Enjoy Maui Coffee

Quick; what other US state, besides Hawaii, grows coffee?  No other state is the correct answer.  While visiting the Honua Kai and Maui you really need to buy a bag of Maui Coffee and enjoy a taste of the Hawaiian Islands.  Kona coffee is just fine too.  If you visit the Whalers or ABC stores you can buy a bag of Maui coffee and brew it exactly the way you like coffee back at the Honua Kai.

Make sure the coffee you buy is 100% Hawaiian coffee either Kona or Maui.  Kona blended coffee has just 10% Hawaiian coffee and you can’t taste it when 90% of the coffee is much less quality coffee – get 100% Kona or Maui.

History of Hawaiian Coffee

The coffee plant as first introduced to the Hawaiian Islands by Chief Boki, the Governor of Oahu, in 1825 after acquiring coffee plants in Rio de Janeiro while aboard a British warship, the H.M.S. Blonde. From the original plantings in the Manoa Valley on Oahu, coffee trees were introduced to locations around the Islands, including the now famous Kona Coast.

The coffee tree needs six specific conditions to thrive:

1. Rich soil
2. Proper elevation (between 500 and 3000 feet is ideal)
3. Sunshine
4. Cloud cover
5. Lots of rain
6. Moderate slope for proper drainage of roots

The Hawaiian climate offers all six elements, many other coffee growing areas of the world lack one or more of the six needed attributes.  Because Hawaii has all six attributes Hawaiian coffee is #1 in the world.  I buy Blue Jamacian coffee once in a while for prices 4 to 6 times as much as Kona, or Maui, coffee and I can’t taste a difference.

The growing season in Maui begins in January and ends in June. As you drive around Maui in January you can see coffee blossoms to appear on the trees after rains early in the season, and these flowers eventually turn into coffee cherries. These coffee cherries are allowed to ripen on the tree, under the close watch of the farmers. When they are bright red and ripe, each coffee cherry is harvested individually by hand.

Maui Coffee Company is, of course, the big coffee grower on Maui – you can find their bags of coffee sold in hundreds of stores on Maui.  Buy a bag of their coffee and brew it up back at the Honua Kai and you will be able to sit on your lanai and enjoy even more of Maui.  Buy a couple of bags to take home with you.

www.mauigrowncoffee.com is grown right here in Ka’anapali!  This is truly a fantastic coffee and you can visit their store and the coffee fields.

Ka’anapali Coffee Farms – Why not just buy your own 5-acre coffee plantation at Ka’a'apaliCoffee Farms?  This is a real estate venture where coffee growing land plots are sold and you can start your own coffee plantation!  Cool idea and something some of you might consider.