Kona Coffee

Summer Vacation 2018 - Hawaii

(created Sun. July 29, 2018; updated Sun. Aug. 19, 2018)

Kona Coffee

We flew to Hawaii on Ann Marie’s birthday.

Matt knew he wanted to do something for her birthday once we arrived in the islands. After talking with the hotel’s concierge, Matt decided to take her to see a coffee farm, and the concierge helped him pick Kona Joe’s Coffee Farm.

Hawaii is the only state in the US that grows coffee, and Puerto Rico, a territory, is the only other place in the US where coffee is grown. Most of the coffee in Hawaii is grown on the western, Kona, side of the island.

We learned that Kona’s coffee is the third-most expensive in the world.

We also learned, and confirmed with our own taste buds, that peaberry coffee, made from round beans the size and shape of peas, does taste much better than other coffees.

While some of the farms rake the coffee beans by hand to dry them, not all do. Kona Joe uses ovens to dry their beans over the course of an afternoon.

Kona Joe’s coffee is unique because they patented the use of tying the coffee trees to trellises to hold up the coffee beans so they get more sun. This was based directly on how wineries grow grapes for wine... they tie the grape vines to trellises.

The two interns working that day were both from Brazil, which apparently is the world’s largest coffee producer. They provide a good tour.

Kona Joe’s:

-harvests twice a year
-uses machines to rinse the beans
-uses ovens to dry the beans
-uses roasters to get the coffee “just right” for drinking
-recommends peaberry coffee, as the pea-sized beans are more flavorful because of their round shape
-hosts a nice tour