Kona coffee
Encyclopedia
Kona coffee is the market name for coffee
(Coffea arabica
) 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". The weather of sunny mornings, cloud or rain in the afternoon, little wind and mild nights combined with porous, mineral rich volcanic soil, creates favorable coffee growing conditions. The loanword for coffee in the Hawaiian language is kope, pronounced ˈkope.
was brought to the Kona district in 1828 by Samuel Reverend Ruggles, from Brazil
ian cuttings.
English merchant Henry Nicholas Greenwell
moved to the area and established Kona coffee as a recognized brand later in the 19th century. The former Greenwell Store
and Kona Coffee Living History Farm
have since become museums.
In other parts of the Hawaiian islands, it was grown on large plantation
s, but the 1899 world coffee market crash caused plantation owners to lease land to their workers. Most were from Japan
, brought to work on sugarcane
plantations. They worked their leased parcels of between 5 and 12 acres (48,562.3 m²) as family concerns, producing large, quality crops.
The tradition of family farms continued throughout Kona. The Japanese-origin families have been joined by Filipinos
, mainland Americans, and Europeans. There are approximately 800 Kona coffee farms, with an average size of less than 5 acres (20,234.3 m²). In 1997 the total Kona coffee area was 2290 acres (9 km²) and green coffee production just over two million pounds.
Within 24 hours of picking, the cherry is run through a pulper
, the beans are separated from the pulp, and then placed overnight in a fermentation tank. The fermentation time is about 12 hours at a low elevation or 24 at a higher elevation. The beans are rinsed and spread to dry on a hoshidana or drying rack. Traditional hoshidanas have a rolling roof to cover the beans in rain. It takes 7–14 days to dry beans to an optimal moisture level of between 10 and 13% (by Hawaii Department of Agriculture regulations: 9.5-12.5%). Too much moisture content in coffee allows the growth of ochratoxin A, a harmful mycotoxin, hazardous to human health. From here, the beans are stored as "pergamino" or parchment. The parchment is milled off the green bean prior to roasting or wholesale.
Kona coffee beans are classified according to seed. Type I beans consist of two beans per cherry, flat on one side, oval on the other. Type II beans consist of one round bean per cherry, otherwise known as a peaberry
. Further grading of these two types of beans depends on size, moisture content, purity of bean type and size. The grades of Type I Kona coffee are Kona Extra Fancy, Kona Fancy, Kona Number 1, Kona Select, and Kona Prime. The grades of Type II Kona coffee are Peaberry Number 1 and Peaberry Prime. There is also a lower grade of coffee called Number 3 which can not legally be labeled as "Kona".
Infestations of the root-knot nematode
damaged many trees in the Kona districts in the 1990s. Symptoms are single or clusters of trees with stunted growth, especially when transplanted.
In 2001, rootstock from the Coffea liberica
species was found to be resistant to the nematodes. It could be grafted with Coffea arabica
'Guatemala' variety to produce a plant that naturally resists the pest, as well as produces a quality coffee product. The combination was named after Edward T. Fukunaga (1910–1984), who was superintendent of the University of Hawaii
's Kona Research Station in Kainaliu
in the 1950s through the 1970s.
, Brazilian or other foreign coffees. Usually they contain only the minimum required 10% Kona coffee and 90% cheaper imported beans.
Current Hawaiian law requires blends to state only the percentage of Kona coffee on the label but not any other coffee origins. There is no matching Federal law. Some retailers use terms like Kona Roast, or Kona Style. To be considered authentic Kona coffee, the state of Hawaii's labeling laws require the prominent display of the words "100% Kona Coffee".
In 1993, the Kona Coffee Council, a regional coffee growers association, tried unsuccessfully to protect the name "Kona Coffee" by trademarking their logo with the United States Patent & Trademark Office. They were opposed by Kona Kai Farms, Inc, Captain Cook Coffee Co., Hawaiian Isles Enterprises, Hawaii Coffee Company. In 2000 the Department of Agriculture of the State of Hawaii registered a "100% Kona Coffee" certification mark with the United States Patent & Trademark Office. Administration in regard of this certification mark was handed over by the State Department of Agriculture to the Hawaii Coffee Company, part of Topa Equities Ltd, based in Los Angeles.
