The Hawaii and Kona Coffee Story

The first coffee trees were brought to the Hawaiian Islands in 1825 by way of the British warship HMS Blonde. Chief Boki, governor of Oahu, had acquired the coffee trees in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on his way back from London. The coffee was planted in the Monoa Valley on Oahu and from there introduced to other areas of Oahu and the neighbor islands.

Reverend Samuel Ruggles moved trees to Captain Cook, Kona, on the "Big Island" of Hawaii in 1828. In the late 1800’s, efforts to establish coffee plantations in Kona fell victim to economics. Presently Kona Coffee is raised in an area 20 miles long and 2miles wide on the slopes of Hualalai and Mauna Loa. The area is contains approximately 600 independent farms. Farm sizes on Kona average 3 acres each with a few farms of 50+ acres. Total Kona coffee acreage is over 2000 acres and annual production is generally over two million pounds. Elevation ranges from 500 to 3,000 feet. Kona Coffee is still painstakingly grown and hand picked in limited quantities.

At the turn of the century there was coffee on all the major islands, and now once again, coffee is grown commercially on Maui, Kauai, Molokai, and Oahu as well as the Big Island of Hawaii. There are 6,500 acres under cultivation statewide, with annual production running between 6and 7 million pounds of green bean.

Different varietals are grown throughout the state. Most common is Typica grown in Kona, Oahu, and in limited quantities on Maui and Kauai. Molokai concentrates on Red Catuai also found on Maui and Kauai. Maui’s Kaanapali Coffee cultivates Yellow Catura as well as a very fine Mokka. Kauai’s major acreage is in Yellow Catuai but also have Mundo Novo.