What You Want to Know about Organic Kona Coffee Farming

On the Big Island of Hawaii, one of the finest coffees in the world is produced. This coffee, named Kona coffee, is meticulously cultivated by approximately 800 farms. The majority of the farms are 3 to 10 acres. The size of these farms certainly would not be considered Kona coffee plantations, but small dedicated farmers, artisans in the production of this gourmet coffee. Many Kona Coffee farmers have opted to grow their coffee organically to preserve the pristine condition of this beautiful Island.

Fertilization, is a simple necessity, yet critical to the grower and equally important to the consumer. First and foremost, the organic methods and practices of these farmers promote natural processes and maintain a balance between coffee production and the environment. The benefit to the grower is sustainability, cost reduction and the knowledge that no artificial contaminants are on their farm. The value to the consumer is the fact that Kona Organic coffee is free from; GMOs, pesticide and herbicide residuals and petroleum based fertilizer impurities.

While the technique of organic farming is an age old practice arising out of need, the modern philosophy has touted higher production and profit, through chemicals and bio-engineering.

Which brings to the subject at hand, organic fertilization programs, practiced by Kona coffee farmers. Several methodologies and systems are employed to meet the nutritional requirements of the Coffae Arabica trees of Hawaii. The first weapon in the Kona farmers arsenal is composting, the collection of pulped coffee cherries, vegetation from pruning, weeding and chipping, amassed in a pile and through nurturing and cultivation of microbes, breaks the material down to it's chemical constituents. These mounds of future fertilizer are moved daily and kept moist. When the majority of the plant material has decomposed it is either worked into the soil or placed around the coffee trees to conserve moisture. The compost is rich in nutrients and together with the soil boosts plant health.

A more recent innovation has been the making of organic Teas, this is an approach practiced in one form or another, by our fore fathers for centuries. The process entails the utilization of farm animal manure, enclosed in a burlap bag and suspended in water. The micro-organisms present in the environment break down the fundamental components of the necessary nutrients required by the trees. Our farm applies further enhancements to this basic formula. We aerate the brew continually and add additional ingredients to enhance both nutritional levels and beneficial micro flora reproduction. We add organic alfalfa feed, this assures an enhanced nitrogen concentration so critical to the coffee cherry production. We also add a few cups of molasses for the addition of its available mineral density. And finally we use kelp for its trace minerals. This mixture is allowed to steep for a month or two, and applied before the first flowering and throughout the year.

These methods assure the consumers a pure cup of coffee that is unblemished by man-made chemicals and equally delicious Kona Coffee.