Posted on
Recently we talked about how 100% Kona Coffee can only be called such when it contains no other types of coffee beans. All of the beans must have been grown in Kona, Hawaii and even for a coffee to be considered a “Kona Blend” it must contain at least 10% Kona coffee beans.
So now that we know what makes some coffee a Kona Blend, while other coffee is considered 100% Kona Coffee, what is the difference between Kona coffee and other coffees?
Kona Coffee vs. Regular Coffee
Kona Growing Conditions
While “regular coffee” is a very broad term, there is a difference when comparing Kona coffee to other coffees you may find at the grocery store or at your local coffee shop.
And while you may be expecting some huge surprise as to why Kona Coffee is different, the truth is it all comes down to the soil in which the coffee beans are grown.
Kona coffee comes from a small strip of land in Kona, which is on The Big Island of Hawaii. This strip of land, which measures about 30 miles long by 1 mile wide, sits on the western side of two volcanos.
These volcanoes, Mauna Loa and Hualalai, provide an ideal soil for coffee beans to grow in.
Coffee beans do not like when their roots sit in a pool of water, so the porousness of the volcanic soil allows for better water drainage, which prevents the roots from being flooded.
In addition to the unique soil provided by the volcanoes, the climate in the Kona growing region provides just the right amount of sunshine, temperature, and rain to help the coffee plants thrive.
A typical day in the region where Kona coffee is grown will see an abundance of sunshine in the morning with a little cloud cover or rain in the afternoon. The temperature hovers in the 70’s during the day and dips down to be a little cooler at night, but never getting colder than the 50’s.
Combine those elements along with the elevation of the region and you end up with some of the best tasting coffee beans in the United States.
Coffee Bean Processing
The growing conditions in Kona ensure that the coffee plants can thrive, but that’s not the only secret behind Kona coffee.
In most cases Kona coffee is grown on small farms managed by a small group of people. The coffee is produced in small batches which allows for more traditional ways of preparation to be used.
At Carta Coffee Merchants our coffee cherries are inspected and only the best cherries are then picked by hand. Once all of the cherries are picked and sorted, they are sun-dried and milled to remove the outer parchment and silverskin.
Once the beans are ready we take them to our roaster who will then roast the beans to our specifications to ensure the best flavor possible for our varieties of coffee.
Kona Coffee production is a labor of love. We pride ourselves on producing the best cup of coffee possible while maintaining the more traditional ways of cultivating and processing coffee. And thanks to a little help from the incredible Kona climate and soil, we are able to make this dream a reality.
100% Kona Coffee is highly regarded in the coffee community as some of the best U.S. grown coffee that you can buy, and we fully believe that. We are happy to be a part of the community and happy to be able to bring the joy of Kona coffee to our customers each and every day.
