It is reasonable to assume excellent traceability of Hawaiian coffee in a country like the United States. Coffee can usually be traced back to a specific farm. Farms also roast their coffee to sell to customers and tourists in many circumstances. They also export part of the island’s coffee trees, primarily to the United States.
Kona Hawaii’s Coffee Tree History
Because Hawaii is not a coffee-growing region, many planting initiatives put the islands on the global coffee map at first.
On January 21, 1813, a Spaniard called Francisco de Paula y Marin, who was cultivating coffee on the island of Oahu, brought coffee to Hawaii for the first time. Many trees, such as grapes, sugar cane, mango, and pineapple, have been successfully cultivated on the Hawaiian islands… But no one knew what happened to these early coffee trees.
John Wilkinson, a British botanist who came to Hawaii on the battleship HMS Blonde under Captain Lord Byron in 1825, planted coffee trees native to Brazil in Manoa Valley and Oahu.
Unfortunately, Wilkinson died in March 1827, and the coffee trees of this generation did not farewell. British Consul Richard Carlton grew some coffee in Manila about this time.
After many efforts, the coffee tree chose Hawaii!
When Reverend Samuel Ruggles (an American missionary to Hawaii in 1820) traveled from Hilo in the east to the church of Kealakekua in the west in July 1828, he planted the first coffee tree on the Kona district of Hawaii’s Big Island.
These coffee trees grew and flourished throughout time, becoming the most successful milestone in growing Hawaii’s original coffee plants.
Volcanica Kona peaberry
The champagne of Kona coffee is the Kona Peaberry Coffee. Kona Coffee has a deep volcanic flavor and is smooth, nutty, and luscious, with an intense aroma and low acidity.
Our Gran Reserve Kona Peaberry Coffee beans are highly valued for their smooth full flavors, delectably rich medium-body, complex flavor, and heady aroma. This Kona Coffee is peaberry grade, 100 percent Pure Authentic Kona Coffee grown in limited supply.
Peaberry Kona beans
On coffee labels, you’ve probably seen phrases like ‘Peaberry Kona Coffee’ and ‘Tanzanian Peaberry.’ These coffees are trendy among gourmet coffee drinkers and are significantly more expensive than regular coffee.
Whereas a half-pound (8 oz.) of it costs around $25, peaberry versions of the same coffee are usually $5-$10 more expensive. But exactly what is peaberry coffee? Is it superior to regular coffee?
Coffee production in Kona Hawaii
Growing coffee is a family tradition in Hawaii, and many Kona coffee locations have been passed down for five generations. Kona and the entire state of Hawaii is blessed with a climate conducive to the growth of coffee trees.
Because most of the coffees cultivated in Hawaii are certified as organic coffee or coffee grown in the shade, residents in Hawaii have developed cultural traditions centered on environmental conservation, the sea, and the island landscape.
Kona coffee taste
People think it is better than the rest because of its delicious, distinct flavor. When pure Kona coffee is successfully roasted, it has a bright, clean taste with hints of different flavors such as honey, brown sugar, fruit, and milk chocolate.
In addition, the coffee can have almost spicy wine notes. The flavors are harmonious, and nothing stands out more than the others. It has a pleasant lingering aftertaste that reminds me of nuts and citrus, which accounts for its slight acidity.
The aroma of coffee is also appealing. It tastes like a delicious combination of butter, cocoa, and caramel.
The balance of taste, aftertaste, and scent creates an unforgettable coffee-drinking experience. It’s worth noting that this experience only applies to drinking pure Kona coffee, not the cheap blends found in grocery stores.
Coffee products with a Kona percentage of 10% are not pure. They are made up of 0 to 10% Kona coffee and other coffee from another parts of the world. The reason sellers do this is to capitalize on the well-known Kona brand.
Unfortunately, the use of lower-quality coffee dilutes the flavors you’d expect from a cup of Kona coffee. It won’t taste as rich or as smooth in your mouth.
When you drink pure Kona coffee, you can be certain that the beans chosen are the best of the crop, with no bitter, unripe, or diseased coffee beans making their way into your cup. You can also be confident that the clean process allowed the beans’ natural flavors to shine through.
