How is Kona Coffee grown & processed?
Kona coffee blooms in February and March. Small white flowers cover the tree and are known as “Kona Snow”. In April, green berries begin to appear on the trees. By late August, red fruit, called “Cherry” because of the resemblance of the ripe berry to a cherry fruit, start to ripen for picking. Each tree will be hand-picked several times between September and January, and provides around 20-30 pounds of cherry per year. Within 24 hours of picking, the cherry is run through a pulper, the beans are separated from the reddish-purple skin, called pulp, and then placed in a fermentation tank overnight. The fermentation time is dependent on the temperature and therefore on the elevation; about 12 hours at a low elevation or 24 hours at a higher elevation. The beans are rinsed and spread to dry on a “Hoshidana” or drying floor. Traditional Hoshidanas have a roof on rollers be opened to sun dry the beans in the heat of the day and closed to cover the beans at night or in the event of rain. It
