Kona Farmgirl

Flossie, we hardly knew ya

2007-08-15T15:18:00.000-10:00

The hurricane missed us with hardly a gust of wind, and then quickly degraded into a tropical storm. The trailing clouds are dropping a gentle rain now, but we are all breathing easy again.

Now up on the horizon is a tsunami advisory from the 7.9 earthquake in Peru.

This is not an island for the fainthearted.

Flossie, still waiting...

2007-08-14T19:36:00.000-10:00

Waiting for a hurricane that is stalled offshore is like waiting for the dentist. Nothing but dread and impatience and the desire to get on with it already!

Hurricane Flossie was due mid-day and 8 hours later she hasn't arrived. Never believe the weathermen. Now that all preparations are complete, we are left twiddling our thumbs. So, what's a farmgirl to do but surf the web and look at Youtube video of the last Typhoon I weathered. That shrieking noise in the background....wind.

Keep praying for us, it seems to be working.

Hurricane Flossie, Part 1

2007-08-13T19:46:00.000-10:00

We're battening down the hatches here as Hurricane Flossie is swinging our way. We're sure to get smacked pretty hard by wind and rain tomorrow.

The National Weather Service says...

THE CURRENT FORECAST BRINGS EAST TO SOUTHEAST WINDS OF 40 TO 50
MPH WITH GUSTS TO 60 MPH TO THE SOUTHERN BIG ISLAND BY NOON
TUESDAY. WINDS OF THESE INTENSITIES WILL CAUSE DAMAGE TO LIGHT
STRUCTURES AND TREES.

HOWEVER...IF THE TRACK OF FLOSSIE SHIFTS NORTHWARD...HURRICANE FORCE
WINDS OF 74 MPH OR GREATER COULD AFFECT SOME AREAS OF THE SOUTHERN
BIG ISLAND TUESDAY WITH MUCH GREATER DAMAGE POTENTIAL.

Ahhh damn. I remember how this works. I used to live on Guam and have ridden out my share of Supertyphoons and tropical storms. It's the "or greater" in the forecast that always comes back to bite you.

Preparing the farm was an all day job. Dozens of tools had to be stored away, rolling roofs locked down and light objects stashed. Laundry has to be caught up on and cars gassed up. This may all seem overboard, but having gone 6 days without gasoline, 17 days without water, 40 days without power and 6 months without cable after one storm on Guam, I'm not taking chances here.

I'm still not close to ready. This is a 60 year old farm with buildings that are sketchy at best. And the new house has yet to weather a storm so I'm not sure where the trouble spots are going to pop up. Keep your thoughts positive for all of us.

Oh yeah, and cross your fingers for the trees. We started picking coffee last week and there is a lot of ripe beans that will take the brunt of the wind.

The Season Approaches

2007-07-20T16:14:00.000-10:00

It is the Final Days before the start of the harvest. The first of my picking crew has arrived. He is assisting with the suckering (removal of new growth) and prepping the field. I expect the rest my crew within 3-4 weeks and we should be picking in about a month.

From all accounts, it should be a bumper coffee crop this year. Five (5!!) flowerings in the spring have left the trees bent and breaking under all the coffee cherry. All over Kona, farmers are forgetting about last year's lean crop and excited about actually making money this year. It's a good feeling.

This should be a relaxing time, the last of the summer vacation. Instead, I feel like I'm on a slippery slope. There is the coffee mill refurbishment that is only half-way complete. The pulper is in pieces, bearings to be replaced, and the motors need reinstalling. The roof leaks on the Hoshidana (dry rack) and the darn foundation of posts and piers needs shoring up... a leftover from last October's earthquake.
And when am I going to have time to fix the pothole in the road that is about to swallow the farm truck?

But there is time. The projects never end. It is a farm after all. The mill will be ready. The road will get fixed. In the meantime, it's mango season and I must go pick some fruit. And the dogs are eating more ripe avocados than dog food this month, I can't forget to steal some from them for guacamole. And the lychee tree is fruiting too. Summer in Hawaii is good!

Winter Whales and Whatnot

2007-03-29T13:52:00.001-10:00

No dust on me. Between the rain in the fields as I prune away old coffee growth to the saltwater rinseoff I take in evening, everything has been washed clean. Yes, a busy winter as usual, with little time to blog. But Spring is here!

