fruit up to 8 times annually!

The coffee cherries are reddish in color and plump and full, usually containing two seeds inside—the seeds are the coffee beans. The coffee beans are wrapped in a thin layer of fruit skin, so the fruit pulp and skin must first be removed (2), then the skinless beans are soaked in water (3), and finally dried (4). The processed coffee beans are far fewer in quantity than before processing. Depending on the quality of the finished product, eight bags of coffee cherries may only produce one bag of roasted coffee beans.

Roasting (5) coffee beans can be described as an art form. In addition to excellent equipment, the roaster's skill is also quite important. How long coffee beans are roasted mainly depends on the following factors: the moisture content, weight, grade, and quality of the beans themselves, the desired color, and the weather conditions at the time.

Most coffee farms and grinding mills on the island of Hawaii adopt modern sales techniques. They welcome the public to visit, tour the production process, and taste some Kona coffee. Colorful road signs, distinctive old coffee grinding mills, quaint cafes and inns can be seen everywhere. Of course, what they sell is all Kona coffee!

Coffee was once transported by tame donkeys. Because these donkeys made too harsh a sound, locals jokingly called them "Kona nightingales." Later, they were replaced by military jeeps, but both modes of transportation were eventually eliminated. The donkeys were released back into nature and became protected animals, while those jeeps were placed in farmers' backyards, slowly being consumed by rust!

Moving into the Premium Market

For many years, most Kona coffee was mixed with inferior coffee and sold on the market. Until the mid-1950s, the situation changed. At that time, global coffee prices were rising, and the amount of coffee produced in Kona was quite substantial. The University of Hawaii's extension service met with farmers and encouraged them to plant more coffee. Farmers, producers, researchers, and extension service personnel exchanged information about coffee cultivation.

The subsequent results were satisfying. Since 1970, Kona coffee has gradually no longer been mixed with inferior coffee for sale. Kona coffee transformed itself into a premium beverage in the drink market, not only supplying domestic demand in the United States but also being sold in the international market. The market price of Kona coffee continued to rise. International trade treaties helped stabilize coffee prices and prevent large fluctuations, which was quite beneficial to coffee farmers. Furthermore, "Kona Coffee" was registered as a patented brand, protected by copyright law, which also helped with market promotion. Now many coffee farmers sell coffee online with considerable profits.

Kona Coffee Festival

Nowadays, the Kona Coffee Cultural Festival is held annually on a grand scale and welcomes everyone to participate. The program includes recipe design competitions, golf tournaments, and many other events. Of course, the highlight of the coffee festival is the coffee cupping competition, where experts taste coffee from different plantations. This competition is quite intense because the winning plantation's coffee sales will increase significantly.

How to brew a "perfect Kona coffee"? The event organizers provide the following suggestions: "A drip coffee maker with filter paper is the best brewing method. Pour cold water straight from the tap into the machine, adding 3 teaspoons of Kona coffee per 178 ml of water. The brewed coffee should be kept warm and consumed within one hour—that's when the coffee tastes most fragrant and rich."

Now do you want to try some Kona coffee? This way, you will taste what many consider to be the most fragrant and rich coffee in the world. Kona coffee—truly a gem in the eyes of connoisseurs!

FrontStreet Coffee: A roastery in Guangzhou with a small shop but diverse variety of beans, where you can find various famous and lesser-known beans, while also providing online store services. https://shop104210103.taobao.com

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