, was sued on behalf of Kona coffee growers. In October 1996, federal officials in San Francisco indicted Kona Kai Farms executive Michael Norton on wire fraud and money laundering charges. He was found to have put Central American coffee into bags with labels indicating it was Kona coffee since 1993.
In 2000, Michael Norton pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of tax evasion. In 2007 his two sons were arrested in a multimillion dollar medical marijuana scam.
Some Kona farms have become successful tourist attractions. Although some roadside stands are allowed with special permits, large gift shops at some areas that are zoned agricultural have met local resistance.
Former Mayor of Hawaii County Stephen Yamashiro, who served from 1992 to 2000, is credited with introducing the "100% Kona Coffee" logo
and emblem
now used by the industry.
(Hypothenemus hampei), the most harmful beetle to the arabica coffee crop was discovered in Kona coast plantations in September 2010 by a graduate student of University of Hawaii. It is unknown how the tiny beetle got to Kona, but the size of the infestation indicates that it has been going for a few years. Some growers suspected that severe drought conditions had reduced the fungus Beauveria bassiana
, which might have kept the beetle population under control for years.
By late November 2010, the Hawaii Department of Agriculture declared a quarantine
on all green (unroasted) beans leaving the island. Fumigation with a chemical such as methyl bromide or a six-step procedure was required. The price of Kona coffee was expected to rise, up to a possible $50 per pound by December 2010, if the infestation lingers or spreads, because the insect has the potential to reduce crop yields up to 90%. In early 2011 the Hawaii State Dept. of Agriculture allowed the import and application of a concentrated naturally occurring fungus (beauveria bassiana) to successfully combat the infestation.
| publisher = Watermark Publishing
| location = Honolulu
| date = 2008
| isbn = 978-0-9815086-2-7
}}i at Manoa
| location = Honolulu
| date = 2004
| isbn = 1929325061
| origyear = 1999
}}i Department of Agriculture
| date =
| url = http://hawaii.gov/hdoa/qad/comm/coffee
| accessdate = 2009-09-26
}}
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,...
(Coffea arabica
Coffea arabica
Coffea arabica is a species of Coffea originally indigenous to the mountains of Yemen in the Arabian Peninsula, hence its name, and also from the southwestern highlands of Ethiopia and southeastern Sudan. It is also known as the "coffee shrub of Arabia", "mountain coffee" or "arabica coffee"...
) cultivated on the slopes of Hualalai
Hualalai
Hualālai is a dormant shield volcano on the island of Hawaii in the Hawaiian Islands. It is the third-youngest and the third most active of the five volcanoes that form the island of Hawaii, following Kīlauea and the much larger Mauna Loa, and also the westernmost. Its peak is above sea...
and 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 the North and South Kona Districts
Kona District, Hawaii
Kona is the name of a moku or district on the Big Island of Hawaii in the State of Hawaii. In the current system of administration of Hawaii County, the moku of Kona is divided into North Kona District and South Kona District . The term "Kona" is sometimes used to refer to its largest town,...
of the Big Island
Hawaii (island)
The Island of Hawaii, also called the Big Island or Hawaii Island , is a volcanic island in the North Pacific Ocean...
of Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
. It is one of the most expensive coffees in the world. Only coffee from the Kona Districts can be described as "Kona". The weather of sunny mornings, cloud or rain in the afternoon, little wind and mild nights combined with porous, mineral rich volcanic soil, creates favorable coffee growing conditions. The loanword for coffee in the Hawaiian language is kope, pronounced ˈkope.
History
The coffee plantCoffee
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,...
was brought to the Kona district in 1828 by Samuel Reverend Ruggles, 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...
ian cuttings.