Last night, while paddling with my outrigger club, Keoua, a humpback whale and her calf surfaced close to the boat. The whales spend winter with us, and this may be the last we see of them as they head off to Alaska for the summer. It's fantastic to be at eye level when they blow. A little humbling too, as their size and speed is deceptive from a distance.

The pruning season is a hopeful time, as we walk through the trees and watch the flowers turn into beans. The air is filled with the perfume of a million flowers and I compete for tree space with bees anxiously pollinating. This year, the early rains have been heavy and the trees are dense with beans. Large beans. Wait, is this just the end of March? We had our third round of coffee flowers two weeks ago. The oldtimer adage is a rule of 3, "three months from third flowering is picking time". That means (counts fingers...april...may..june..) June picking??!. That's two months early. Dang! Guess my 40th birthday may be spent with a basket around my neck as Gabriel and his picking crew won't be back until August.

Yes, 40 this year, my friends. To make me feel even older, I am going to be a step-grandparent. Here in Hawaii, young'uns are polite enough to call us oldsters "Auntie". So that's my word, and I'm sticking to it. Yes, I will be an Auntie to my partner's grandson, due to arrive last week. He's already right on "island time".

Some of you may be waiting for me to comment on the whole political mess about coffee labeling. I don't have it in me right now. To tired from too much real farmwork. Needless to say, I sleep well at night. Don't know how some other people do, what with all the bullshit they pass off as "truth in labeling". But that's all I'm going to say on that. For now.

Big News about Bad Coffee

2006-12-22T09:21:00.000-10:00

Whooohoooo! A small step forward in the fight against deceitful labeling on Kona 10% Blends was achieved this week. Our Hawaii County Council passed Resolution 18-06 stating that coffee blends should have at least 75% Kona in the bag to wear the Kona label. That's a nice step up from the 10% currently mandated by the State Legislature.

Many of you have read my discussions on blends before. They are a blight to Kona coffee name and a ripoff to the consumer. In the long run, they harm the farmer because they devalue the Kona brand. The only way we can compete against third world coffee practices (cheap land and labor) is by maintaining the excellent name and quality of Kona coffee. Blends of 10% Kona and 90% mystery beans labeled as "Kona Coffee" put out a bad cup and tarnish our image.

The Resolution will be passed on to the State Legislature, which will hopefully provide more ammunition for the next level. We need a law, not just a resolution. We have lost in the Legislature before because of the lobby money that flows from the Big Blenders. We're not going to stop fighting this issue though. For the farmers, our survival depends on it. The Big Blenders and their Mainland money don't seem to care if they devalue our brand to the point of economic collapse. They will go back to the Mainland. For the hundreds of farmers who live and eat on coffee, this issue is vital.

A big MAHALO NUI LOA to the County Council!

News on this issue:
Kona Coffee Farmers press release
Honolulu Advertiser
Pacific Business News

Back to the Regularly Scheduled Coffee Season

2006-10-17T14:39:00.000-10:00

Excitement's over folks, back to work.

It's a mild coffee season here in Kona. Not terribly bad, but nowhere near good. I'm hitting my biggest round right now. The beans are beautiful, huge and very very ripe coming off the trees. Should be tasty coffee. The downside is that I'll just have one more small round in November and should be done by early December. My guess is that I'll be down about 50% from last year's bumper yield. I'm hearing similar reports from some other farms.

The wholesale price is at $1.25 per pound cherry (30 days net). Still not great, nor livable. Usually a poor year bumps prices. Since it's not, I'm not selling any cherry. Instead, I am processing every single bean I can fit onto my hoshidana. With the scarcity, the price for parchment (dried coffee) should rise in the offseason. It's called "value-added", and it's how the modern farmgirl survives.

Selling roasted coffee is the ultimate value-added move. Glad I took that Econ course in college.

The Great Quake of '06

2006-10-16T10:40:00.000-10:00

Whoooyah! Pele the Fire Goddess, who blesses us with daily small shakers, hit us big yesterday. Maybe you saw it on CNN. 6.6 on the good ole Richter scale.

