The
reverend Samuel Ruggles brought the first coffee seedlings to Kona in
1828 from Brazil. Although it was not until much later in the century
that it became a dependable and valuable crop, the early variety came to
be known as “Kanaka Koppe” or Hawaiian Coffee and is still prevalent
throughout Kona today. The crash of the world coffee market in 1899
caused large plantation owners to lease out 5 to 12 acre parcels to the
immigrant families that were brought from Japan to tend and harvest the
crops. The families industriously worked their leased land parcels and
soon began producing large, superior coffee crops. In the late 20th
century there were approximately 600 Kona coffee farms with an average
farm size of less than 5 acres. At that time the annual green coffee
production totaled just over two million pounds.
Pure Kona coffee, classified as 100% Kona beans, is not only rare but
quite expensive in the coffee marketplace. Seven to nine pounds of
“cherry” are required to make one pound of roasted coffee. Each tree is
hand-picked several times between August and January, and provides
around 20-30 pounds of cherry. Thus 100 pounds of cherry will only yield
about 12 pounds of coffee. Because of this rarity, some retailers sell
Kona Blends which only contain 10% Kona coffee and 90% cheaper imported
beans. This practice has become very confusing and misleading to
consumers and recently the state of Hawaii passed legislation which
requires the percentage of Kona coffee to be clearly stated on the
package label.
Fact
Hawaii is the only place in the United States where coffee is grown. The
volcanic soil, copious sunshine, and afternoon rainfall make the Kona
district of the island of Hawaii is one of the premier coffee growing
regions in the world.
Fact or Fancy
In the late 19th century the emerging Hawaii coffee industry began to
surge in popularity. Island residents and visitors were robustly
encouraged to abandon their morning and afternoon tea and replace it
with a fresh brewed cup of Kona coffee instead. This practice was
sanctified in 1869 when Queen Lilioukalani decreed Kona coffee as the
official drink of Hawaii. This proclamation was not welcomed by many and
eventually an entrepreneurial group of European expatriates opened the
island’s first clandestine tea house. Unbeknownst to territorial
government officials, these tea houses began appearing in many island
locations. The proprietors and patrons alike both knew their
participation in tea drinking would not be favorably looked upon by
bureaucrats so they went to great lengths to hide the activity. The
services of local wood craftsmen were engaged to create small Polynesian
looking statues which would be used to identify tea house members and
allow them to gain entrance. Over the years as people migrated back and
forth from Europe they carried the little statues with them. Soon these
figurines began popping up in many European cities and became
affectionately know as “tea keys”. The name spelling was soon changed to
the more Polynesian looking “tiki”. Although historians disagree about
the origins of the first Tiki, it is commonly believed these first tea
houses gave birth to the present day pop culture phenomenon know as
“tiki culture”.
.
The
reverend Samuel Ruggles brought the first coffee seedlings to Kona in
1828 from Brazil. Although it was not until much later in the century
that it became a dependable and valuable crop, the early variety came to
be known as “Kanaka Koppe” or Hawaiian Coffee and is still prevalent
throughout Kona today. The crash of the world coffee market in 1899
caused large plantation owners to lease out 5 to 12 acre parcels to the
immigrant families that were brought from Japan to tend and harvest the
crops. The families industriously worked their leased land parcels and
soon began producing large, superior coffee crops. In the late 20th
century there were approximately 600 Kona coffee farms with an average
farm size of less than 5 acres. At that time the annual green coffee
production totaled just over two million pounds.