Sell Kona coffee
Following Norton’s scandal in the mid-1990s, a group of Hawaii farmers, retailers, and processors who grow, produce, and sell Kona coffee formed the Kona Coffee Council (KKC).
Its main goal is to ensure that Kona coffee buyers receive 100% pure Kona coffee rather than cheap blends with Kona product labels. The Kona Coffee Growers Association represents the best interests of Kona coffee growers and promotes pure Kona coffee sales while seeking legislative protection for the brand name.
With so many safeguards and quality assurance standards in place, it’s no surprise that it is among the most expensive in the world. Its production also contributes significantly to its costs.
Harvesting is a time-consuming process because the coffee cherries are hand-picked. Farmers use machines to shake coffee trees to release ripe, over-ripe, and under-ripe cherries, which can cause a cup of coffee to taste bitter rather than mild or sweet.
Farmers in Kona select only the best red coffee cherries from the same trees over a period of months. They also sort them by grade or size and dry-processed beans. Farmers and retailers can sell the beans roasted and hand-packaged.
Farmers and laborers are paid more than coffee workers in Ethiopia or Guatemala, two of the world’s leading coffee-producing countries.
Hawaii (or, more precisely, Kona) has its coffee grading system, which is separated into grade 1 and grade 2 based on the size of the beans. Type 1 coffee beans have two beans per berry, but Class 2 coffees have only peaberries (cults).
The giant beans in Category 1 are Kona Extra Fancy, followed by Kona Fancy, Kona Number 1, Kona Select, and Kona Prime.
There are just two types in category 2: the larger Kona Number 1 Peaberry and the smaller Kona Peaberry Prime. There are maximum fault criteria in each category, although they are rather extensive and are not a valid measure of quality on their own.
Kona Coffee – Hawaii
The Kona region on the Big Island is the most famous coffee-growing region in Hawaii and one of the most famous in the world. The area’s long history of coffee cultivation has solidified its reputation, but it has also resulted in the widespread availability of imitation Kona in the market.
According to island law, any Kona mix must list the amount of Kona it contains, and the use of the ‘100 percent Kona trademark is strictly regulated.
Henry Nicholas Greenwell, a Kona coffee dealer, received an excellence award at the 1873 world exposition in Vienna. Since then, Kona coffee’s quality reputation has skyrocketed, boosting Hawaiian coffee’s widespread renown.
In North and South, the Big Island region now has over 800 coffee farms. Coffee estates can be found on the slopes of two volcanoes, Hualalai and Mauna Loa. With rich mineral-volcanic soil, dark skies, minimal wind, and a tree-covered habitat in the highlands, the climate of Kona is favored by nature. Allowing coffee trees to create the best flavors.
Kauai Coffee – Hawaii
While Kona is grown on the Big Island’s western slopes. Kauai coffee is farmed mostly on the volcano’s southern slopes. The climate is very similar to that of the Kona area. With mineral-rich volcanic soil that is cloud-covered.
Plantations of coffee The Kauai Company farms roughly 3,100 hectares of coffee trees on former sugarcane land at a relatively low elevation. The majority of Kauai’s coffee is wet-processed or honey-processed.
The majority of the coffee varietals grown on Kauai and the Hawaiian Islands, in general, are Brazilian Golden Catuai varieties. Others include Guatemalan varieties, Brazilian Red Catuai, Central American Mundo Novo varieties, and Blue Mountain variants (from Jamaica).
A single region controls the reputation of Hawaiian coffee. Kona, has displaced trees from other parts of the Big Island, including Kau, Puna, and Hamakua. Like Oahu, Maui, and Molokai, other islands also grow coffee and are well worth visiting.
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- Best coffee beans in the world: 8 types of best and most popular coffee beans in the world
- Fun fact about coffee? It takes up to 18 coffee trees to serve you 2 cups a day!
- Typical Coffee – Origin & Biological Characteristics | Typica Coffee in Vietnam – Helena., JSC
References:
- Primecoffea, Cà phê Kona từ Hawaii, Tháng Tám 2, 2017