Kona Coffee - Historically

100% Kona Coffee - Historically

Kona Coffee has been growing continually in the North and South Districts of Kona, an area about 20 miles long and 2 miles wide, for over 173 years! In 1845, the first exports to California began.

Kona Coffee leads a generally pest free life because of its isolated location, growing on an island in the middle of the Pacific. To protect Kona Coffee from pests found in other coffees, all foreign green beans coming into Hawaii are fumigated with methyl bromide.

As a result of its inherent good health, much Kona Coffee is grown on large old-growth productive Arabica, var. typica trees. Some of our own trees are over 100 years old. Kona Coffee trees grow vigorously on the steep, rocky, well draining slopes of two enormous volcanic mountains - Mauna Loa (13,333 feet in elevation) and Hualalai ( 8275 feet in elevation).

FYI: The biggest weed in our coffeeland is dropped ripe coffee from the previous year, happily sprouting.

Kona Coffee flowers bloom, in early spring, and begin to develop fruit in “rounds”- not all at the same time. Because Kona Coffee is only Hand Picked, using their eyes and hands, a Kona Coffee farmer knows exactly what he is harvesting.

Each Kona Coffee tree is visited for only its ripe coffee cherry in each “round”. Each tree may get 5 visits during the harvest season, from fall through late winter.

Hand Picking gives the Kona Coffee farmer the opportunity to pick just the ripest reddest coffee cherry, resulting in a sweet cup. If our Kona Coffee beans were mechanically picked, the immature, imperfect and old Coffee cherries included would ruin the delicate and naturally sweet cup of Kona Coffee.

www.smithfarms.com