History of Kona Coffee
Kona coffee is a variety of coffee grown and cultivated in Hawaii in the North and South Districts as well as on the slopes of Mauna Loa and Mount Hualalai. Its delicious flavor has made it one of the most sought after coffees in the world. Although other coffees may be described as "Kona" coffee, only if it's come from the Kona Districts can it truly be Kona coffee.
Kona coffee, although unfamiliar to some, has actually been around for well over 100 years. John Wilkinson and his missionary Samuel Ruggles planted the first coffee in Kona in 1828. They brought some Brazilian cuttings and seedlings from Arabica trees into Oahu. Ruggles's original plan was to plant the coffee trees as ornamentals in his new West Hawaii home. At first it was an unsuccessful crop but the combination of the excellent Oahu island climate and rich volcanic soil grew an excellent crop. Warm sunny mornings with rainy afternoons and little wind are also consistent of the island and made for excellent growing conditions. The conditions had to be just right to grow a good crop of Kona coffee and they were perfect in Kona. What started off slowly soon became consistently successful crop. These plants and trees quickly changed from ornaments to the start of a very prosperous coffee industry.
The coffee crop was grown on large plantations where a lot could be produced at one time. In 1899, the worlds' coffee market crashed, which resulted in the owners of the plantation having to lease their land to their workers, which were imported from Japan. These workers, experienced in growing sugar cane, worked parcels of land from 5 to 10 acres in size as "family farms" and were extremely successful at growing high quality and large coffee crops. This tradition of family farms has continued throughout the years and is still large in Kona. Today, in addition to the Japanese workers, family farms are also run by Europeans, Filipinos and mainland Americans, making a total of 600 Kona coffee farms. In 1997, the production of green coffee was over two million pounds.
For years, Kona coffee was treasured by the rich and those desiring the very best in coffee. Even today, the area where excellent coffee can be grown is small, making the demand of Kona coffee even larger and the supply smaller.
Image courtesy of Old Hawaiian Coffee
