All the World Loves Kona Coffee–You Can See Why
If you are visiting Hawaii make sure and plan a visit to the Kona region of the Big Island, also known as the island of Hawaii, where you can take a tour of Kona coffee farm.
A farm tour will take you back in time and bring you a greater understanding of one of Hawaii’s most famous and traditional crops, and will also provide you with a real sense of the Aloha Spirit that makes Hawaii so special.
Grown along the famous Kona Coffee Belt, Hawaii Kona coffee is one of the world’s most sought after coffees. With more than 700 Kona Coffee Farms and Kona Coffee Estate Plantations spread across the coffee growing region that is about 30 miles long though only one to two miles wide, and all at elevations that range from about 500 feet to 2,500 feet above sea level.
This prime coffee growing region on the western slopes of the Big Island’s Hualalai and Mauna Loa volcanoes is Kona Coffee Country, blessed with fertile volcanic soils and about 60 inches of rain each year. The porous volcanic soil also has great drainage, which is important for coffee plants, as well as a very low PH which is just slightly acidic and quite high in nitrogen.
Sunny Kona mornings allow the coffee plants to thrive and grow, and then they are shielded by afternoon clouds during the hottest hours of sun which can be very harmful to the coffee plants. Misty and rainy afternoons along with generally very humid conditions and seasonal rains provide an optimal environment for growing gourmet coffee with natural irrigation.
The unique microclimate of the Kona Coffee Country is ideal for coffee cultivation, and only coffee grown here may be referred to as Kona coffee. It should be noted that one of the reasons gourmet coffee grows well here, and virtually nowhere else in the United States, is that the temperature never gets too cold. Frost severely damages coffee plants. An added bonus is that the Kona Coffee Belt has very few pests attacking the fragile coffee plants.
Hawaii’s prevailing northeasterly tradewinds first reach the Big Island at Hilo and then begin a journey up and over massive Mauna Loa’s eastern slopes to the leeward side. The temerity of the winds is tempered by their ascent and descent, so when they finally reach Kona Coffee Country the winds don’t damage the delicate coffee plant flowers.
Kona coffee farmers, many who are fifth generation descendants of the pioneering coffee farmers of Kona more than a century ago, are masters at picking just the ripest red coffee cherries to ensure the finest quality beans.
After picking the beans are dried, milled, graded, roasted, and shipped to lucky consumers. Kona coffee farms are typically only about five acres in size producing about 40,000 pounds off coffee cherry (coffee fruit), which becomes about 8,000 pounds of coffee beans after processing (milling). Another 20% of the weight is lost during roasting.
The Kona Coffee Belt overall produces about 3 million pounds of green (unroasted) coffee beans annually on about 4,000 acres of land. Truly a great addition to any Hawaii vacation is to see some of this unique coffee growing land and meet the farmers who nurture the crop from soil to sip! This is best done on a Kona coffee farm tour.
To read about more Kona Coffee Farms see Kona Coffee Farms, Tours, and Coffeehouses.