Kona coffee beans
New seal gives
Kona coffee business
much needed jolt
Industry rises above scandal
By Nadine Kam
Assistant Features Editor
Star-BulletinA year ago the Kona coffee industry was reeling from the scandal of faux coffee being passed off as the real thing to unsuspecting coffee drinkers. While everyone from farmers to distributors braced themselves for the backlash -- surprise -- it never came.
When it was discovered last November that Berkeley-based Kona Kai Coffee had been selling lower-grade Central American beans as a Big Island product, a pound of green, unroasted Kona coffee was selling for $8.50 to $10. This year, the price per pound is at a new high of about $12.65.
"We couldn't believe it," said Norman Sakata, a retired third-generation coffee grower who is the chairman of the 27th Kona Coffee Cultural Festival. "With all the adverse news we thought it would hurt the market, but all of a sudden many more people heard of Kona coffee."
That's good news as the industry celebrates the coffee festival, which began during the weekend and continues through this Saturday. During the years, the event has evolved from a quaint, small-town celebration into an international mecca for coffee aficionados and professionals. Attendance is through purchase of a $2 button; 8,000-10,000 were sold last year.
But the growing pains have not ceased, and Sakata, who grew coffee as his grandfather and father had since 1888, isn't one to leave Kona coffee's future to fate.
"There's always room for improvement and I think we should be aware of quality if we want to keep Kona coffee's image as one of the best," Sakata said.
Two months ago, at a coffee show in Seattle, he found although interest in Kona coffee was high among new buyers, those who had bought Kona in the past resisted sales pitches in fear of being duped again.
Part of the recovery process has been the adoption of 100 percent Kona Coffee Seal to restore consumer confidence. The seal is placed on bags only after contents are examined and approved by a state agricultural inspector. The program is voluntary.
Earlier this year, the industry also adopted mandatory certification of pre-roast green coffee by the state. Certification had been voluntary, but Sotero Agoot, general manager of the Kona Farmer's Co-op, which buys and processes coffee cherries from some 300 farmers, said his company has made certification mandatory for the past 10 years.
His reasoning is that Kona coffee's success has spawned a number of wannabes who hope to cash in on the trend but don't always know what they're doing.
"There's always that feeling in any business, so it's dependent on people stable in the industry who are trying to keep the stability there," Agoot said.
While quality is subjective, in terms of price, Kona coffee is second in the world only to Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee. The roasted Jamaican coffee retails for about $60 per pound. Roasted Kona coffee sells for about $27 to $30 a pound.
"I had the opportunity to talk to the biggest coffee buyer in Japan, Ueshima, which has been buying from Kona for 20 years," Sakata said. "I asked if the difference in price means that Jamaican coffee is twice as good as Kona coffee. They told me no, that Kona coffee is just as good as Jamaican." The price difference reflects consistency of quality, he said.
The problem is that coffee is a delicate product and that product can be ruined at any stage between harvesting and roasting.
"With an apple, all you do is pick it and eat it," Sakata said, "But with coffee, first you have to pick the coffee cherries, extract the beans, ferment the beans, wash and dry them before you can remove the parchment (dried hulls). Then you get green coffee that still has to be roasted, ground and boiled before you drink it."
And as if there isn't enough competition internationally, new operations have opened on Oahu, Kauai, Maui and Molokai.
"We can grow together. We need to help each other. We're one industry," Sakata said.
Each island, however, has its own methods of harvesting and processing that yield distinctive results. Kona's terrain and methods of planting dictate the need for laborious hand harvesting. The average worker fills two 110- to 120-pound bags with coffee cherries in a day.
"I tell people this and they laugh at me because they think it's corny," Sakata said. "That is, think about this: Your next cup of Kona coffee comes to you with love and care because every cherry was hand picked."
Kona Coffee Festival
Here are some of the highlights of the Kona Coffee Cultural Festival. Except where noted, admission to events is with a button that can be purchased for $2 at the various sites:
Gevalia Kona Coffee Cupping Competition -- Farmers submit their best beans for judging by an international panel of cuppers in this prestigious event. Preliminary round runs 8:30 to noon Wednesday at Kona Village. Final round and awards ceremony 9 to 11 a.m. at Kona Village.
Information: (808)-326-7820