English merchant Henry Nicholas Greenwell
Henry Nicholas Greenwell
Henry Nicholas Greenwell was an English merchant credited with establishing Kona coffee as an internationally known brand.His family became major land-holders in the Kona District of the island of Hawaii....
moved to the area and established Kona coffee as a recognized brand later in the 19th century. The former Greenwell Store
Greenwell Store
The Greenwell Store is a historic building now run as a museum by the Kona Historical Society.-History:Henry Nicholas Greenwell was an English merchant who originally came to Hawaii in 1850. He went back to England in 1867, and returned and married Elizabeth Caroline Hall...
and Kona Coffee Living History Farm
Kona Coffee Living History Farm
Kona Coffee Living History Farm depicts the daily lives of early Japanese immigrants to Hawaii during the period of 1920-1945.It is located on the Daisaku Uchida Coffee Farm historic Kona coffee farm first established in 1900....
have since become museums.
In other parts of the Hawaiian islands, it was grown on large plantation
Plantation
A plantation is a long artificially established forest, farm or estate, where crops are grown for sale, often in distant markets rather than for local on-site consumption...
s, but the 1899 world coffee market crash caused plantation owners to lease land to their workers. Most were from Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, brought to work on sugarcane
Sugarcane
Sugarcane refers to any of six to 37 species of tall perennial grasses of the genus Saccharum . Native to the warm temperate to tropical regions of South Asia, they have stout, jointed, fibrous stalks that are rich in sugar, and measure two to six metres tall...
plantations. They worked their leased parcels of between 5 and 12 acres (48,562.3 m²) as family concerns, producing large, quality crops.
The tradition of family farms continued throughout Kona. The Japanese-origin families have been joined by Filipinos
Filipino people
The Filipino people or Filipinos are an Austronesian ethnic group native to the islands of the Philippines. There are about 92 million Filipinos in the Philippines, and about 11 million living outside the Philippines ....
, mainland Americans, and Europeans. There are approximately 800 Kona coffee farms, with an average size of less than 5 acres (20,234.3 m²). In 1997 the total Kona coffee area was 2290 acres (9 km²) and green coffee production just over two million pounds.
Growing and processing
Kona coffee blooms in February and March. Small white flowers known as Kona Snow cover the tree. Green berries appear in April. By late August, red fruit, called "cherry" because of resemblance to a cherry, start to ripen for picking. Each tree, hand-picked several times between August and January, provides around 15 pounds of cherry, which result in about 2 pounds of roasted coffee.Within 24 hours of picking, the cherry is run through a pulper
Pulper
In agriculture, a pulper is a machine designed to remove pulp i.e. the soft flesh from agricultural produce. For example, in coffee growing the ripe, red cherries are picked from the coffee bushes and prior to fermentation and later drying the soft pulp needs to be removed...
, the beans are separated from the pulp, and then placed overnight in a fermentation tank. The fermentation time is about 12 hours at a low elevation or 24 at a higher elevation. The beans are rinsed and spread to dry on a hoshidana or drying rack. Traditional hoshidanas have a rolling roof to cover the beans in rain. It takes 7–14 days to dry beans to an optimal moisture level of between 10 and 13% (by Hawaii Department of Agriculture regulations: 9.5-12.5%). Too much moisture content in coffee allows the growth of ochratoxin A, a harmful mycotoxin, hazardous to human health. From here, the beans are stored as "pergamino" or parchment. The parchment is milled off the green bean prior to roasting or wholesale.
Kona coffee beans are classified according to seed. Type I beans consist of two beans per cherry, flat on one side, oval on the other. Type II beans consist of one round bean per cherry, otherwise known as a peaberry
Peaberry
Peaberry, also known as caracoli, is a type of coffee bean. Normally the fruit of the coffee plant develops as two halves of a bean within a single cherry, but sometimes only one of the two seeds gets fertilized, so there is nothing to flatten it. This oval bean is known as peaberry...