I was 15 feet up on my hoshidana (coffee drying rack) and almost learned to fly with the first jolt. I ran the sixty feet of the hoshi and jumped clear only to catch sight of my 10,000 gallon water tank blowing out a rib. Holy Moses! Here comes the flood! A wall of water shot across an outside workbench and cleared tools and coffee bags for twenty feet. It scoured all the dirt and rocks off the drive before pressure-hosing its way into the coffee mill. Oh my, what a mess! But immensely entertaining to watch, I must admit. Looked like a movie stunt.

No worries, the mill will dry and I will sweep out all the mud and rocks later. Don't know if I'll ever be able to track down all the sockets and wrenches that are now imbedded in the rock wall. That's the way it goes.

As for the water tank, it appears to be beyond repair. It lasted over 50 years and leaked a bit anyway. Hmmm, maybe it will have a second life as a tool shed. Take out a few more ribs, add a door....

The houses were fine, parents rode it out ok. Broken glass and mess was the worst of it. Don't believe CNN, I've done harder time through typhoons in Guam and earthquakes in California. :)

For those familiar with the area here, a good portion of the Pali (cliff) above Kealakekua Bay came tumbling down during the quake. The dust cloud was visible for several hours. Lucky for many people, the quake was early (7:07 am). By midday, there are usually 50 kayaks and several boats in the area. Could have been deadly.

'Tis the season.. to get Lost

2006-10-04T17:57:00.000-10:00

It's coffee season here in Kona. We just finished our second picking round at both farms. That means crazy long hours and exhausting processing days. But I am very happy to report that the beans are huuuuge this year. Big and tasty. Not a whole lot of them though. As I blogged earlier in the year, last year's bumpercrop meant the trees would yield fewer beans this year. That's the way it works.

I haven't had a break in about two months, so I took of the weekend to fly over to Waikiki. Hmmm, check my head, I went to Waikiki to relax???

I happened to hit the very weekend when they were premiering the tv show "Lost" on Waikiki beach. I don't own a tv, but I do manage to watch this show on a regular basis, partly for its Hawaii locations and partly for its closet existentialism. It was quite entertaining to be among thousands of fans, many shrieking in appreciation of the cast as they signed autographs. Hey, the real star of the show is the island!

My main purpose in Oahu was to see Krishna Das sing. "See" is the wrong verb, because at a kirtan performance, everybody sings. For three hours, we sang and sang and sang our way into a joyful state. Yoga led me to kirtan, via an instructor who loved to chant at the end of her practice. It's like going to church, except without the preacher. Skip straight over the "sins of the flesh" and right to the good part, the joy of singing. Krishna Das is one of my favorites.

I'm back to the coffee now. Came home to 1500 pounds of cherry that had to be pulped. My next break won't be till the end of the harvest season....Christmas. Back to work!

Found: Goat

2006-07-25T21:08:00.000-10:00

Farm life... it's different.

My neighbor found a goat, posted a big sign. FOUND: GOAT. Call her if yours is lost.

Me, I have animal problems of a different kind. My mangos are suspiciously disappearing. At twilight, I hear strange noises and rustlings from afar. The dogs are tense and bark half the night. Every morning I awake to cloven hoof tracks between my coffee trees. The damn wild pigs are having wild bacchanalias underneath the avocadoes and it's driving me crazy.

Pigs are not a year-round problem. But the wet season brings them down off the upper slopes and into the farms. They love macadamia nuts, and crack open the hardest nut in the world like candy. My bigger complaint is that they dig up everything. Everything. Coffee trees. 100-pound buried rocks. My road.

Or, all of the above, at one time. I got up last week, jumped in the truck to head to the Big Farm (my parents place), and found my road was blocked. The pigs had dug up several 100 pound rocks, scattered them in the road, AND tipped over several coffee trees on top for good measure. Made a big ole mess. $%#&@!!!

hmm, if I didn't know better, I might think they tried to trap me on the property. It's suddenly getting Hitchcockian. Has my phone line been cut? Will I walk outside some night and find the herd circling the house? Should I be afraid? Very afraid?

Revenge is mine though. One member of The Other White Meat herd is now in the freezer. Carnitas anyone?

