Hawaii's Kona coffee festival

When most people think of Hawaii, they see volcanoes and beaches, surfing and shopping. They do not automatically say 'coffee'. Yet it produces some of the country's best coffee. Greenwell Farms is situated on prime land at an elevation of 1,500 feet on Hawaii's Big Island, adjacent to the ancestral home of the family's pioneers, Henry and Elizabeth, which is now occupied by the Kona Historical Museum.

The farm is managed by fourth generation Tom Greenwell. Greenwell Farms grows its own coffee, and operates its processing and visitor attractions on just under 100 acres of the most productive land in the Kona District. The company also purchases coffee cherry from over 400 select farmers from the Kona region, shipping worldwide.

Henry Greenwell is also remembered for launching Kona coffee into the European market in the 1870's. In 1873, while participating at the World's Fair in Vienna he was awarded a 'Recognition Diploma' for his Kona Coffee by the President of the Kaiser's Exposition.

The family tradition continues today, over 150 years later, with fourth-generation family farmers Tom and Jennifer Greenwell and Steve and Beth Hicks who work to maintain the tradition of high quality Kona coffee at Greenwell Farms.

Visitors may come up mauka (towards the mountain) and see how Kona coffee is harvested and processed. Greenwell Farms offers free farm tours daily from 8:30am through 4:30pm.

Did You Know?

It takes 4.25 pounds of coffee cherry to produce one pound of dried parchment.
Each day's harvest must be processed that day to ensure the highest quality in the final product.
Each coffee cherry contains two separate coffee beans. After pulping, these beans are referred to as wet parchment.
Coffee trees typically bloom in the late winter to early spring.

Harvesting begins in the early fall and lasts for several rounds until late winter. Greenwell Farms Kona coffee is hand-picked, requiring long days of concentrated work. Careful attention must be made to distinguish the beans that have reached optimal maturity from those that should be left on the tree for the next round of picking. This harvesting method guarantees the best cherries are picked.

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Watch a video from Greenwell Farms....

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