Kona coffee festival gives Big Isle a boost

By Associated Press

KAILUA-KONA, Hawaii (AP) _ It takes only minutes every morning to brew up a java jolt, but the coffee-growing region of Kona takes 10 days to properly honor the bean.

The 38th Kona Coffee Cultural Festival kicked off this weekend, with a slate of parades and pageants, workshops, farm tours, seminars and a handful of culinary delights.

In addition to honoring Kona's coffee pioneers and celebrating 180 years of harvests along the Kona-Holualoa-Captain Cook corridor, the festival typically draws between 16,000 and 18,000 caffeine connoisseurs.

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