World famous Coffee Tour: Kona Coffee, Hawaii (part two)

Hawaiian Kona Coffee (Hawaii Kona Coffee)

[quality grading]: excellent (Extra Fancy)

[baking degree] medium-depth baking (High Roast or City Roast) is recommended.

[grade] excellent

[granule] ★★★★ is fuller

[acidity] ★★ microacid

[equilibrium] ★★★★ is relatively stable

[flavor] smooth, fragrant, with charming nutty aromas

[coffee producing areas]: Kona District, Hawaii (Hawaii Kona)

[raw bean treatment]: washing and refining method

The smell of Hawaii

In Hawaii, you can watch the fiery sunset sink into the red-orange sea, feel the fresh air filled with the scent of flowers, and sit by the sea and drink a cup of Kona coffee. I'm afraid there is no place in the world that can offer you such enjoyment.

The earliest settlers in Hawaii arrived here between 300 and 400 AD, and historians speculated that they were from the Marcos Islands. People are scattered into different tribes that live on the island and are led by hereditary chiefs. The earliest Hawaiian residents created the rich musical culture of Hawaii, although not many words have been preserved.

Europeans discovered Hawaii by accident. They were looking for a legendary passage to the east where spices were produced, but they found the richest pearl in the Pacific Ocean. A captain named James Cook landed at Kauai in 1778 to resupply his ship. He encountered severe cold and storms on his way back, so he had to return to Hawaii at the beginning of the next year and anchor on a beach in Kona. Since then, the Hawaiian islands have become an important port of call on world trade voyages. The chiefs of Hawaii exchanged sandalwood, the island's specialty, for weapons, goods and livestock with passing ships. From the 1820s, Western religion began to spread widely on the island, and many churches built at that time are still in use today.

With the development of tourism in Hawaii, tourists can visit coffee farms, see or participate in various processes such as coffee harvest, coffee bean processing, baking and grinding, and make a cup of coffee that really belongs to them. In the Kona region, there are about 600 independent coffee farms, most of which are small family farms, usually between 18 and 42 acres. Kona Coffee earns more than $10 million a year for these coffee farms.

Kona coffee has always been grown at home. At first, only men were allowed to work in the coffee garden, and later women joined in. This kind of family production of Hawaiians preferred to rely on the efforts of their families rather than hiring workers to work, so it was normal for Hawaiians to have eight or nine children at that time. Since then, new immigrants from the Philippines, the United States and Europe have come to Hawaii to engage in the coffee industry. Over time, Hawaii has formed a social atmosphere that centers on family culture and is easy to absorb foreign cultures. and make it a major feature of Hawaii.

Hawaii is also a paradise for tasting and buying coffee. Each island has several unique places for tourists and local residents to taste and buy coffee, including comfortable and warm shops and comprehensive centers to introduce coffee knowledge.

A noble and ancient bloodline

The real Hawaiian Kona coffee gives people a unique pleasure, which comes entirely from the oldest Arabica coffee tree.

Hawaii is the only state in the United States that grows coffee, which is grown on the five major islands of the Hawaiian Islands: Oahu, Hawaii, Maui, Kauai and Moroca. Coffee from different islands also has its own characteristics. Kauai coffee is soft and smooth, Muroca coffee is high in mellow and low acidity, and Maui coffee is moderately acidic but has the strongest flavor. Hawaiians are extremely proud of the Arabica coffee beans they grow 100% home-grown.

Hawaii is the largest island in the Hawaiian archipelago, so it is also known as the Big Island. Kona coffee is produced in the west and south of the Kona region of Hawaii. Coffee trees are scattered on the slopes of Hualalai and MaunaLoa, which is 150m to 750m above sea level, which is suitable for coffee growth. The excellent quality of Kona coffee benefits from the suitable geographical location and climate. Coffee trees grow on the slopes of volcanoes, and their geographical location ensures the altitude needed for coffee growth; the dark volcanic ash soil provides the minerals needed for coffee growth. The climatic conditions are very suitable. In the morning, the sun gently passes through the air full of water vapor. In the afternoon, the mountains will become more humid and foggy, and the white clouds surging in the air are natural umbrellas for coffee trees. And the evening will become sunny and cool, but there is no Frosts Descent. Because of the suitable natural conditions, the average yield of Kona coffee is very high, reaching 2240 kg per hectare, while in Latin America, the yield of coffee per hectare is only 600kg ~ 900kg.

