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Gourmet Kona Coffee

Gourmet Kona CoffeeMany who have not tried 100% Kona coffee do not realize how good a cup of this coffee can taste. For those stuck in the rut of store-bought coffee that is a mixture of beans from all over the world, drinking a cup of pure Kona coffee is often an event that will change coffee buying and drinking habits forever. What makes Kona coffee a superior coffee? The answer is that Kona coffee is grown under ideal conditions and is harvested and processed almost exclusively by hand.

Kona Coffee Growing Region
The Kona region, which stretches from the center point of West Hawaii down the coast to the Southwest corner of the island is the home to the world-famous Kona coffee. Sheltered by two volcanoes to the East—Hualalai volcano and Mauna Loa volcano with the ocean visible to the West, the ideal conditions for coffee growing is created. The volcanoes shelter the coffee fields from severe weather moving from East to West. The mornings in this area are mostly sunny and then the clouds come over the volcanoes in the afternoon and create shady conditions for the coffee plants. Abundant rainfall, volcanic soil and favorable winds complete the equation to make for some of the world’s best coffee-growing conditions.

Harvesting Kona Coffee
The fruit of the coffee tree, like most fruit, does not become ripe at uniform times. While some international coffee farms will use mechanized picking methods, which strip the ripe and unripe coffee cherry (the red fruit of the coffee tree which encases the coffee bean) indiscriminately, Kona coffee is hand-picked. Only the ripe, red cherry is picked, leaving the yellow and green fruit to ripen. The coffee trees on most Kona coffee plantations are re-visited six or more times during the harvest season, which stretches from August to February. So, part of what makes Kona coffee superior is that only the beans that have reached the optimal level of ripeness are harvested.

Kona Coffee Processing
Most Kona coffee farms still process the coffee bean using traditional processes and tools. After the coffee is picked, the red cherry fruit casing is removed and then the coffee beans are soaked to remove the fleshy coating (called mucilage). After that the parchment (beans with parchment-like coating) are dried on decks (called “hoshidana”) for several days in the sun. Finally, the outer coating is removed to take the beans to the green stage. Once green, the beans are ready for roasting. The Kona coffee roasters are highly-skilled and ensure that each batch is roasted to perfection. After roasting , the beans are either ground or placed whole bean in bags.