Farm life, it's different....

Aloha CMC Alumni!

2006-06-09T20:05:00.000-10:00

My alma mater, Claremont McKenna ran a short article on me in their summer CMC magazine. It must be hitting the mailboxes because I'm getting some great emails from old friends. In Hawaii, even our mail is slow... I haven't seen the spring edition of the magazine yet, much less the summer.

So, thanks for tracking down my blog. Please, drop me an email at suzanne(at)coffeeofkona.com. I'd love to hear from you.

And yes, I find it amusing that CMC wrote me up. Yes me, the girl who never went to class, failed calculus, passed on the desk job, and now lives barefoot on a coffee farm, was deemed worthy of an article. Ummm, April fool's?

OK, that's a little glib. I think I'll spin it that I'm really a CMC success story. I took the box, and thought outside of it. And have lived pretty much happily ever after by doing so. I get to drink great, GREAT, Kona coffee everyday. My "job" varies from weedwhacking (oh so sexy) to negotiating contracts with Taiwanese roasters. I spend more time at the beach than in front of a computer. And I don't have to answer to anyone.... except my dogs who demand dinner by 4. PLUS, I live in Hawaii, surrounded by family and friends. How freakin great is that?!

So that's the upside. For anyone who's ever run a small business, you know the downside. It's a lot of work. And it's good that coffee is my passion, because farming demands nothing less than everything. Things like amount of rainfall versus fertilizer inputs will keep you up at night (definitely not sexy). Don't even get me started on the politics of Kona coffee.... my blog is full of that.

But it's mango season. No one gets to complain during mango season. Life tastes too good right now. Especially when I have 4 trees going off.

So, what have you been up to? And when are you coming to visit?

Goodbye to Ken

2006-05-18T14:09:00.000-10:00

We lost our patriarch last week. Ken Harris, my mother's father, passed away at home here in Honaunau. He was 85 and a true farmgrampa.

As recently as two years ago, he was still running around with a leafblower on his back and a machete in his hand. We finally had to ban the power tools but we never did manage to wean him from his wild side. The man was a force to be reckoned with!

In his day he was a shipwright, teacher, housebuilder, marine surveyor, fisherman, waterskier, and all-around great guy . He taught me how to play pool, and how to catch frogs. He liked his coffee black and not too thick. He greeted everyone with a grin, a big "howdy" and a joke.

It was his grin that got you. Born in Oklahoma, he had a smile as wide as the prairie. Coupled with big blue eyes, he was always a hit with the ladies. But it was to Barbara that he was loyal. Yep, the original Ken and Barbie. Married for 64 years. Barb is still with us here at Lions Gate.

His last days were made more pleasant through Hospice care and the pleasure of being surrounded by family. We were blessed to have him as long as we did.

I miss you grampa!

Green Certification Muckup Looming

2006-04-24T15:59:00.000-10:00

The Big Processors are up to their tricks again.

They are pushing Hawaii Dept of Ag to require mandatory certification of ALL green Kona coffee prior to roasting.

Reread that sentence. If you are a small farmer, you are going to have to go through a cumbersome and expensive procedure to roast and sell your coffee direct-to-consumer.

This is being driven by the Hawaii Coffee Association and the KCC. They both have business incentives for pushing the small farmers out of the market.

We have been in discussions with members of the coffee industry on requiring mandatory certification of all green coffee. This is mainly due to the allegations that coffee lower than Prime Kona grade is being roasted and sold as 100% Kona, which is in violation of the roasted coffee requirements. Discussions are still in the infancy stages. We have not yet agreed to mandate certification of all green coffee yet. A meeting is scheduled with various representatives of the Kona coffee industry for Thursday, April 27, 2006 at 9:30 am at Capt. Cook Coffee. If you are interested in attending, please contact Roger Kaiwi-Machon.

Thanks You,
Jeri Kahana, Acting Administrator
Quality Assurance Division
HDOA

Where's the evidence for these allegations of low-quality coffee being sold as Kona? Interesting that the businesses alleging such things are blending 90% foreign coffees with Kona and calling it "quality coffee".

