Official Launch of KCFA

KAILUA KONA, HAWAII, – A group of Kona coffee farmers have formed a new organization to help protect the famous Kona coffee name. The group, the Kona Coffee Farmers Association, filed Articles of Incorporation, and adopted By Laws at a meeting held on February 15, which was attended by 24 farmers. The KCFA then elected its first Board of Directors. On February 17, the Board met to elect Officers.

The president, Rick Funk of Honu Kona Coffee, said “Forming the KCFA was a necessary step after the current Kona Coffee Council Board failed to support Bills we had urged our legislators to put forward”. The Bills,HB1974 and HB2163, introduced by Representative Bob Herkes and Speaker Calvin Say, would have changed the labeling laws to prevent the current practice of attaching the Kona name to coffee that is 90% of foreign origin. In a letter from Representative Herkes sent out to the many farmers who had testified in support of the Bills, Herkes blamed the lack of consensus for the failure of the bills to be heard.

KCFA secretary, Fred Housel of Kiele O Kona Coffee, stated, “The gourmet Kona name is being jeopardized by ambiguously labeled Kona blends. Kona coffee farmers must take steps now to protect the reputation of Kona coffee from unscrupulous marketeers who degrade the Kona name for their own profit.”

Prominent among the issues the KCFA will support is the COOL legislation (Country of Origin). If coffee is added to this Federal legislation, Kona coffee farmers would be able to put “Origin of USA” on their packages, something no blend of foreign coffee can do. KCFA vice-president Sandra Scarr of Daily Fix Coffee added, “We will also ask our legislators to bring new labeling bills next year, and the KCFA will back them even if other organizations with different agendas do not”.

Other KCFA Board members are Joan Rowe, Treasurer, of Rowes View Coffee, Nancy Griffith of Aama Organic Farm, Suzanne Shriner of Lions Gate Farms, and Mary Lou Moss of Cuppa Kona Coffee.

The Kona Coffee Farmers Association is a volunteer, non-profit, community-based organization of coffee farmers with the mission to promote and protect the economic interests of Kona coffee farmers who grow and sell 100% Kona coffee and to seek greater legal protection of the Kona coffee name.

Kona Coffee Farmers Association
PO Box 5436, Kailua Kona, HI 96745 • info(at)konacoffeefarmers.org

Toll Free No-Help Line

Our coffee and mac nut business line is one digit away from the US Housing and Urban Development's phone number.

Now normally, we get a call or two a week from someone who's transposed numbers. But right now we are inundated, and it's terribly sad. Why are they calling? Because they are homeless from Katrina and are on the verge of getting evicted by FEMA. So they are seeking vouchers from HUD that will allow them to apply for public housing. Note, they can apply, no guarantee they will receive.

Every single person I have talked to is unfailingly polite. And every single person I've talked to is a woman. Some have small children. Some are elderly. Most have almost nothing to their name. Katrina took everything.

For those of us outside of the storm's path, we have largely forgotten. News reports, if any, mention rebuilding in New Orleans, Mardi Gras plans and maybe some residual fingerpointing by politicians. But for the people still living it, the tragedy rolls on. Give a silent thought to them, and let's all remember to be thankful for what we have.

Burning down the Company town

For over 150 years, coffee country has been enslaved by "the Man". Back in the early 1900's, Kona farmers would pick coffee at midnight and sell to the independent mills under cover of darkness to earn a few cents more than their Company mill paid. When the Company system broke down, a number of mills jumped up to take their place. But not much has changed over the years. The mills still pay subsistence-level prices for a gourmet crop that sells at big-buck prices on the mainland.

And funny, how the processors all offer the same subsistence price too. In some industries, this is known as "price-fixing" and politicians call Congressional hearings. In this industry, it is called "business-as-usual".

But lo, here comes the internet. A new business model! New opportunities! Starbucks and Peets turn people onto good coffee! The specialty coffee industry is born, and entrepreneurs jump on board. I don't have to sell coffee cherry anymore. I can sell roasted coffee direct to the buyer and keep all the money the Processors were taking. Yeah! Sound like a good plan. Sounds a lot like those early farmers who sold under cover of darkness. Sounds like rebellion from the Man.

