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Brief History of Kona Coffee
By Mike Craig
BIRTH OF A PRODUCT
Kona Coffee is a cultural tradition that's been carried on since Samuel
Ruggles first brought arabica coffee to Kona in 1828. This plant
was amazingly adaptable to all situations in the Kona area. Even
in the beginning Americans and Europeans realized what a wonderful
marriage took place between Arabica coffee and Kona's calm, unique
climate and rich volcanic soil.
Mark Twain was so impressed with this marriage, that in his book Letters
From Hawaii he stated " I think kona coffee has a richer flavor
than any other." As early as 1842 there was a duty tax imposed
on all foreign coffee brought into the Kingdom of Hawaii. This
protective measure wasn't enough because the crop was still devastated
by the white scale blight in the 1850's. This pest would eventually
be brought under control with the introduction of the Australian
beetle. Still, Hawaiians forged ahead with the first coffee mill
in Napoopoo in 1850.
CULTURAL TRANSITION AND GROWTH
The growing of Kona coffee has been the love of many different
cultures. This melting of many cultures into a small geographic
area and a limited product makes Kona coffee one of the more romantic
coffees in the world. Starting in the 1880's, waves of different
cultures came to escape sugar contracts or other adverse situations.
The Chinese came first. Then the Japanese. At this time bigger
plantations were broken into smaller plots of land where Hawaiians
and others could make a living off a piece of land no bigger than
five acres. A new community agricultural based economy was developing
with a mixture of Hawaiian, Asian, European and other cultures.
Their Techniques had given Kona coffee a very good world reputation
by the turn of the century. At this time over 6000 acres of coffee
was planted in North Kona alone. A real commercial industry was
beginning to take shape.
W W Brunner built the first mill in South Kona and he is credited
with planting large sections of coffee trees in that district.
Many of these very trees are still being cultivated today. In
1906 many farmers and mills consolidated to form Captain Cook
Coffee Company. Once again the industry was set back by a blight
of black fungus.
This brings us to the 1920's when things started looking better again.
American Factors under the brand name "Mayflower" developed a
large market for Kona coffee. In the 1920's Busaco Sato started
an independent co-operative.
By the 1930's Kona coffee was one of the most prosperous products
on the island chain. The government even changed the school schedules
so that the children would be available to help during the harvest
season. Like many products coffee took a setback during WW II.
However production levels began to rise fast after the war. In
1956 American Factors sold their interest in their mill to Kona
Coffee Cooperative. There were many small farms growing coffee
on tall trees, where they used ladders (on the hilly rocky Kona
grounds) and a strong local labor force that had individual trees
yielding as much as 40 pounds. Many small Hoshidonnas (small self-contained
pulping mills with drying decks under rolling roofs) were producing
loads of parchment to be sold to large processing plants. Over
5000 acres of coffee were planted in Kona at this time.
In the mid 1960's the cooperative mill of American Factors was sold
to Sunset Mills. A gobbling up of small mills began to take place
so that by 1970 there were only three mills left on the whole
Kona Coast, and only two by 1978. This domination combined with
a small market base had an adverse effect on farming and farmers.
An influx of entrepreneurial farmers and millers initiated a new
industry based on new markets and old style farming practices
brought higher quality back into Kona coffee. Quality and consistency
seems to be the edge that has kept Kona coffee alive during many
frustrating times. The 1968 State of Hawaii grading standards
also helped improve quality. Quality is always better with hands
on personal touch and caring for the crop.
Even a horrendous drought in the 1980's couldn't slow down the interest
in Kona coffee farming. The one thing that set back the coffee
industry was the dropping of cherry prices to farmers. This was
dramatically illustrated at the end of the 1980's when the price
to the farmer went from $1.00 per pound of cherry to $.40 per
pound in one month. These price fluctuations, drought, blights
and many other obstacles, have not stopped this wonderful multi-cultural
agrarian way of life. There are still over 600 farms producing
quality Kona coffee on over 2000 acres of land. In fact in 1989
Consumer Magazine reported that Kona Coffee was the best out of
41 coffees tasted.
In 1991 to establish some truth in labeling and to help protect the
name Kona, House Bill #289 was passed with a Hawaii State minimum
blend law of 10%. In 1993 The Kona Coffee council, A non-profit
organization, by direction of its farmers and processors voted
to register the name Kona Coffee to protect the name as a distinct
growing area. This area certainly has a very rich, courageous
and diversified agriculture product. It makes perfect sense that
the farmers and processors of this area would want to make sure
that their farming practices and that their coffee would be protected.
Through this brief history you can see Kona Coffee has gone through tremendous
ups and downs. It has been transitions in traditions and traditions
in transitions. These same trees have been courageously cultivated
by many generations of different cultures clinging to a way of
life. Love of the bean and of farming and its lifestyle explains
how they made it through these peaks and valleys. It is a credit
to these many generations of farmers. This beautiful but difficult
way of life has created farming techniques going back one hundred
and sixty years. These techniques and lifestyles are pretty much
the same today. However even as you read this traditions are still
in transition in Kona Coffee.
TRANSITIONS IN THE HISTORY OF KONA COFFEE TODAY
- There has been more emphasis on marketing
Kona Coffee as a 100% product this has raised the consumer awareness
and increased demand for 100% Kona Beans.
- Estate programs are busting out everywhere on the Kona Coast.
There are independent labels representing a new cottage industry
in Kona Coffee. Even two-acre farms are able to sell their crop
under their own independent labels. The help of modern communications
has increased farmer's ability to deal directly with wholesale
and retail customers.
- Organic farming is not really new; but is farming the way they
use to before synthetically man made products were used. Certified
organic farmers are receiving more money for their cherries. The
markets for certified organic coffees are also expanding. It does
cost more to farm organically because it is more labor intensive
than conventional farming and inputs are more costly. Certified
organic is more than "claimed" organic, certified organic means
that an independent inspection and a paper trail of farming practices
has been kept.
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100% Kona Coffee is a small but romantic and wonderful product. It
has been transitions in traditions and traditions in transitions. |
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