100% Kona Coffee

So what is so special about Makahiki Farms Kona coffee? First and foremost, it tastes wonderful! This has to do with several important factors.

The plants themselves are high quality nursery stock that were started in sterile soil. That means the seedlings are free of pests. The trees are planted in rows with a state-of-the-art irrigation system and fertilization system called "fertigation".

The unique climate in the Kona area on the west side of the island of Hawaii makes for the best coffee-growing conditions. Warm sun in the mornings and cloudy, damp afternoons are ideal. In addition, the summers are rainy and the winters are relatively dry. These seasonal changes in Kona are great for the flowering and maturation of the coffee cherry.

Our farm is small and manually tended. The trees are pampered to create good yields with large beans. Jonathan jokes that Nancy has named every one of the nearly 2000 trees.

The harvest is all done by hand. We are fortunate to have a very conscientious picking crew. The pickers choose only the ripe red cherry insuring that they get almost none that are under-ripe or over-ripe.

Makahiki Farms cherries are processed separately, right here on the farm, so that only the product from our farm is in our roasted, estate coffee. We have complete control over the quality. For example, during pulping, we float the coffee so that we remove and discard any cherries that float. We also have special equipment that captures and removes any cherries that make it through the pulper but aren't properly pulped. These are mostly either very tiny cherries, under-ripe or overly large "mother" beans and are also discarded. We wash the pulped coffee thoroughly after fermentation and float it again to remove any defective beans.

This wonderful climate and attention to detail is evident in the taste that is Makahiki Farms Kona coffee - smooth and flavorful, but not a trace of bitterness.

Tips for Purchasing Kona Coffee

There are a couple things you might want to consider when buying Kona coffee. First, make sure it is 100% Kona Coffee. There are many brands of coffee that have the word "Kona" in the name but aren't Kona. There are also many that are a "Kona Coffee Blend". A Kona blend can contain as little as 10% Kona beans. So read the label. Make sure if you want 100% Kona that is really is 100% Kona.

If you are looking at several different brands of Kona coffee and comparing prices, be aware that some packages look to be the same size but some contain only 7 ounces instead of 8 ounces.

Look for Kona coffee that is fresh. You are paying for a premium gourmet product. You want it to be fresh and not stale. Packages with the one-way valve let the gases from roasting escape without letting in air that will make it stale quickly. Light is also bad for coffee freshness, we recommend avoiding packages with transparent panels.