Why Hawaiian Coffees are King!!

A Koa Coffee story.

Why is Kona Coffee so unique?

Kona District

• Koa Coffee grown at a higher elevation and on the slopes of two volcanoes in a district of Hawaii called Kona. • Dark Volcanic nutrient rich

soil produces a coffee berry that produces a clean and sweet, medium-bodied coffee, well balanced (bright but not sharp). • It has just a hint of chocolate -

without being actually chocolaty. • It is a flavour that is truly

unique.

Kona DistrictVolcanic Nutrients

The following is an article from Forbes. Page 4 of 18 from 50 of America's Best 04.30.01

What Does Forbes Say?

BEST COFFEE: KOA PLANTATION Saying you've had a bad cup of Kona coffee is like saying you've seen snow in the Caribbean. This stuff is wonderfully smooth and its lack of a bitter aftertaste makes you think nothing of having that second cup or third. Just don't get fooled into buying "Kona blends" that sometimes combine the price tag of the real thing with less than stellar-quality beans from

other sources. The genuine article is grown on the Big Island, home of volcanic soil, high elevation and abundant morning sunshine. For the freshest coffee experiences, order from the Koa Plantation in Captain Cook; it's a family-run operation, situated on the leeward side of Mauna Loa, that will ship its pea berry, estate-or prime-grade beans to you in half-pound, pound or five-pound bags of "Baba's Beans." An order placed from the East Coast on a recent Friday afternoon arrived at its caffeine-deprived owner's desk the following Monday morning via priority FedEx. Decaf is available-but why? Koa Plantation; www.KoaPlantation.com

Natural Process Creating Awesome Quality

• Great natural farming methods foster the perfect conditions for the trees to grow.

• Rich, fertile volcanic soil combined with a blend of natural nutrients and minerals give the trees the best advantage, they are then selectively trimmed to strengthen them and to encourage a much larger production and help with harvesting.

• They fertilize using a mixture of traditional methods and the cherry skins, a by-product of the wet-milling technique, to naturally fertilize and nurture our trees.

Natural farming and the Kona Coffee Trees

• Expertly selected for optimum ripeness during the hand picked harvest means that neither berries or trees are harmed.

Kona Coffee Beans are Hand-picking

• Once the coffee cherries have been picked, they must undertake processing to remove the outer layers of the skin and reveal the coffee beans inside.

• The pulper machine has spinning discs that remove the pulp (outer skin) by pinching the cherry until the skin splits.

• In 2002, they became the first farm in Kona to use a revolutionary wet-processing system from Columbia that is ecologically and environmentally efficient by decreasing water usage (average of 80 %) and contamination of our water supply.

Wet-method Processed

• After the wet-mill process, they use a new and sophisticated combination drying system to insure quality and enhance the bean flavour. • The beans are shifted and raked

often for uniform drying by the sun. When the beans are dried and reach certain moisture content (11.5 % -12 %), the coffee is called "parchment coffee", due to their stiff, white parchment-like skin.

Drying

• The next step in the milling technique after drying is called dry milling. The beans are now without any other protective coating called "green beans."

• Next, the green beans are placed in the sorter to be sized. This technique separates the beans into different grades of Kona coffee.

• The primary grades of Kona coffee are Peaberry, Extra Fancy, Fancy, # 1, Select and Prime.

• Next, the beans of each specific grade/size are placed on the gravity table (See Kona Coffee Grading). Density is directly proportional to the quality of the bean.

• The gravity machine ensures that the denser beans rise to the top of the table while the lower denser beans fall to the bottom.

• This allows for them to find the jewels in the coffee and offer the best to the customers. The beans are then packaged

Dry Milling

• Both parchment and green bean are kept in temperature and humidity controlled rooms. • This preserves the ideal

flavour profile of the green coffees. • They have found that coffee

stored outside of climate and humidity control rooms begin to fade in colour, lose its acidity, flatten out and lose its original flavour profile.

Storage

• Roasting is one of the elements that distinguishes the individual characteristics of Kona Coffee.

• 100 % pure Kona Coffee is meticulously roasted and packaged while still warm from the oven in protective foil pouches which are specifically designed to avoid the entrance of air and moisture.

• When you unlock a bag of Kona Coffee from the plantation, they hope that you discover the taste and aroma that Prize winning Kona coffee is known for.

• They cease the roast at the beginning of the second crack to produce beans that are chestnut brown with a slight shimmer of oils on the exterior.

• They also offer customized roasts, recognizing the distinguished coffee palates of our consumers.

The Roasting

Enjoy