PLEASE attend the meeting at Captain Cook Coffee if you can. If you call Roger, he might tell you that there is no room. Go anyway. There has to be room for all of us in this industry if we want to survive. Dept of Ag needs to hear the farmer's voice.

How to decaf your own coffee

2006-04-17T20:00:00.000-10:00

Melanie, my hanai sister, and I were having coffee this morning on her farm. She's just back from the SCAA conference in Charlotte and had gossip and exotic coffees to share (cupping notes tomorrow!)

The subject of decaf came up at the table because one of her apprentice workers can't tolerate caffeine. And as we all know, it is really hard to get a good decaf coffee. The decaf process removes oils and flavors as well as the caffeine, leaving a blah cup behind.

But what's a farmgirl to do, late on a cold Hawaiian night? Drink tea? I think not. So, this is what Melanie's naturopath told her to do...

Using a press pot, pour just enough hot water to cover the grounds. Let sit briefly. Press the grounds and pour off the water. As caffeine is highly soluble in water, this first expressing should pull off most of it. Then add more water to the pot, and express as usual. Voila! A decaffeinated coffee.

The best part is you can use the coffee of your choice. Me, I'll stick with the 100% Kona.

Tail Wagging the Dog

2006-04-09T19:27:00.000-10:00

I've spoken often about the changing nature of farm life here in Kona. The internet has allowed us small farmers to make a living by reaching out directly to our customers. This is a far cry from 10 years ago when we had little choice but to sell to the Big Blenders.

Unfortunately, the Big Blenders still have the ear of our governing bodies. We're trying to change this, one ear at a time. Our voice is a voice for protection of 100% Kona coffee and for the land that it is grown on.

A fellow farmer, Howard Conant, gave me permission to reprint his excellent letter to Lt. Governor Duke Aiona. Thanks Howard! We need every voice we have.....

>>>>>
Aloha Lt. Governor Aiona,

Thank you for coming to Kona to hear the concerns of coffee farmers like myself. My wife and I have seven acres of organic coffee that we tend full time. We are fully integrated vertically and sell all of our coffee as roasted. I attended the meeting and signed up to speak but time did not permit.

Like most coffee farmers, I supported the Kona Coffee blend/ Truth in Labeling legislation that was in Committee (HB1974 and 2163) in a modified form. And I submitted written testimony.

But the issue I wanted to speak about at Kona Joe's Coffee was the make up and nature of the Kona Coffee industry, and the voice we seem to lack in the Legislature.

There are between 600 and 700 coffee farmers like myself in Kona. I firmly believe that we ARE the Kona Coffee industry along with our local processors. Our largest customers are Hawaii Coffee Co. and Hawaiian Isle Coffee Co. Those two companies are 90% in the international coffee business and do not represent the Kona coffee industry. They are merely our customers.

Those two companies are in Honolulu, have daily access to the capitol, and are able to bend the ear of every legislator. In short they have a big lobbying voice, while we 650 farmers have a small one that is hardly heard.

I think it is wrong for our customers to represent themselves as the Kona coffee industry, and wrong for the executive and legislative branches of Hawaii State government to consider 10% Kona Coffee blenders as the Kona coffee industry. They are marketers of 90% foreign coffee. Clearly suppliers and customers always conflict in their goals and views. Suppliers want the highest price they can achieve, while customers want the lowest price. Considering Hawaii Coffee and Hawaiian Isle Coffee as part of the Kona coffee industry is truly a case of the TAIL WAGGING THE DOG.

Mahalo nui loa.

Howard and Stephanie Conant
Kona Rainforest Coffee

Late, So Late

2006-04-07T20:23:00.000-10:00

I have to admit, I am a procrastinator. I hear my friends laughing now. OK, OK, I will stop being so humble. I more than that, I am a world-class procrastinator.

The inimitable Bob Smith, one of the true experts on Kona coffee, once said that May 1 is the absolute drop-dead date to complete pruning in a coffee field. Well, guess what this procrastinator is doing dawn-to-dusk till April 31. Yeah, pruning.

Luckily, half the work is done. My parents' 5-acres (the original Lions Gate Farm) is just about done. My 5 acres.... not so close.

