Koa Coffee Plantation
Encyclopedia
Kona coffee
Kona coffee is the market name for coffee cultivated on the slopes of Hualalai and Mauna Loa in the North and South Kona Districts of the Big Island of Hawaii. It is one of the most expensive coffees in the world. Only coffee from the Kona Districts can be described as "Kona"...
on Hawaii island
Hawaii (island)
The Island of Hawaii, also called the Big Island or Hawaii Island , is a volcanic island in the North Pacific Ocean...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
The company was established on the western slopes of Mauna Loa
Mauna Loa
Mauna Loa is one of five volcanoes that form the Island of Hawaii in the U.S. state of Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean, and the largest on Earth in terms of volume and area covered. It is an active shield volcano, with a volume estimated at approximately , although its peak is about lower than that...
in Captain Cook, Hawaii by Marin Artukovich in 1997, at 19°29′33"N 155°53′32"W.
It began as a small backyard business only producing 38000 pounds (17,236.5 kg) of coffee
Coffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
in its first year. Coffee production nearly doubled every year to reach 2010 production of over 700000 pounds (317,514.7 kg).
In 2007, Artukovich sold most of the assets of the company to Kona's Best Natural Coffee. KNBC does business as Koa Coffee Plantation.
The Koa Coffee plantation produces and sells only hand picked 100% estate Kona coffee, including organic Kona coffee and a heritage blend (Grande Domaine Kona) harvested from trees dating back to 1918. The plantation uses a wet mill facility from Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, a dry mill from Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
and maintains temperature and humidity control in their green bean storage facility.
Koa Plantation was named by Forbes
Forbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
as America's best coffee in 2001, won the Pacific Coast Coffee Association Coffee of the Year Award in 2004 and Gevalia Cup in 2002. The Koa Coffee Plantation is also a member of the Specialty Coffee Association of America, the Kona Coffee Council and the Hawaii Coffee Association.