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The Paradise Experience: Hawaii and Kona Coffee

In Hawaii, you can watch the fiery sunset sink into the orange-hued sea, feel the flower-filled fresh air, and sit by the ocean sipping a rich cup of Hawaiian Kona coffee. There is probably no other place in the world that can offer you such an experience.

Hawaii's Rich History

The earliest settlers in Hawaii arrived between 300-400 AD, with historians speculating they came from the Marquesas Islands. People dispersed into different tribes living on the islands, led by hereditary chiefs. The earliest Hawaiian residents created Hawaii's rich musical culture, though not much written documentation has survived.

The European discovery of Hawaii was purely accidental. They were originally searching for a legendary passage to the spice-producing East but instead discovered the Pacific's most abundant pearl. A captain named James Cook landed on Kauai Island in 1778 to resupply his ships. On his return journey, he encountered severe cold and storms, forcing him to return to Hawaii in early 1779, anchoring at a beach in Kona. From then on, the Hawaiian Islands became an important stopover on world trade routes. Hawaiian chiefs traded the island's specialty sandalwood with passing ships for weapons, goods, and livestock. Beginning in the 1820s, Western religions began to spread widely on the islands, and many churches built during that era are still in use today.

Hawaii's Thriving Coffee Culture

Hawaii has a thriving tourism industry where visitors can tour coffee farms, witness or personally participate in various processes from coffee harvesting, bean processing, roasting, and grinding, to creating a truly personalized cup of coffee. In the Kona region, there are approximately 600 independent coffee farms, most of which are small-scale family farms with coffee cultivation areas typically between 18-42 mu (about 3-7 acres). Kona coffee generates over $10 million in annual revenue for these coffee farms.

Kona coffee cultivation has always adopted a family farming model. Initially, only men were allowed to work in coffee gardens, but women later joined. Hawaiians' family production model preferred to rely on family efforts rather than hiring workers, so it was normal for Hawaiian families to have eight or nine children. Afterward, new immigrants continued to arrive from the Philippines, mainland America, and Europe to engage in coffee cultivation in Hawaii. Over time, Hawaii developed a social atmosphere centered on family culture while being receptive to foreign cultures, which became one of Hawaii's distinctive features.

Hawaii is also a paradise for tasting and purchasing coffee. Each island has several distinctive places for tourists and locals to taste and buy coffee, ranging from cozy, warm small shops to comprehensive centers introducing coffee knowledge.

Noble and Ancient Heritage

True Hawaiian Kona coffee offers a unique pleasure that comes entirely from the most ancient Arabica coffee trees.

Hawaii is the only state in the United States that grows coffee. These coffees are cultivated on five major islands of the Hawaiian archipelago: Oahu, Hawaii Island, Maui, Kauai, and Molokai. Coffee from different islands has its own characteristics: Kauai coffee is smooth and mellow, Molokai coffee has high body and low acidity, while Maui coffee has medium acidity but the strongest flavor. Hawaiians take immense pride in their 100% locally grown Arabica coffee beans.

Hawaii Island is the largest island in the Hawaiian archipelago, hence also called the Big Island. Kona coffee is produced in the western and southern regions of Hawaii Island's Kona district. Coffee trees are scattered across the slopes of Hualalai and Mauna Loa mountains at elevations between 150-750 meters, perfectly suitable for coffee cultivation. The excellent quality of Kona coffee benefits from its ideal geographical location and climate. Coffee trees grow on volcanic slopes, providing the necessary altitude for coffee growth; dark volcanic ash soil supplies essential minerals; and the climate conditions are extremely favorable. Gentle morning sunlight passes through moisture-filled air, while afternoons become more humid and foggy in the mountains, with drifting white clouds serving as natural umbrellas for coffee trees. Evenings become clear and cool, but without frost. These favorable natural conditions make Kona coffee's average yield very high, reaching 2,240 kilograms per hectare, while in Latin America, coffee yield is only 600-900 kilograms per hectare.

In 1813, a Spaniard first planted coffee in Manoa Valley on Oahu, which today has become the main campus of the University of Hawaii. In 1825, an English agriculturalist named John Wilkinson brought some coffee plants from Brazil and planted them in Chief Boki's coffee garden on Oahu. Three years later, an American missionary named Samuel Reverend Ruggles brought branches from Chief Boki's garden to Kona. This coffee is descended from the earliest Arabica coffee trees that grew on the Ethiopian plateau, and to this day, Kona coffee continues its noble and ancient heritage.

