History of Kona Coffee

In 1825, the British Warship HMS Blonde, brought the first coffee trees to Hawaii. Coffee was first cultivated in the Monoa Valley. Later on, people from other areas of Oahu and its neighboring islands began to plant coffee, too.

The origin of Kona Coffee may be traced back to 1828 as Reverend Ruggles transported coffee trees to Captain Cook, Kona. However, poor economic standing brought an end to the vast coffee plantations in 1899. Up to the present day, there is a prevalence of smaller farms as the plantation owners leased their lands to their workers.

By the 1900's, coffee was found on all of Hawaii's major islands. Though there are different varieties in cultivation, Typica is the most common coffee among Kona's farms. A total of 2000 acres are dedicated to Kona coffee production today. A big part of these consist of farms about 3 acres in size with only a few farms are bigger than 50 acres.

The State of Hawaii Department of Agriculture began certifying all Hawaiian coffees in 1997 to protect consumers from fake Hawaiian Coffees.