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The place to Locate Fresh Hawaii Kona Coffee Beans

12th February, 2010 - Posted by health news - No Comments

Most people who get their first sip of Kona coffee are forever hooked. Grown in Hawaii, Kona coffee beans have a unique balance that is simply unbeatable. Grown on the slopes of Mauna Loa and Mount Hualalai in the north part of the state, as well as many Kona districts found on Oahu, this is one of the best coffees known.

Buying fresh, gourmet Kona coffee ensures the best cup of coffee possible especially if made in a french press coffee maker. You pay more for Kona coffee but the quality and taste is worth a few extra bucks. Besides, people from all over the world purchase this kind of coffee. There are different growing conditions like sunny mornings and afternoons that have humidity and rain. Although this is beautiful, the coffee is always flavorful and different.

The fresh gourmet Kona coffee beans come from a tree in Brazil. The first tree was brought to Hawaii by Samuel Reverend Ruggles during the 19th century. When they learned that the weather and soil in Hawaii was excellent for growing coffee, farmers started large plantations where they could grow the beans. Kona coffee beans are cultivated over an area that exceeds 2,300 acres, as per current estimates. Kona coffee cultivation is now so successful that about two million pounds of the beans are harvested per year.

Every February through March, the Kona tree blooms. These blooms, called Kona snow, are visible as tiny white flowers. Then in early spring, small green berries pop up which by mid-summer, have turned to red fruit, which look similar to ripe cherries. At that time, the “fruit” is ready to be harvested. By hand-picking every coffee bean, the freshness of gourmet Kona coffee is ensured.

Within 24 hours of the fruit being harvested it is put through an apparatus that separates the pulpy matter from the bean itself. This is followed by carefully-controlled fermentation of the beans, for 12 hours at lower elevations and for 24 hours at higher elevations. After the beans have been rinsed off lay them out on a drying apparatus to completely dry out which will take one to two weeks. You will have to be certain that your beans are dried and stored on parchment paper. Interestingly, to produce just one pound of fresh, gourmet Kona coffee, it takes approximately eight pounds of fruit.

If you pay attention to the characteristics of the Kona coffee seeds, you will be able to pick out the the fresh, gourmet Kona coffee. For instance, Type I has two beans per cherry or fruit, with one side being flat and one being oval. The single, round bean found per cherry in some varieties is known as a Type II bean. Then based on a number of factors to include size, type, moisture content, purity, and so on would determine further grading. Fresh, gourmet Kona coffee is made of a higher-quality bean.