Introduction to varieties in Kona coffee producing area, Hawaii, USA

As we all know, coffee is generally grown in the coffee growing belt, that is, the equatorial zone between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Cancer. However, in the United States, the climatic conditions are not very suitable for coffee growth, but some states in the United States have successfully grown coffee under characteristic conditions, such as Hawaii and California.

Hawaii State is the only archipelago state in the United States, consisting of 8 large islands and 124 small islands in the central Pacific Ocean, 3700 kilometers from the United States mainland.

The Hawaiian islands are formed by volcanic eruptions, of which Hawaii is the largest island. There are also two active volcanoes on the island, with a forest cover of nearly 50%. Hawaii has a tropical maritime climate, with monsoon conditions all the year round, with an annual temperature of about 26 ℃-31 ℃. The temperature does not change much and there is no season. It is the coldest in February and March and the hottest in August and September.

The main industries in Hawaii are tourism and agriculture, which is the pillar of the local economy, mainly producing sugar cane, pineapple, coffee, bananas and so on.

According to historical records, the first coffee trees were brought to ouhu Island (Oahu) in the early 19th century, and bourbon varieties were brought to Greater Hawaii in the late 1820s, and the first coffee-centric estates were established over the next decade.

Earlier, Hawaii's production was relatively high, and when Brazil's coffee production fell due to frost, Hawaii's coffee production peaked at 6803 tons. At the end of the 20th century, with the decline in sugar cane and pineapple cultivation and the focus on boutique coffee, Hawaiian coffee began to develop and promote the market. But protected by American labor and wage regulations, coupled with the limited availability of farmland, the supply is small.

The most famous producing area of Hawaii is Kona (Kona). Kona produces more coffee than other islands and is more famous, so the Kona growing area is also known as the Kona Coffee Belt. Only coffee produced in this area can be called Kona coffee.

In Kona, coffee trees are planted on the slopes of Hualalai and MaunaLoa. There is fertile volcanic soil and natural shading conditions, farmers grow coffee on the hillside, because the hillside planting can not be mechanized, so it can only be planted and harvested manually.

Most of the treatments are washed with water. Hawaii's clean and sweet mountain spring water provides Kona coffee beans with the ideal conditions for water washing, which creates the bright and fresh appearance and pure and fresh taste of Kona coffee beans.

At present, the Kona producing area mainly grows the iron pickup variety, which was introduced from Guatemala in the 1890s. The iron tin card bean planted by Kona is huge, and it is also planted at an altitude of 600-1100m, compared with other coffee producing countries. Kona's planting altitude is low, but on the island of Hawaii, Kona is high altitude.

Some people have tried to transplant Kona's iron pickup to other islands, but because the temperature of other islands is too high and the altitude is too low, the iron pickup does not grow smoothly, so it cannot produce the soft and sour fragrance unique to Kona.