Early coffee cultivation in Hawaii had already adopted the large-scale coffee plantation model, when coffee had not yet become a widely cultivated crop worldwide. Kona coffee production and sales experienced several ups and downs. After World War I erupted, coffee demand increased dramatically as governments purchased large quantities of coffee to maintain soldiers' combat capabilities. The rising demand triggered price increases, and Kona coffee was no exception. The period from the outbreak of World War I to 1928 was the golden age of Kona coffee. However, the subsequent Great Depression delivered a heavy blow to Kona coffee. In 1940, World War II caused coffee prices to rise again. To prevent excessive price increases, the U.S. government set price ceilings for coffee. Even so, Hawaiian coffee farmers benefited considerably, with their transportation for coffee cherries changing from donkeys to jeeps during this period. In the 1970s and 1980s, Kona coffee prices experienced several fluctuations, but it was during this period that Kona coffee established its status as world-class premium coffee. Even though Kona coffee has gained worldwide fame, its production remains at relatively low levels.

From the early 19th century, Hawaiian Kona coffee began to be cultivated in the Kona region and has never been interrupted. Only coffee produced here can be called "Hawaiian Kona." Hawaiian Kona coffee green beans are typically packaged in 100-bag single-origin coffee beans. Kona coffee beans are often blended with coffee beans from other parts of the world to create blended coffee. These blends are labeled "Kona Blend" on the packaging. Unfortunately, the Kona content in such blends may be very low. In Hawaii, the minimum Kona content standard for blends using the "Kona" label is only 10%. Therefore, unless you are in Kona, Hawaii, it's difficult to find 100% pure Kona coffee beans.

Spanning latitudes 19 to 22 degrees north of the Tropic of Cancer, the Hawaiian Islands, caressed by trade winds, form a naturally perfect coffee growing region. This fiftieth state of America, located 2,400 miles from the U.S. mainland's west coast, is the only coffee-producing state in the United States. Hawaii's Kona coffee enjoys international reputation and is hailed as one of the world's finest coffees. With volcanic soil and tropical climate, complemented by gentle humidity and regular afternoon showers, it creates an ideal growing environment that seems straight out of an idyllic pastoral scene, adding delicate yet unique flavor characteristics to these coffee beans. Generally speaking, Hawaiian coffee has medium-light body, medium-strong aroma, reaching a harmony with its medium-bright acidity. David Kingman, head of Kona Mist, a roaster and retailer company on Hawaii's Big Island, says: "This is absolutely the best coffee in the world, with stone fruit and chocolate flavors, drinking smooth and delicious!"

Although all Hawaiian islands have commercially cultivated coffee trees, the Big Island currently has the largest number of coffee estates, with approximately 650 estates. However, these coffee estates are relatively small, totaling less than 2,000 acres of planted forest land. On Maui, Molokai, Oahu, and Kauai islands, only 25 coffee farms are operating, but these farms are much larger than those on the Big Island, with total production more than three times that of Big Island farms. Surprisingly, Kauai Island has the largest coffee cultivation area among all islands, exceeding 4,000 acres, though all managed by the same operator. Molokai Island has only 550 acres planted with coffee, while Maui and Oahu have even less. Most Hawaiian coffee farmers today still only sell fresh coffee cherries, but in recent years, more people have been committed to adding value to their coffee bean products, so most are moving toward post-processing, drying, polishing, and roasting their own coffee beans.

Kona coffee beans are actually divided into five grades, with the first three being more common: Extra Fancy, Fancy, No. 1, Primary, and Peaberry (round beans, commonly known as male beans, selected by some coffee enthusiasts and sold at higher prices - about 5% of Kona coffee beans are Peaberry type). Except for specially selected Peaberry, the other four grades are classified by bean size, weight, and defect ratio. Before export, Kona green beans are labeled with numbered tags on burlap bags, indicating certification by the Hawaii Department of Agriculture and bearing an official identification seal, making them more expensive. Kona coffee is second only to Blue Mountain coffee in price. Kona coffee from planting, harvesting, washing, sun-drying, and polishing is all done by hand, so limited production combined with American labor processing makes it high-quality and expensive. Currently, Hawaii's 100% Kona coffee and Blue Mountain coffee are synonymous with premium coffee.

FrontStreet Coffee: A roastery in Guangzhou with a small shop but diverse bean varieties, where you can find both famous and lesser-known beans. They also provide online store services. https://shop104210103.taobao.com

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473