Kona Coffee - The Cadillac of Coffees

How to start off about Kona Coffees. First talk with an expert about coffees. Like: what is his or her favorite type of bean, almost invariably you’ll hear one variety mentioned: Kona coffee.

Kona beans are grown in Hawaii and are treasured worldwide for their aroma and flavor. Kona beans are some of the most expensive on the market, and have come to be known as the best of the best.

For over 175 years, Kona beans have been growing continually on Hawaii in the North and South Districts of Kona, an area about 20 miles long and 2 miles wide.

In the shadow of two volcanic mountains, the Kona Districts have a unique microclimate of sunny mornings and cloudy afternoons which provide natural shade. The volcanoes protect the area from strong trade winds that would otherwise harm the coffee plants and give the soil its ashen quality in which the plants thrive.

The mountains also give Kona a cool, dry, winter season for harvesting and a rainy summer when the coffee plant is growing and the fruit is developing.

Most Kona coffee is grown on large, old-growth, productive Typica trees. Kona trees grow strongly on the steep, well-draining slopes of the two enormous volcanic mountains.

Read the full Kona coffee article by Randy Wilson.