In 1813, a Spaniard first grew coffee in the Manoa Valley Valley of Oahu, which is today the main campus of the University of Hawaii. In 1825, an English agronomist named John Wilkinson transplanted some coffee from Brazil to grow in the coffee garden of Chief Birch on the island of Oahu. Three years later, an American missionary named Samuel Riveland Rags brought the branches of the coffee tree from Birch Emirates Garden to Kona, a descendant of the Arabica coffee tree that first grew on the Ethiopian plateau. To this day, Kona Coffee still carries on its noble and ancient lineage.

The earliest coffee cultivation in Hawaii had adopted the model of large-scale coffee plantations, and at that time, coffee had not yet become a widely grown crop in the world, and the production and sale of Kona coffee had experienced several ups and downs. After the outbreak of World War I, the demand for coffee increased sharply, and the government bought a lot of coffee for soldiers in order to maintain their combat ability. the rise in demand led to a rise in prices, and Kona coffee was no exception. The period from the outbreak of World War I to 1928 was the golden age of Kona Coffee. But the Great Depression that followed dealt a heavy blow to Kona Coffee. In 1940, the second World War caused the price of coffee to rise again. In order to avoid excessive price increases, the US government set a price cap for coffee. Even so, coffee farmers in Hawaii got a lot of benefits. During this period, their means of transportation for transporting coffee fruits were all replaced by donkeys and jeeps. In the 1970s and 1980s, the price of Kona Coffee experienced several ups and downs, but it was from this period that Kona Coffee established itself as the top coffee in the world. Even though Kona Coffee has been famous all over the world, its production remains relatively low.

Kona coffee has been grown in Kona since the early 19th century, and it has never been interrupted, and only the coffee produced here can be called "Hawaiian Kona". The raw beans of Hawaiian Kona Coffee are usually 100 packages of individual coffee beans. Kona coffee beans are also often used to make mixed coffee along with coffee beans from other parts of the world. Kona coffee beans mixed with other beans are marked with "Kona mixed beans (Kona Blend)" on the package. unfortunately, the content of Kona beans in these mixed beans may be very low, and the minimum content of Kona beans in Hawaii that can use the "Kona" label is only 10%. Therefore, if you are not in Kona in Hawaii, it is difficult to have 100% pure Kona coffee beans.

Across latitudes 19 to 22 degrees, south of the Tropic of Cancer, the trade-wind-blown Hawaiian Islands is a perfect coffee-growing area. The 50th state in the United States, 2400 miles from the west coast of the United States, is the only state in the United States that produces coffee. Kona kona in Hawaii is also internationally renowned as one of the best coffee in the world. The volcanic soil and tropical climate, coupled with slight humidity and regular afternoon showers, create an ideal planting environment that can only appear in idyllic poetry, and add some meticulous but unique flavor characteristics to the coffee beans here. Generally speaking, the viscosity of Hawaiian coffee is thinner and the aroma is medium-strong, which is in harmony with the brighter acidity. David Kingman, head of Kona Mist, a roaster and retailer on the Big Island of Hawaii, said: this is definitely the best coffee in the world. It tastes like drupe and chocolate. It tastes smooth and delicious.

Although coffee trees are grown commercially on all the islands of Hawaii, the Big Island currently has the largest number of coffee farms, about 650, but these coffee farms are relatively small, adding up to less than 2000 acres of plantation woodland, while only 25 coffee farms are operating on the islands of Maui, Molokai, Oahu and Kauai However, the coffee plantations in these places are much larger than those on the big island, and the total output is more than three times that of the big island coffee garden. Surprisingly, Kauai Island has the largest coffee-growing area of any island, with more than 4000 acres, but all are managed by the same operator, while Molokai Island has only 550 acres of coffee-growing land, with even fewer Maui and Oahu. Most Hawaiian coffee farmers still pick fresh coffee cherries to sell today, but in recent years more and more people are committed to adding value to their coffee bean products, so they mostly go to their own post-processing, drying, grinding and baking their own coffee beans.

Kona coffee beans are actually subdivided into five levels, and the first three levels are more common, followed by Extra fancy, Fancy, No.1, Primary and Peaberry (round beans, commonly known as male beans, because some coffee lovers love, especially pick out higher prices, about 5% of Kona coffee beans are Peaberry type.) Except for the special selection of Peaberry, the other four grades are graded according to the size, weight and defect ratio of beans. Kona raw beans are labelled in sacks before they are exported, indicating that they have been certified by the Hawaiian Department of Agriculture with an identified official seal, so they are more expensive. Kona Kona coffee is second only to Blue Mountain Coffee. Kona coffee from sowing, picking to receive washing treatment, sun and polishing, all rely on manual labor, so the limited production and manual treatment in the United States, it appears to be high-quality and expensive. At present, Hawaiian 100%Kona Coffee and Blue Mountain Coffee are synonymous with premium coffee.