Each tree has to be trimmed by hand every year. Pruning the trees forces them to put their energy into reproducing (growing fruit) rather than growing wood. At least a quarter of the tree is cut off every year. The process is arduous when you have 5000 trees. Especially this year. Because last year was a bumper-crop yield, this year's yield will be much smaller as the trees recover from the heavy output. So I'm taking advantage of this downcycle to radically cut back my field and get it into better shape. That means stumping a good number of trees and uprooting others entirely.

When I purchased my acreage two years ago, it had been in the Yoshizaki family for 70-odd years. Mr. Yoshizaki-san the elder had been a sugar cane farmer before acquiring a plot of scrub guava and weeds on Middle Kei'i Road. Through hard labor, he cleared and planted the land. It passed through the family until 2003, when the son, Toshio-san passed away and the sisters decided it was time to retire.

The farm had suffered some neglect in the last few years. I have many "volunteer" coffee trees springing up between the heritage 50+ year-old trees, causing an overcompetition for nutrients. Vines still snake their way throughout the field, despite two years of efforts to remove them all. And I must admit, that whoever pruned in this field last year (ahem, me), was far too slack in chopping back the trees. So I have an overgrowth of old branches and not enough new.

Pruning is a skill that takes mental preparation and a slash-and-cut disposition. Show mercy, and your trees will suffer. Last year, I was too merciful. It paid off in a high yield, but the effect is a boomerang for this year. But I planned it that way, knowing the field needed major work. Better to do that work in a downcycle.

Not to fear, dear Kona addicts. Despite the slash-and-cut on my trees, there'll still be plenny'o Lions Gate coffee for your morning cup.

And friends...if you don't hear much from me this month, it's because I was procrastinating last month. Y'all know what that means. Time for this farmgirl to work!

ABC's....Aotearoa, Baristas, and Coffee

2006-04-01T21:51:00.000-10:00

I'm just back from three weeks in New Zealand. Wow, what a place. Full of culture and contradictions. Manicured hedges vs wilderness. Fish 'n Chips vs. gourmet cooking. Incredible wines vs. great beers. English vs. Maori. Sheep vs....uhh...sheep.

No contradictions on the coffee though. It was universally excellent. Every little roadside stand did espresso and did it well. Not a Nescafe packet in sight (unlike their more barbarous Aussie neighbors). Nor were there any drip machines. Nope, it was all about the Barista. It took us a few days to figure out that a "Long Black" equated out to an americano-style pull, but once we got over that hurdle, we were unstoppable. My 5 traveling companions and I looooooved that coffee on the chilly Fall mornings.

Six of us South Kona women were in Aotearoa for the World Sprints championships. The biennial event showcases the best of outrigger canoe racing and my team at Keoua O Honaunau Canoe Club was blessed enough to qualify from the Hawaii Region. We were part of 1500 athletes from 23 countries competing. The Tahitians, as usual, were the showstoppers, but the NZ team wasn't far behind. Its beautiful to watch the Polynesian culture thriving in this way.

Outrigger racing has two components, the 6-man canoe, and the 1-man canoe. Both have long traditions in the Pacific Rim. A number of island nations still use them as a means of transportation and for fishing. Here in Hawaii, we just race 'em now but if you listen closely, you can hear the drumbeats of the Hawaiian warriors on the water.

Once the races were over, we took off in our campervan (the only way to travel in NZ) and rolled all over the countryside. The people were wonderful, the scenery was incredible, and each moment was perfect. For those of you who might believe it's impossible to fit 6 women and their luggage in a campervan only 20 feet long AND we'd all get along for three weeks.....well all I can say is that miracles do happen.

E noho rā, Aotearoa! I will be back. Keep a Tall Black warm for me.

Roast Profile For Kona Coffee - geek alert

2006-03-11T21:22:00.000-10:00

Phone rings: "What profile do you use for your green?"

Ahh, a true coffee geekers question. What a way to start my day. Give me a chance to wax poetic over the roasting of a fine Kona bean.

What's green? unroasted coffee.
What's a profile? the roasting "recipe".
What's a homeroaster? a truly passionate coffee drinker (think homebrewer)

Google doesn't turn up much about roasting 100% Kona coffee. It's a rare bean and even some of my commercial customers will ask me how to properly roast it. So here is my optimum Kona profile. (I am not including a log here, as I use a Sivetz-style fluid bed air roaster, which will chart out differently than a drum roaster.)

