It seems that everything coming from the Island of Hawaii is special and better than anything else on this earth. Coffee is one of the products grown, processed, and sold from a Hawaiian village known as Kona. Thus the Kona brand coffee originates from this locale.
Kona coffee is often heralded as the best coffee found anywhere in the world. The price is higher than other coffee you’ll find in the marketplace; because no company can replicate the full, rich flavor of Kona coffee.
The question remains of what makes Kona coffee from Hawaii different? There is a deep divide between commercial grade coffee that most people buy at the grocery store and pure Kona Coffee from Hawaii and no other coffee can fill this gap.
The difference between Kona coffee straight from the grower and commercial coffee are numerous starting with the way in which the coffee beans grow, to the way in which these high-quality beans process, makes all the difference in the world.
There are only two types of coffee beans grown anywhere in the world, and these are called Coffee Robusta (Coffee Canephora) and Coffee Arabica. Every product in today’s marketplace has high-end and low-end quality and the same hold true for coffee.
Coffee Robusta is tasty and presents an excellent coffee. However, Coffee Robusta is a low-end coffee because of where it grows and processes and the equipment used for processing the beans.
Coffee Arabica is a high-end coffee bean because of where it grows, how it processes, and the higher-end of the material utilized in the process.
The difference in Kona coffee from Hawaii has to do with the quality of the Arabica beans, processing of the beans, grading of the beans, storage of the beans, and the roasting process. The focus of this excellent, one of a kind coffee is the passion, love, caring, and skillful knowledge of the Kona coffee bean industry by individual growers.
Getting this whole process right takes a lot of work, time, money, research, devotion to the cause for an excellent product and the grower’s infrastructure where employees strive for the same coffee excellence.
These Hawaiian coffee beans grow in only the best volcanic rich soil of anyplace on earth. The stable year around climate offer the best and most perfect temperatures to grow the beans. These coffee beans grow at high elevations at the North and Southernmost Kona Districts on the Island of Hawaii.
The North and Southernmost Kona Districts on the Island of Hawaii offers just the right amount of rain and water used during the growing process. Natural fertilizers used during the growing process assure the best tasting beans. Lastly, the bean pickers, during harvesting, pick only the most perfect beans.
Pickers shake coffee through various sized sieves. Sorting beans are part of the grading process. This sorting is what also separates taste. Less than perfect beans cause coffee to taste bitter, dirty, moldy, or sour.
The processing of these beans is done in sanitary and sterile surroundings where cleanliness is of utmost importance with quality processing techniques used. These attentions to detail help to reveal the true nature of the coffee bean. Anything less and the taste of the coffee is not true.
All coffees bought in stores, no matter what the brand or cost may be months if not years old. Other coffee beans go through many different transportation moves of at least two or three times in addition to sitting for extended periods of time before being sent to stores.
There are no middlemen with the Kona beans as all processing is done at the grower site. The longest these beans store (appropriately) is a year or less before they send out to consumers. If coffee is stored correctly, the beans retain their excellent and tasty characteristics for months.
You can always tell when a manufacturer over roasts their coffee beans because your coffee has an unpleasant bitter aftertaste. The Kona beans are never over baked or roasted. These beans, baked to perfection, retain their excellent flavor.
When you buy your coffee in the store, whole beans or ground that coffee can be years old. To eliminate buying old coffee, be sure to buy direct from the grower.
Some people tried to replicate the name of Kona coffee and failed. Their lack of skill and love in growing and processing showed in the finished product, a cheap and nasty tasting coffee.
There is now a method to verify where the bean originated upon export from Hawaii. A certification process is now in place and stamped with a seal of approval by the State of Hawaii Department of Agriculture as 100% authentic and pure Kona Coffee.