. Further grading of these two types of beans depends on size, moisture content, purity of bean type and size. The grades of Type I Kona coffee are Kona Extra Fancy, Kona Fancy, Kona Number 1, Kona Select, and Kona Prime. The grades of Type II Kona coffee are Peaberry Number 1 and Peaberry Prime. There is also a lower grade of coffee called Number 3 which can not legally be labeled as "Kona".
Infestations of the root-knot nematode
Root-knot nematode
Root-knot nematodes are plant-parasitic nematodes from the genus Meloidogyne. They exist in soil in areas with hot climates or short winters. About 2000 plants are susceptible to infection by root-knot nematodes and they cause approximately 5% of global crop loss...
damaged many trees in the Kona districts in the 1990s. Symptoms are single or clusters of trees with stunted growth, especially when transplanted.
In 2001, rootstock from the Coffea liberica
Coffea liberica
Coffea liberica is a species of flowering plant in the Rubiaceae family. It is a coffee that is found in Liberia, West Africa.-Cultivation and Use:...
species was found to be resistant to the nematodes. It could be grafted with Coffea arabica
Coffea arabica
Coffea arabica is a species of Coffea originally indigenous to the mountains of Yemen in the Arabian Peninsula, hence its name, and also from the southwestern highlands of Ethiopia and southeastern Sudan. It is also known as the "coffee shrub of Arabia", "mountain coffee" or "arabica coffee"...
'Guatemala' variety to produce a plant that naturally resists the pest, as well as produces a quality coffee product. The combination was named after Edward T. Fukunaga (1910–1984), who was superintendent of the University of Hawaii
University of Hawaii
The University of Hawaii System, formally the University of Hawaii and popularly known as UH, is a public, co-educational college and university system that confers associate, bachelor, master, and doctoral degrees through three university campuses, seven community college campuses, an employment...
's Kona Research Station in Kainaliu
Kainaliu, Hawaii
Kainaliu is a small community in Hawaii County, Hawaii, United States.-Geography:Kainaliu is located in the Kona district at coordinates, along the Hawaii Belt Road, also called the Māmalahoa Highway or state route 11....
in the 1950s through the 1970s.
Kona blends
Because of the rarity and price of Kona coffee, some retailers sell "Kona Blends". These are not a combination of different Kona coffees, but a blend of Kona and ColombianColombian coffee
Colombian Coffee is a protected designation of origin granted by the European Union that applies to the coffee produced in Colombia. The Colombian coffee has been recognized worldwide as having high quality and distinctive taste...
, Brazilian or other foreign coffees. Usually they contain only the minimum required 10% Kona coffee and 90% cheaper imported beans.
Current Hawaiian law requires blends to state only the percentage of Kona coffee on the label but not any other coffee origins. There is no matching Federal law. Some retailers use terms like Kona Roast, or Kona Style. To be considered authentic Kona coffee, the state of Hawaii's labeling laws require the prominent display of the words "100% Kona Coffee".
In 1993, the Kona Coffee Council, a regional coffee growers association, tried unsuccessfully to protect the name "Kona Coffee" by trademarking their logo with the United States Patent & Trademark Office. They were opposed by Kona Kai Farms, Inc, Captain Cook Coffee Co., Hawaiian Isles Enterprises, Hawaii Coffee Company. In 2000 the Department of Agriculture of the State of Hawaii registered a "100% Kona Coffee" certification mark with the United States Patent & Trademark Office. Administration in regard of this certification mark was handed over by the State Department of Agriculture to the Hawaii Coffee Company, part of Topa Equities Ltd, based in Los Angeles.
Recent developments
In the 1990s, a company called Kona Kai Farms, in Berkeley, CaliforniaBerkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
, was sued on behalf of Kona coffee growers. In October 1996, federal officials in San Francisco indicted Kona Kai Farms executive Michael Norton on wire fraud and money laundering charges. He was found to have put Central American coffee into bags with labels indicating it was Kona coffee since 1993.
