Where to Get Fresh Hawaii Kona Coffee Beans
Most of those who try Kona coffee get hooked off their first sip. The unique balance of Hawaii’s best Kona coffee beans are simply unmatched. One of the most famous coffees in the world can be found growing on the northern mountain slopes of the state, including Mauna Loa and Mount Hualalai and also in many of the Kona districts of Oahu.
Purchasing fresh, gourmet Kona coffee will result in the best cup of coffee that’s ever hit your palate especially if it is made in a french press coffee maker. While Kona coffee’s are higher priced than other coffee blends, they are absolutely worth the price. After all, everybody around the world purchases this specific kind of coffee. The coffee gets its unique and flavorful due to the weather conditions that it is grown in.
Cuttings from Brazil were transplanted and used to grow the trees from which we get our gourmet Kona coffee beans today. Rev. Samuel Ruggles is credited with bringing the first tree to Hawaii, way back in the 19th century. Discovering that the weather and soil in Hawaii produced great crops, farmers begin growing the beans on large plantations. The best estimate is that 2,300 acres of land are now devoted to the growing of Kona coffee beans. Two million pounds of fresh, gourmet Kona coffee beans are produced every year, which is considered a highly successful crop.
The tiny white blossoms of the Kona tree make their appearance in February and March each year and are known locally as Kona Snow. Then in early spring, small green berries pop up which by mid-summer, have turned to red fruit, which look similar to ripe cherries. This is the time when the “fruit” is ripe and should be harvested. One of the benefits of gourmet Kona coffee is that each of the beans is hand-picked for freshness.
Twenty four hours after the fruit is collected, it is run through a machine that makes sure the bean is separate from the pulp. After that, the beans are allowed to ferment for 12 hours at low elevation and 24 hours at higher elevation. After the beans have been rinsed off lay them out on a drying apparatus to completely dry out which will take one to two weeks. After this, parchment is used for the storage of the dry beans. Interesting enough, about eight pounds of fruit only produces one pound of Kona coffee’s freshest gourmet coffee.
Knowing the categorization of coffee beans is significant while choosing fresh gourmet Kona coffee. To cite and example, the number of beans in one cherry or fruit for the Type I is two which has one flat side and another oval. The single, round bean found per cherry in some varieties is known as a Type II bean. Further grading would be based on several factors, including size and type, moisture content, and purity. Buying fresh, gourmet Kona coffee means buying a high grade or satisfaction of the Kona bean.




