Kona coffee plantations.

[CJevens]

Hello.

It seems this is the right place to post this. I am curious how many Kona, Hi plantation owners there are on this forum. I am interested in speaking to a few as I plan to visit Kona soon and would like to tour even the smallest plantations. Searches usually bring up Kona Joe, Thunder Mountain, and Greenwell. They are the big hitters. I try to support the little guy that might not have the advertising budget but still produces a fine bean (organic or otherwise).

Thank you.

[Coffee Forum]

[Randy G.]

Try "Smith Farms."

[CJevens]

Thanks. But it doesnt look like they like visitors. I'll call and speak with them, perhaps that might change on a case by case basis.

We don't encourage visitors for a few reasons- it IS a 4 wheel drive road with serious private road liabilities, it IS our (only) house, we have often have a muddy, jumping dog, and if we are talking and walking with others, we aren't getting our work done. Hope you understand, so the map although accurate, is just for fun.

[alisa]

It seems this is the right place to post this. I am curious how many Kona, Hi plantation owners there are on this forum. I am interested in.

[CJevens]

It seems this is the right place to post this. I am curious how many Kona, Hi plantation owners there are on this forum. I am interested in.

I think the forum gnomes absconded with your post.

[CJevens]

We are just back from 5 weeks in Kona, Hawaii and we were able to visit about 20 farms. What wonderful, dedicated people they all are. Some farms are easy to get to, others do require 4 wheel drive, or as the locals say "Only access by 4 wheel drive or rental car". One of the farms had us park and they came down the mountain in their SUV to pick us up. It was an interesting so climb up the lava rock road.

2011-12-23 14.57.13_Georgia with Cherries_crop_350pix.jpg
Here is my daughter proudly showing off the ripe red cherries she helped us pick.

CJJ_7838_Parchment_400pix.jpg
Parchment on the dry deck. 10-14 days is needed to dry to State standard of 9-12% moisture by weight.

CJJ_7687_Honaunau coastal view_400pix.jpg
It's a lot easier to work on the farm with this to look at everyday.

2011-12-26 10.25.40_Coffee blooms_400pix.jpg
There are multiple flowerings starting in January. The flowers are very fragrant making the orchard smell like Jasmine.

2012-01-02 12.58.07_Baby green cherries_400pix.jpg
The flowers fall off leaving behind these tiny green beans. 8 months from now these will ripen and be harvested by hand as red cherries.


There are about 700 Coffee farms in the "Kona coffee district". Most only produce cherry that is sold to the mills. Some process further. Some farms offer tours. We preferred to visit the smaller farms that didnt have touristy gift shops, but rather operated as a family farm.

Of notable mention:
Pele Plantations PelePlantations.com
Dragons Lair Kona Coffee pendragonhawaii.com
Blue Horse Kona Coffee bluehorsekona.com
Bebos Kona Coffee BebosKonaCoffee.com
Kona Rose konarosecoffee.com
Kona Earth KonaEarth.com
Killino Farms Killino.com
Langenstein Farms KonaFarmsCoffee.com

If you have interest in working on a Kona Farm and learning about the cultivation and process, contact Dragons Lair, Bebos, and Kona Rose. They all have a "Woofing" program to host volunteer farm help. The experience is one you might not soon forget. As we were leaving, we met 2 retired couples that return to Kona every year to work on these farms as a great way to have an extended trip away from home, and to live with some of the nicest people.

There is alot of work that goes into cultivating and processing coffee. So much so that I now have a much deeper appreciation for coffee in general. I also am much more concerned for the well being of the thousands of families living in poverty so that we as americans can have cheap coffee. Many say that Kona is expensive. It is widely believed that all the other coffees in the world are grossly under priced.

If you wish to enjoy Kona coffee, the only coffee grown in the US, please be certain it is 100% Kona. There are many coffees that say "Kona" on the label or "Kona Style", "Kona Blend", they are not true Kona coffees. Better yet, visit the websites of the Kona Coffee council and the Kona Coffee Farmers Association for a list of coffee farms in Kona. Look for websites that show that they actually grow Kona coffee. There are many on the list that do not, but its a good place to start. Please consider the list of farms above and note that even if a pound of Kona coffee is 20-30$, that is still less than $1/cup. The coffee you get at Starbucks for 2$ and above is actually far more expensive.

Thanks for reading.

Aloha !

Feel free to send me a message if you wish to learn more about what we experienced. It was an amazing journey that our family will not soon forget. We will be back very soon.