In 2000, Michael Norton pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of tax evasion. In 2007 his two sons were arrested in a multimillion dollar medical marijuana scam.
Some Kona farms have become successful tourist attractions. Although some roadside stands are allowed with special permits, large gift shops at some areas that are zoned agricultural have met local resistance.
Former Mayor of Hawaii County Stephen Yamashiro, who served from 1992 to 2000, is credited with introducing the "100% Kona Coffee" logo
Logo
A logo is a graphic mark or emblem commonly used by commercial enterprises, organizations and even individuals to aid and promote instant public recognition...
and emblem
Emblem
An emblem is a pictorial image, abstract or representational, that epitomizes a concept — e.g., a moral truth, or an allegory — or that represents a person, such as a king or saint.-Distinction: emblem and symbol:...
now used by the industry.
Coffee berry borer infestation
Coffee berry borerCoffee borer beetle
The coffee berry borer, Hypothenemus hampei, is a small beetle native to Africa. It is recognised as the most harmful pest to coffee crops worldwide. The insect affects over seventy countries, mainly in Latin America...
(Hypothenemus hampei), the most harmful beetle to the arabica coffee crop was discovered in Kona coast plantations in September 2010 by a graduate student of University of Hawaii. It is unknown how the tiny beetle got to Kona, but the size of the infestation indicates that it has been going for a few years. Some growers suspected that severe drought conditions had reduced the fungus Beauveria bassiana
Beauveria bassiana
Beauveria bassiana is a fungus that grows naturally in soils throughout the world and acts as a parasite on various arthropod species, causing white muscardine disease; it thus belongs to the entomopathogenic fungi. It is being used as a biological insecticide to control a number of pests such as...
, which might have kept the beetle population under control for years.
By late November 2010, the Hawaii Department of Agriculture declared a quarantine
Quarantine
Quarantine is compulsory isolation, typically to contain the spread of something considered dangerous, often but not always disease. The word comes from the Italian quarantena, meaning forty-day period....
on all green (unroasted) beans leaving the island. Fumigation with a chemical such as methyl bromide or a six-step procedure was required. The price of Kona coffee was expected to rise, up to a possible $50 per pound by December 2010, if the infestation lingers or spreads, because the insect has the potential to reduce crop yields up to 90%. In early 2011 the Hawaii State Dept. of Agriculture allowed the import and application of a concentrated naturally occurring fungus (beauveria bassiana) to successfully combat the infestation.
See also
- Coffee production in HawaiiCoffee production in HawaiiThe only state in the United States of America able to grow coffee plants commercially is Hawaii. However, it is not the only coffee grown on U.S. soil; for example, Puerto Rico has had a coffee industry for some time, although it is not a state but a U.S. territory. Ramiro L...
- Jamaican Blue Mountain CoffeeJamaican Blue Mountain CoffeeJamaican Blue Mountain Coffee or Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee is a classification of coffee grown in the Blue Mountains of Jamaica. The best lots of Blue Mountain coffee are noted for their mild flavour and lack of bitterness...
- Kona Coffee Living History FarmKona Coffee Living History FarmKona Coffee Living History Farm depicts the daily lives of early Japanese immigrants to Hawaii during the period of 1920-1945.It is located on the Daisaku Uchida Coffee Farm historic Kona coffee farm first established in 1900....
- Ramiro L. ColonRamiro L. ColonRamiro L. Colón , was the general manager of the Cooperativa de Cafeteros de Puerto Rico. He reorganized the company during its time of crisis and is credited with having saved the coffee industry in Puerto Rico.-Early years:...
Puerto Rico coffee cooperative
Further reading
i Coffee Book| publisher = Watermark Publishing
| location = Honolulu
| date = 2008
| isbn = 978-0-9815086-2-7
}}i at Manoa
| location = Honolulu
| date = 2004
| isbn = 1929325061
| origyear = 1999
}}i Department of Agriculture
| date =
| url = http://hawaii.gov/hdoa/qad/comm/coffee
| accessdate = 2009-09-26
}}