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Stephanie Armitage's smile disappeared into determination as her fingers flipped leaves out of the way and plucked the ruby jewels of coffee beans.
For these serious
competitors, coffee picking
is a matter of prideBy Cynthia Oi
Star-BulletinFeet planted against the hillside, she leaned into the tree to position a worn basket, snug around her waist, to catch the loosed beans.
Around her, branches quivered with the tickle of the competitors' quick hands, children dodged through the groves and spectators cheered their favorites in the bean-picking contest of the Kona Coffee Cultural Festival.
About 100 people hiked down the steep road to Doutor Coffee Co.'s farm on the slopes of Hualailai Saturday for the event, one of the last of the festival that began Oct. 29.The celebratory nature of the competition contrasts with the reality of the harvest season, when pickers spend long days ducking from tree to branch, laboriously taking only the ripe beans from among the green and plunking them into waist baskets.
For a picker, success is measured in pounds. A 250-pound day is average; pick 100 pounds more and call it good. One fellow boasted a 900-pound day, "5 in the morning to 5:30 at night." Earning about 40 cents a pound, he made good money, but paychecks last only as long as the season, late July through December.
It's hard work, but Saturday's gathering was for the fun of it. Armitage, who with her husband Paul farms 6 acres in coffee in Captain Cook, entered the contest as a way to recall her childhood. "I've picked all my life and every year I say, 'Oh, I gotta try, I gotta try,' but I never do. So this year, I told my husband, 'I'm going to do this.' "The 38-year-old mother of two said she grew up picking with her nine sisters and one brother. "We used to compete with each other in the family, see who can get the most. It was fun. We were together and we would sing -- Hawaiian, any kind songs -- while we picked."
Anna Sacay's family are pickers, too. Her boyfriend Jerry Matias, and three of their children all were major contenders: Justin, 11, last year won the keiki division; his sister, Jeri-Ann, 9, took third.
Jerid came in second, but this year, at age 13, he's in the junior division. Sacay herself won second place in the women's division.
"They're good workers," said the proud mother. She turned to Justin. "You going win again, heh, but you gotta watch out for your sister, she fast, too."
Three generations of Adeline Silva's family also were competing. Grandfather Antoine Caravalho, 76, and his grandson, Matthew Silva, 5, arrived with Adeline just as the sun crept over the summit of Hualailai.Caravalho, grand marshal of the festival's parade, has coffee in his blood. His great-grandfather farmed coffee in Puerto Rico. His father immigrated to Hawaii and planted the beans. Caravalho began picking at age 6, and has run a farm since 1955.
The contest drew many with a long coffee heritage, but also tourists and some of the newly minted part-time farmers.
Sharon and Robert Wood from Camarillo, Calif., who bought coffee acreage nearby, hope to instill the history in their daughter, Arianna. Dressed in a colorful frock and pink shoes, a coffee basket at her waist, the girl awaited the start signal in the Akachan division (kids 7 and under) while dad videotaped and mom focused a still camera. The pressure was too much. Through the 5-minute picking period, the 3-year-old refused to remove even one bean.
There will be other times, Wood said. The family will return at least once a year to their farm, he said, and Arianne will have many chances to join in harvests.
The contest began with the Pioneers, pickers 59 and older, who still hold their own. Yoshitaka Takashiba, though slowed by his 87 years, moved sharply through the branches, fingers made nimble by decades of experience.
The plink of beans hitting basket never stopped as he worked methodically through the sprigs.
The atmosphere in the early divisions was casual and easy, but as the contest moved to the women's and men's open, competitive spirit charged the cool air.
Armitage shed her sweatshirt and scouted the grove, looking for sections with the most ripe berries. Good trees are low enough so that picking the tops isn't too much trouble, high enough that they shielded her from the sun.
Choosing her spot, she readied the three pieces of equipment she uses to pick. The first is her basket, an old, stained wicker piece with leather strips tacked on the rims to protect her from scratches. The waist strap is a length of chain, padded with foam and duct tape so it won't dig into her body.
The second is a hook, made from a limb cut off where it branched. At the opposite end is tied a short piece of rope attached to an old stirrup. A picker uses the hook to pull high branches into reach, then holds down the branch by stepping on the stirrup, freeing both hands for work. Armitage painted hers red to make it easier to find in the green groves.
The third tool is her hands, ungloved so she can better feel the beans. As soon as the start signal came, her fingers were flying, her eyes searching the next branch while her hands finished the first.
When time was called, her face relaxed again. She smiled as her haul was weighed and cleared of "junk," leaves, unripe beans, twigs and other debris that fell in during her flurry of picking. Such debris is multiplied by five and subtracted from total weight.
Armitage didn't place, but as she left, she said, "It was a nice way to spend the day."
Although the women's competition was fierce, it was nothing compared to the men's. The entrants were mostly Mexican immigrants, men who pick for the Kona Blue Sky Coffee Co. about three miles down the road.
"There's a lot of machismo involved," said one contest official.
Indeed. The men wrestled through the trees, yanking branches to their baskets, calling encouragement and good-natured insults as they stripped beans.
Miguel Cisneros, last year's winner, hauled limb after limb to his basket, thumbing the red berries off before letting them spring back into the air. The beans weren't as ripe as last year, he said, making picking more difficult.
The competition over, the men joined others enjoying a picnic of sandwiches, fried chicken and potato chips the contest sponsors spread out on tables under a tent.
Sacay's family fared well. Jeri-Ann placed second and Justin won his second first-place finish in a row in the keiki division. Jerid was third in juniors and Sacay took second place in the women's.
For the Kona Blue Sky team, the five-minute picking period paid off better than 40 cents a pound. They won the two top prizes in the men's division, first place garnering $225. Hopping into a battered pickup truck, they drove a few miles to Paul's Place in Holualoa, where they bought several six-packs of beer, the first of which they gave to Ernest Kunitake.
Kunitake, whose family has long farmed coffee, taught the men to pick when they first came to Hawaii. "I teach them how to do this," Kunitake said, "all of them."
"This for you," said Carmen Valdiovinos, handing the beer to Kunitake, who at first demurred.
Valdiovinos whispered something and Kunitake laughed. "OK. I take it."
Then they all laughed, climbed into the pickup and headed back to the farm, an afternoon of hard picking in front of them.
First-place pickers
Pioneers (59 and older): Mary Cantor (5 pounds, 14 ounces picked)
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