Well, the Man didn't like it. And he pushed back a few weeks ago. Our dear dear local organization, the Kona Coffee Council, was being driven by this new breed of farmer. The Processors felt threatened and responded in a time-honored American way. They bought the election. The Processors signed up 200 new "members" (mostly employees, family members, children and maybe even dogs) and used their votes by proxy to push their slate of people onto the board of directors. The new board's first moves were to stall or kill all the progress the farmers had made in promoting 100% Kona coffee (the processors largely sell ten-percent Kona Blends).

All this politicking has been well documented on Alt.Coffee, in the Honolulu Star Bulletin and other coffee blogs.

Huck 'em I say. Huck 'em right into the volcano.

So, we, the mighty farmers, are pushing back. We have founded the Kona Coffee Farmers Association. We are going to move forward without the bastards. We are NOT surrenduring to a dead business model.

This is the new generation of Farmgirl. We are sharpening our pitchforks, and we are fighting mad.

Will the real Kona coffee please stand up? Not you, Kona Blend

I was recently in Denver and was shocked (SHOCKED!) to drive past a 7-11 with a sign that said “Taste Paradise. Kona Coffee Served Here”.

Oh really? Kona coffee? No actually, a Kona Blend. Contrary to common misconception, a Kona blend is not a mix of Kona coffees. Rather it is a blend of 90% or more of Colombian coffee and likely less than 10% Kona. In fact, there is no federal law regarding the proportions, so it could actually just be one (ONE!) Kona bean mixed in to a substandard grade of coffee. So that “Kona coffee” is not really Kona at all. More like Folgers with a fancified name.

Why do I care so much? Well, all those consumers in Denver now associate Kona coffee with some bitter brew they drank at a convenience store. Tell me how this is not horribly bad for my brand?

For the same reason that Louis Vuitton fights the cheap ripoffs sold out of backalleys, we Kona farmers are trying to protect our name. But the battle is not easy. We face conflicts within our own region. The small farmers are butting heads against the blenders, most of whom are based in our own backyards. Here in Hawaii, we have a state law that requires at least 10% Kona in the Kona blend. There’s currently a bill to bump that ratio up to 50%. But it’s being met by strong opposition from the blenders and large coffee middlemen who make millions selling Kona Blend to consumers who don’t understand the difference.

The big guys have blocked several attempts for federal legislation on the blending issue. They have also blocked attempts to trademark the name Kona coffee, which would cut off the use of the name for coffee blends that are clearly not deserving. Their big bucks depend on the substandard ripoff of Kona’s good reputation.

I know I am preaching to the choir here. Thanks for your support. Thanks for seeking out the small farmer and buying 100% Kona coffee. You make a difference. It is more than just a cup of coffee. It is an excellent cup of coffee.

Kona Snow

It’s snowing all over Kona! Visually, anyway. Dainty coffee flowers have burst forth on the trees and line the branches with white puffs. From a distance it looks like a dusting of snow over the trees.

February and March are known for their beauty here in Kona. The coffee snow lays in wait for a good rainstorm, then pops out a few days after. The mango trees are blossoming. Ripe oranges, avocadoes, persimmons, and assorted citrus weigh down our trees. Winter snowbirds (of the feathered variety) have migrated down from Alaska and grace our beaches. And humpback whales are breaching and birthing offshore.

We are also visited by many snowbirds of the unfeathered kind. New arrivals are pasty white, usually transitioning to beet-red sunburn after a couple of days. I don’t blame them for flying in from Wisconsin, Ohio, or Washington. Everybody loves our winter weather. We get a number of people out specifically for the coffee snow. If you could smell our nights, you’d come too. Coffee is a member of the gardenia family. When it blooms, breathe deeply, because the sweetness doesn’t last long.

These blossoms will grow into our first harvest round in September. With luck, and rain, we’ll have several more blooms. This time next year, you’ll be drinking these flowers.