What is an “Estate” coffee, what is a “Blend”?
A Kona Estate coffee is the coffee from one farm and only that farm, grown and processed entirely under the control of the estate farmer. This differs considerably from the Kona coffee from a large processor. Processors buy coffee cherry from many farmers (ie: the raw fruit off the tree), and thus have no control over how the coffee is grown, cultivated, fertilized etc. The coffee that they produce is a blend of many different Kona farms. While still usually a good coffee, the comparison between an Estate coffee and a processors coffee is like that between an estate-bottled fine wine and a jug wine. While each have their place, they are different quality coffees. The blend of different Kona coffees that a processor sells is still 100% Kona and should not be confused with what has become known as “Kona Blend”. “Kona Blend” is a mix of low cost (and often low quality coffees) that have had 10% or more (has to be 10% by law, it is rare to find a larger percentage) of Kona beans added to i