Green Kona demands a lighter touch. Be gentle with the heat and the speed. It doesn't want to be rushed, and it doesn't like a darker roast (espresso roast will remove all Kona characteristics). My "dark" is a rolling-crack Full City. I sell a lot of Full City. But to fully appreciate the bright and smooth Kona flavor, a medium or City to City+ is the way to go.

My City+ gets dropped out of the heat at 430 degrees (remember, this is fluid-bed, not drum). The first crack is complete and the last of the chaff is coming out. The beans are fairly uniform in color at this point. If I leave it another minute, they'll start to show a little "black-tip" as it approaches the second crack.

If I'm taking it to Full City, I will crank down the heat slightly at the City stage. This slows (careful not to stall) the roast and keeps the beans from tipping, charring, or divoting extensively. Like I said, she's a touchy one. Second crack hits at 450 degrees in the fluid bed, and I watch it very closely at this point. Its a fine line between a flavorful dark roast, and a waste of Kona beans. Midway into the second crack (but before it slows) or around 455 degrees, the beans come out.

Here at Lions Gate, we then bag the beans immediately to preserve the freshness. On average, I roast about 3 times a week. Fresh coffee is Da Kine!

That's Hawaiian for "da best!"

What do Two Buck Chuck and Kona Blends have in common?

2006-03-10T16:10:00.000-10:00

For some years, Napa Valley vines were plagued by vintners who used the Napa name on wines bottled in Napa from grapes grown elsewhere. So that "Napa" Two-Buck-Chuck you bought at Trader Joes was probably Modesto grape juice trucked to Napa and bottled as a "boutique" wine.

If this issue sounds like the problem Kona coffee farmers have with the use of the Kona name on 90% foreign, imported coffee, it is. Yeah, Kona Blends, I'm talking about you again.

Unlike Hawaii (to date), California passed a truth-in-labeling law in the year 2000 to protect the Napa wine name from exploitation. Unless 75% of the grapes in the bottle are grown in Napa, the Napa name cannot be used on the label. The fancy lawyers for Two-Buck-Chuck challenged the law all the way to the US Supreme Court...and lost. Yeah!. The California law was upheld, because it's basically the right thing to do for consumers and for grape growers in the Napa Valley.

Two very significant findings apply quite obviously to the case of Kona coffee blends and to trademarked names using the geographic origin name, Kona:
• Misleading advertising is not protected by “free speech” or by previously registered trademarks.
• The BATF finding that “explicitly determined that consumers believe that a geographic brand name on a wine label indicates the source of the grapes. Further, that inclusion of an accurate appellation of origin on the front label was insufficient to dispel the misimpression created by the misleading geographic brand name.”

In other words...If you have the name Kona on the label, people think it's just that...Kona coffee. Kona blends (aka 90% mystery beans, 10% Kona beans) are NOT Kona coffee.

Now if we can only get our Hawaii state government to pass a Truth-in Labeling law that will protect the consumers and the 650 Kona coffee farmers, Two Buck Chuck in Kona will be a thing of the past.

For the Record: Dirty Deeds

2006-03-08T20:51:00.000-10:00

I am posting this excellent letter from farmers Barbara and Fred Housel because I want it entered into the permanent record of the blogosphere. For those of you outside of the Kona area, it is a documentation of the weasely behaviors perpetrated by large-scale Kona coffee processors Roger Kaiwi Machen (Captain Cook Coffee Co), Tom Greenwell (Greenwell Farms) and Cherry Ward in their takeover of the Kona Coffee Council.

The clowns have taken over the circus. Let them have it. They no longer represent the voice of the South Kona farmer. That privilege belongs to the Kona Coffee Farmers Association. We now have an Independent Voice, and intend to use it.

