Dave S.
2008-12-12 03:46:04 UTC
I just got back from two weeks on Hawaii, and then two more on Maui, and
I feel like I should pass on a good experience.
My wife noticed that the Kona Coffee Cultural Festival was going to
happen 7 - 16 Nov so that affected our trip scheduling. I noticed the
Farm and Mill Tour scheduled from 9 - 2 on 14 Nov so I reserved a
position for us before we left Canada ($50 each includes transportation
and a box lunch).
The tour met in the parking lot of Hale Halawai on Alii Drive in the
town of Kailua-Kona. There were about 20 of us, including two working
coffee farmers - Bob Nelson of Lehu'ula Farms (www.lehuulafarms.com) and
Gary Strawn of Kona Earth Farm (www.konaearth.com).
Our first stop was the farm of Kona Mountain Coffee.
(KonaMountainCoffee.com) It is family owned, but I didn't get the family
name. We were hosted by Raven, who showed us their organic coffee
growing area, and their processing facilities. Organic is a still small
but growing part of their farm, which at 90 acres was the largest one we
toured. Most coffee farms on the island (of which there are about 700)
are 3 - 5 acres in size. Kona Mountain farm is at 1600 - 2400 ft
elevation, and the processing facility is on a hill side, so they can
use gravity to move the coffee between pulping, fermenting, and drying
shed. Their drying shed is large, with a transparent lexan roof to let
the sun in and open sides to let the breeze remove moisture. This shed
doesn't have enough capacity to dry their entire crop, so they
supplement it with a fuelled drying drum.
After drying, they store the beans, still in parchment, in huge sacks in
a temperature and humidity controlled building for a minimum of 3
months. Like the other farms we visited, they don't have their own dry
mill (to remove parchment), so they haul the beans to one of several
available in the area. I believe Greenwell Farms
http://greenwellfarms.com/ runs a mill in Kealakekua. We saw a
co-operative mill in the town of Captain Cook. (Someone told me that one
is 'co-operative' in name only).
Brewed coffee was available in small paper cups, and roasted coffee was
available for sale. I wanted green, which was only available in the Kona
Coffee Mountain store, which is right on the highway to the airport. I
bought some there later.
Our next stop was Makahiki Farms, owned by Jonathan and Nancy Sechrist
(www.makahikifarms.com). This is a smaller farm, about 8 acres, and is
located at 1000 ft elevation above Kealakekua Bay. They have a beautiful
house and pool with a fantastic view of the Bay. After a tour of the
farm and processing facilities, we had our lunch under shade, between
house and pool. Nancy roasted a batch of coffee while we watched. A
personal opinion here: Nancy roasts her coffee to the point where she
can see spots of oil on the beans. Other places called their roast
Medium - Dark. To me these were all roasted more than I prefer - perhaps
it suits the espresso makers more. Coffee was for sale, but not green.
When I asked about green, Jonathan went out of his way to drop off a
pound of green at the condo where we were staying.
The third farm we visited was much smaller. Moki's Farm
(http://www.mokisfarm.com) is only 2 acres in size at 2000 ft elevation,
owned by Roger and Vivian Rittenhouse. As the acreage decreases, so does
the size of the processing equipment. We learned about the pests (mostly
coffee twig borer but some problem with banana moth), weather issues
(VOG - Volcanic Fog brought on by this year's increased emission of
gasses from Kilauea, primarily SO2, reduces sunlight and heat, slowing
plant growth, ripening, and drying of beans.)
We learned about new methods of pruning - chain saw vs. selective.
I wondered about the economics of coffee farming. The Rittenhouses are
retired from other careers, Jonathan Sechrist has a day job in the
computer industry, so neither are totally dependant on coffee farming
for their livelihood. Now that the Internet is widely available, every
little coffee farm can market their own product, and as a result, we
coffee drinkers have many more sources to choose from.
Coffee production requires seasonal labour. One source is a program
called Willing Workers On Organic Farms (WWOOF).
http://www.wwoofhawaii.org/content/what.html
The volunteers get their food and lodging in exchange for unskilled
labour, like weeding, grass cutting, etc. This program is so successful
that there aren't enough positions for all who would like to be 'WWOOFers'.
When it comes time to pick coffee, amateurs just don't cut it - it takes
practise. Foreign workers are brought in, some from Micronesia. They get
paid by the pound. If you pick too many green berries, you won't be
asked back. It seems the Micronesians have trouble surviving on
agricultural earnings, and so are supported by the State of Hawaii for
food and shelter. There are some Hawaiians who resent this, and I was
told a story, possibly apocryphal, of a Micronesian mother driving her
Lexus to get the food cheque for her sons.
Another personal point-of-view: We never met a snotty person in all of
Hawaii. Perhaps they don't exist. Our guide book says that some people
in Hilo have a saying about tourists: "Let the buggahs go to Kona". We
met nothing but the friendliest people you could want to be with, and we
spent four nights in Hilo!
This day was the first time I've been able to pick a ripe cherry off a
coffee bush, squeeze the beans out in my hand, and taste the sweetness
of the pulp. It resulted in a significant deepening of my relationship
with coffee in general, Kona coffee in particular.
