Meticulous Attention “From Soil To Sip” by Lyman Family Descendants
The founder of Lyman Kona Coffee Farms is Hans Eckert is a retired college teacher who used to come to the Big Island every year wishing he could live there. When he finally bought some unimproved Kona farmland in 2003 it was only after he spent 18 months studying Kona coffee through interviews, workshops, internships, and educational opportunities offered by the U. of Hawaii and the Kona Coffee Council.
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Hans and his wife Marsha started their farm “from scratch” so that they could take the greatest advantage of laying it out for optimal efficiency and productivity. Their passion is to produce consistently one of the finest coffees within the Kona Coffee Belt, and they place far greater value on highest quality rather than highest yield. “I really need to feel good about my product,” says Hans, “and I do.”
Hans and Marsha named Lyman Kona Coffee Farms after David and Sarah Lyman who traveled by ship to the Big Island in 1832 as missionaries from Boston and founded and operated a school for 60 years where they taught in Hawaiian. David and Sarah Lyman built the first wood-frame house on the Big Island and this was the oldest wooden structure on the island. It is now part of the Lyman Museum in Hilo.
David and Sarah Lyman had been married only 24 days before leaving on their six-month voyage. In Hilo they also built the Hilo Boarding School which was a school for young Hawaiian men. In their home the Lymans raised their seven children and hosted guests including Hawaiian royalty and notable visitors such as Isabella Bird and Mark Twain.
David and Sarah Lyman are Han’s and Marsha’s daughter’s Karen’s sixth generation grandparents. Karen is 4, and Hans says that she “is definitely our manager.” Marsha’s Great-Grandfather was born in the crib that is displayed in the Lyman Museum.
There are about 750 Kona Coffee farms, and most just sell their coffee cherry to one of the large processors. Lyman Farms is one of only 40 or so “Certified Coffee Estates” (by both Kona Coffee Council, and by Kona Coffee Farmers Association). This means Single Origin Coffee, and that one operator (Hans, he has no employees) controls the quality of all phases of production. Lyman Farms nurtures their crop “from seed to cup.”
All Kona Coffee must by law be 100% Coffea Arabica species, and Lyman Farms has 3,200 “Kona Typica” variety trees on their 5 1⁄2 acre coffee orchard, which they planted in April of 2004.
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The 8-acre farm (and BnB Inn) are located at 2,100 feet elevation in North Kona. Two separate irrigation systems have been installed to deliver water to the trees when they need it, regardless of rainfall.
The farm and garden also includes 60 varieties of tropical fruit and has always been totally free of poisons, pesticides and herbicides. Lyman Farms employs only 100% Organic Practices in all of their operations and uses very strict quality control.
Lyman Farms picks only fully red cherry, by hand. Pickers are paid to go extra slow, picking only the cherry that look like tomatoes you want to eat the same day.
The coffee cherry gets processed within hours after picking, in the farm’s own wet mill where they float all cherry, and skim off all ‘floaters” for compost. Lyman Farms does not “re-run” cherry that gets kicked out from the custom wet-mill (pulper).
After mechanical demucilaging they still put the beans in a fermentation tank, and then skim off all floaters again. Then the coffee is sun-dried on a 1,600-square-foot deck and raked frequently. Whereas most processors produce a pound of roasted coffee from about 6 to 6 1⁄2 lbs of coffee cherry, Lyman Farms needs about 8 lbs, because they winnow out the selection at every step to improve the final result.
Once the parchment coffee is at 20% humidity, they pile it up over night and cover it in order to avoid re- hydration. Hans refers to this as “putting our coffee to bed.” At 11.5%, they bag the coffee and store it in their own climate controlled (A/C and dehumidifier) storage facility.
Lyman Farms also dry-mills their coffee at an organically certified dry mill. Coffee stays for State Certification in sealed bags. They pick it up as soon as they have the paperwork and store the green coffee with the parchment. Their green coffee is never older than three months, and the parchment always less than one year.
The average yield per season (August- July) is over 30 thousand lbs. Lyman Farm roasts all their coffee themselves - roasted to order, usually twice a week.
Lyman Farm won the Silver Medal of Kona Coffee Council People’s Choice last year the Hawaii Coffee Association Excellence Award in a statewide cupping this year, their label won the Gevalia sponsors award in ‘09, and they were honored with the “Collaborator of the Year 2008″ Award by the Kona Soils & Water Conservation district.
Lyman Farm also has a 4 room Bed and Breakfast Inn, www.MangoSunset.com, and the guests get free farm tours (90 min.) by Dr. Hans Eckert, owner/operator. Groups are accommodated by previous arrangement.
Lyman Farm is a Coffee Estate, certified by Kona Coffee Farmers Association (member) and Kona Coffee Council (member). They are also members of Hawaii Tropical Fruit Growers Association (HTFGA), Hawaiian Organic Farmers Association (HOFA), Hawaii AgriTourism Association (HATA)
Lyman Farm welcomes your contact and inquiries:
Dr. Hans F. Eckert Owner/Operator Lyman Kona Coffee Farms Big Island of Hawaii, U.S.A.
73-4261 Mamalahoa Hwy. Kailua-Kona, HI 96740 coffee@LymanKonaCoffee.com Ph: 808-325-0909 Fax: 325-0601
Check Out Some Great Photos of Lyman Kona Coffee Farms below:
To read about more Kona Coffee Farms see Kona Coffee Farms, Tours, and Coffeehouses.
Also see: Five Best Coffees In The World - Best Coffee Beans
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Wow! Thank you –Mahalo Nui!