Hawaiian Coffee

Its late on Friday afternoon, and all I can think about is coffee. Did you know that Hawaii is the only state in the US that produces coffee? Though coffee is not native to the Hawaiian Islands, the climate and topography of the Islands offers some of the most ideal growing conditions in the world – thus producing some of the best coffee in the world.

Although coffee is not native to the Hawaiian Islands, the climate and topography of the Islands offers some of the most ideal growing conditions in the world – thus producing some of the best coffee in the world. Coffee was first introduced to the Islands by Chief Boki, the Governor of Oahu, in 1825. He acquired coffee plants in Brazil while aboard a British warship, the H.M.S. Blonde. These first coffee plants were planted in Manoa Valley, on Oahu, where they flourished. From this original planting, coffee trees were introduced to locations around the Islands, including the now famous Kona Coast. The Kona coast on the Big Island of Hawaii has been described as the Napa Valley of the coffee world. The Kona coffee growing region is only about fifty square miles in all, and is farmed largely by small landowners. A lot of the coffee you see in Hawaii is marked 100% Kona coffee, or 10% Kona blend etc. If you can get your hands on the 100% variety, I strongly recommend it - although it is more expensive, its worth the investment. Be sure to check the labels to make sure its the real deal - there are a lot of Hawaiian coffee brands out there, with many being less than 100% Hawaiian coffee.

Some of the brands I would recommend you try during your stay in Hawaii are:

Hawaiian Coffee Company - produces Lion Coffee and Royal Kona Coffee

Maui Coffee Roasters - also roast Kona coffee beans

Hula Daddy - this coffee company has recently received a historic 97-point score out of a possible 100 for its Sweet Kona Light Roast coffee in the December edition of Coffee Review .