Taste the Island of Hawaii in each cup of Kona coffee

Kona Coffee is the name of the Arabica coffee that is grown only in the slopes of Mount Hualalai and Mauna Loa in Hawaii. Only those that are grown in the Kona district can really be called Kona coffee. Pure coffee from the Kona district is considered as one of the more desirable kinds of coffee in the world.

The unique island microclimate distinguishes pure Kona coffee from all others. The combination of bright sunny days, sometimes humid rainy afternoons and balmy nights contribute a lot to making coffee growing favorable in this part of Hawaii. The specific flavor of the coffee from the Kona district is attributed to these weather conditions.

History Of Kona Coffee

When Samuel Ruggles initially brought the coffee plant to Kona in the nineteenth century. The cuttings of the coffee plant that was brought came from Brazil. Right now, there are several Kona coffee family owned farms all over the Kona district. The coffee plants in Kona flowers around February and March. The small white flowers produced by the coffee plants are called Kona snow.

The red berries come around late August and they are soon ready to be picked around that time. Hand picking of the berries start from August to early January. After picking the berries are defruited or run through a pulper that separates the pulp from the seeds. The coffee beans are then dried for around a week or two weeks to have optimum moisture left in them.

Kona coffee beans are graded into different types. The usual types of coffee beans are flat on one side and oval at the other. The other type is a round coffee bean in a single berry. The single coffee bean is usually more prized because this contains more coffee flavor than the ones that come in pairs.

The two seed types can further be differentiated depending on their moisture content, bean size and purity. The coffee beans, which come in pairs, are graded as Kona Extra Fancy, Kona Fancy, Kona Number 1 and Kona Prime, while the single seeds are graded as Peaberry Number 1 and Peaberry Prime.

Kona Coffee Blends

Some coffee producers may sell Kona coffee blends in the market. These are several blends of coffee added to the Kona one. This kind of coffee usually only contains 10% Kona coffee and the rest is either Columbian or Brazilian coffees. This makes the sold coffee actually not Kona at all since it has lesser percentage compared to the other kinds blended with it.

If you were to taste pure Kona coffee next to a Kona blend the pure Kona would standout as the better of the two in smell and taste. When purchasing Kona blends make sure that the Kona coffee blend doesn’t just contain a small amount of Kona coffee beans and the rest is from other sources such as Robusta beans, thereby minimizing the coffee experience. A Kona blend can legally be labeled as Kona with as little as 10% of actual Kona beans in it.

It is a well known fact that Kona produces some of the best coffee in the world. Some say that they can actually taste the Island of Hawaii in each cup of Kona coffee.