>>>>>Start letter>>>>>
TO: The Kona Coffee Council Board of Directors:
Roger Dilts
Bob Foerster
Bryce Decker
George Fike
Colehour Bondera
Bruce Corker
Grace De Aguiar
Tom Greenwell
Roger Kaiwi-Machen
Dave Bateman
Donna Woolley

From: Fred and Barbara Housel

Re: KCC Proxy Vote Election

We are Kona coffee farmers and have been members of the Kona Coffee Council since 1999. We have not attended every KCC meeting since we have been members, but, in 2005, we participated in Cream of the Crop, staffed the KCC booth at the Kona Coffee Cultural Festival Cupping and Hale Halawi, and donated hundreds of dollars worth of our coffee to KCC for fund raising events. We also took an active role in the 2006 Annual General Meeting and elections.

We have taken great pride in supporting the Kona Coffee Council and its goals.

We are writing this letter to express our concerns about the recent KCC Elections which took place in January 2006. Since the election, there have been a multitude of claims and counter-claims about the results of the election.

Amidst all the controversy, we wanted to find out for ourselves the facts behind what actually happened in the KCC election.

One of the major questions was the use of proxy votes in the election.

We compiled a summary of the proxies voted in the January election and who submitted them

The proxy summary is as follows:

Dave Bateman 2
Roger Kaiwi Machen 109 ( ed. note...for shame, Roger)
Cherry Ward 31
Gloria Biven 4
George Fike 2
Donna Woolley 4
Total 152

Bruce Corker 7
Bob Smith 12
Sandra Scarr 22
Mary Lou Moss 5
Christine Sheppard 18
Colehour Bondera 2
Fred Housel 2
Total 68

Mike Rand 2
Roger Rittenhouse 3
Joanie Rowe 1
Grace De Aguiar 1
Lenore Rick 11
Marsha Eckert 1
Brooke Bateman 2
Leta Schooler 3
Randall DeAguiar 1
Total 25

Total Proxies
245

Total Votes
365

Percentage of Total Votes Voted as Proxies
67.1%

It is obvious that the KCC election was won on the basis of proxy votes.

Who were these proxies from? We compiled a complete list of all KCC members who signed proxies.

We reviewed this list with Tom Greenwell who confirmed that most of the proxies submitted by him via Cherry Ward were Greenwell employees. Tom also confirmed that most of the proxies submitted by Roger Kaiwi Machen were employees of Captain Cook Coffee Company, Kona Joe Coffee Co., and Bayview Estates Coffee Company. To our knowledge, these employees have never attended a KCC meeting nor have they actively participated in any KCC events. Therefore, it is apparent to us that the true purpose of their memberships and proxies was to simply acquire votes to swing the election.

The total KCC Election vote counts were as follows:

Bateman 223
Fike 219
Greenwell 214
Dilts 208
Kaiwi-Machen 206
Woolley 190
Smith 162
Wood 135
Scarr 133
Moss 116
Hennig 108
Griffith 85
Housel 83
Biven 24

The average margin of victory by the top six candidates over the second six candidates was by 87 votes. At the election, Roger Kaiwi-Machen was publicly observed marking all his 109 proxies identically to be voted as a solid bloc for the six winning candidates.

The net effect of all the questionable proxy votes was to elect the six candidates to the KCC Board of Directors. Without these newly acquired proxy votes, the six new directors would not have been elected. Never before in the 20+ year history of the Kona Coffee Council have the goodwill of the bylaws been subverted in this manner..

Even if the tactics used in this election may have been within the letter of the bylaws,was the election fair to the active membership and morally acceptable?

Our conclusion is that these tactics are totally unethical and we cannot, in good conscience, support KCC Directors who subverted the election for their own purposes. Some of the new Directors submitted no or few proxy votes, however, we believe, as they have taken no action to remedy the impropriety of the election, they are willing parties to the dishonest election..

With deep regret, we feel we must resign from the Kona Coffee Council. If the Kona Coffee Council can demonstrate it can hold fair and open elections of directors who support its members, then we would certainly consider joining the KCC again.

Sincerely,

Fred & Barbara Housel

Official Launch of KCFA

2006-02-22T23:16:00.000-10:00

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

2006-02-18T18:26:00.000-10:00

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

2006-02-17T19:17:00.000-10:00

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

2006-02-08T17:52:00.000-10:00

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

2006-02-03T07:53:00.000-10:00

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.