ABOUT KONA COFFEE
On a small strip of land about three miles wide and 20 miles long on the west side of the big island of Hawaii are the Kona Districts, North Kona and South Kona. This is the only place in the world where the coffee known as “Kona” coffee is grown. Further, only a narrow elevation range of about 1000 feet to 3000 feet within this area supports the growth of coffee trees. Within this range the different altitude levels produce variances in the coffee crop.
The prevailing weather patterns and influence from the volcanic mountains, Mauna Loa and Hualalai Mountain create a unique microclimate, which combine with the rich volcanic soil to make the perfect growing conditions for Kona Coffee. Sunny mornings and regular afternoon cloud cover with reliable seasonal rains and light ongoing afternoon scattered showers provide a “grown in the shade” effect, highly desirable for the production of fine coffee.
Economic changes over the course of coffee farming in Hawaii resulted in farm ownership changing from a handful of large food and beverage producers to numerous independent farmers, each with their own small plots of land within the Kona districts.
Today statistics claim roughly 600 or more “coffee farms,” with the majority being only a handful of acres and a few larger, more commercially successful farming operations.
Most of these independent farmers share a passion for producing the finest possible coffee, much like an enthusiastic gardener’s passion to produce the most flavorful bounty from their garden. Many have compared the Kona coffee growers to the Napa Valley Vintners and their love of coaxing award winning wines from their vineyard “gardens.”
ABOUT KONA KEN
Like many of the coffee farmers in Kona, having grown up on the mainland, Ken started out in a completely different line of work on an unrelated career path.
Already a coffee lover, Ken was making his own espressos with thick crema using special coffee he regularly ordered from Italy.
By his mid 20’s, he had tried many of the world’s coffees, but when a sales contest he was involved in featured a host of Hawaiian theme gifts, among them little boxes of Kona coffee, Ken tried the delicious Kona coffee and decided this was the best coffee he could possibly drink.
Over the course of time he tried whatever Kona coffees he could find (pre-internet shopping). Later on Ken signed up for professional coffee tasting or “cupping” lessons and went on to trying small roasters, learning roasting techniques, and attending specialty coffee industry conventions to feed his obsession.
The love of good coffee and a vacation in Hawaii led him to the heart of Kona Coffee country to witness the source of his obsession in person. “It was so beautiful I fell in love with the place. I knew somehow I must eventually wind up here,” he decided. Ken searched for, found, and bought a beautiful pasture already surrounded on three sides by coffee farms and has set out to make his little slice of paradise a state of the art Kona coffee farm. So far he has planted over 3000 of the finest quality grafted kona coffee trees to insure the highest possible quality coffee bean. Meanwhile he continues to focus on the nuances of profile roasting techniques and has acquired a commercial grade roaster built by Diedrich, considered to be the “Cadillac” of craft roaster manufacturers. Since then he has added real time data gathering software to track the roasting process and assure the perfect roast every time.