I recommend such a tour to everyone who has the opportunity.
Dave S.
I feel like I should pass on a good experience.
My wife noticed that the Kona Coffee Cultural Festival was going to
happen 7 - 16 Nov so that affected our trip scheduling. I noticed the
Farm and Mill Tour scheduled from 9 - 2 on 14 Nov so I reserved a
position for us before we left Canada ($50 each includes transportation
and a box lunch).
The tour met in the parking lot of Hale Halawai on Alii Drive in the
town of Kailua-Kona. There were about 20 of us, including two working
coffee farmers - Bob Nelson of Lehu'ula Farms (www.lehuulafarms.com) and
Gary Strawn of Kona Earth Farm (www.konaearth.com).
Our first stop was the farm of Kona Mountain Coffee.
(KonaMountainCoffee.com) It is family owned, but I didn't get the family
name. We were hosted by Raven, who showed us their organic coffee
growing area, and their processing facilities. Organic is a still small
but growing part of their farm, which at 90 acres was the largest one we
toured. Most coffee farms on the island (of which there are about 700)
are 3 - 5 acres in size. Kona Mountain farm is at 1600 - 2400 ft
elevation, and the processing facility is on a hill side, so they can
use gravity to move the coffee between pulping, fermenting, and drying
shed. Their drying shed is large, with a transparent lexan roof to let
the sun in and open sides to let the breeze remove moisture. This shed
doesn't have enough capacity to dry their entire crop, so they
supplement it with a fuelled drying drum.
After drying, they store the beans, still in parchment, in huge sacks in
a temperature and humidity controlled building for a minimum of 3
months. Like the other farms we visited, they don't have their own dry
mill (to remove parchment), so they haul the beans to one of several
available in the area. I believe Greenwell Farms
http://greenwellfarms.com/ runs a mill in Kealakekua. We saw a
co-operative mill in the town of Captain Cook. (Someone told me that one
is 'co-operative' in name only).
Brewed coffee was available in small paper cups, and roasted coffee was
available for sale. I wanted green, which was only available in the Kona
Coffee Mountain store, which is right on the highway to the airport. I
bought some there later.
Our next stop was Makahiki Farms, owned by Jonathan and Nancy Sechrist
(www.makahikifarms.com). This is a smaller farm, about 8 acres, and is
located at 1000 ft elevation above Kealakekua Bay. They have a beautiful
house and pool with a fantastic view of the Bay. After a tour of the
farm and processing facilities, we had our lunch under shade, between
house and pool. Nancy roasted a batch of coffee while we watched. A
personal opinion here: Nancy roasts her coffee to the point where she
can see spots of oil on the beans. Other places called their roast
Medium - Dark. To me these were all roasted more than I prefer - perhaps
it suits the espresso makers more. Coffee was for sale, but not green.
When I asked about green, Jonathan went out of his way to drop off a
pound of green at the condo where we were staying.
The third farm we visited was much smaller. Moki's Farm
(http://www.mokisfarm.com) is only 2 acres in size at 2000 ft elevation,
owned by Roger and Vivian Rittenhouse. As the acreage decreases, so does
the size of the processing equipment. We learned about the pests (mostly
coffee twig borer but some problem with banana moth), weather issues
(VOG - Volcanic Fog brought on by this year's increased emission of
gasses from Kilauea, primarily SO2, reduces sunlight and heat, slowing
plant growth, ripening, and drying of beans.)
We learned about new methods of pruning - chain saw vs. selective.
I wondered about the economics of coffee farming. The Rittenhouses are
retired from other careers, Jonathan Sechrist has a day job in the
computer industry, so neither are totally dependant on coffee farming
for their livelihood. Now that the Internet is widely available, every
little coffee farm can market their own product, and as a result, we
coffee drinkers have many more sources to choose from.
Coffee production requires seasonal labour. One source is a program
called Willing Workers On Organic Farms (WWOOF).
http://www.wwoofhawaii.org/content/what.html
The volunteers get their food and lodging in exchange for unskilled
labour, like weeding, grass cutting, etc. This program is so successful
that there aren't enough positions for all who would like to be 'WWOOFers'.
When it comes time to pick coffee, amateurs just don't cut it - it takes
practise. Foreign workers are brought in, some from Micronesia. They get
paid by the pound. If you pick too many green berries, you won't be
asked back. It seems the Micronesians have trouble surviving on
agricultural earnings, and so are supported by the State of Hawaii for
food and shelter. There are some Hawaiians who resent this, and I was
told a story, possibly apocryphal, of a Micronesian mother driving her
Lexus to get the food cheque for her sons.
Another personal point-of-view: We never met a snotty person in all of
Hawaii. Perhaps they don't exist. Our guide book says that some people
in Hilo have a saying about tourists: "Let the buggahs go to Kona". We
met nothing but the friendliest people you could want to be with, and we
spent four nights in Hilo!
This day was the first time I've been able to pick a ripe cherry off a
coffee bush, squeeze the beans out in my hand, and taste the sweetness
of the pulp. It resulted in a significant deepening of my relationship
with coffee in general, Kona coffee in particular.
I recommend such a tour to everyone who has the opportunity.
Dave S.