Molokai Coffee Plantation Estate Tour
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Moloka'i Coffee is grown on several farms located on the Island of Moloka'i, central in the Hawaiian Island chain. We are dedicated to bringing you some of the world’s finest Arabica coffees using cutting edge crop management technologies in Moloka'i’s naturally unique coffee-growing microclimate. |
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| All Molokai coffees are eco-friendly, being virtually pesticide and herbicide free. Organic coffee is being cultivated now, and will be available in 2008. Moloka'i's farmers recycle green field and milling wastes for use as organic fertilizer back on the fields. Supplemented by misty morning rains that descend from Mount Kamakou, Moloka'i farmers use a drip irrigation system that allows for nutrient management and monitoring, as well as water conservation. Moloka'i coffee uses water from the Moloka'i Irrigation System, which delivers pure natural water to the coffee trees daily. |
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On Moloka'i, coffee is an annual crop, and the fruit “cherries” begin to ripen bright red or yellow each September and are ready for picking November through January. Harvest season is a great opportunity to visit the plantations, although the months of March and April are surely most beautiful as the coffee trees flower and hundreds of tiny white blossoms cover each tree and bless the entire area with a sometimes intoxicating scent of gardenia. Enclosed in each ripe coffee cherry is a precious coffee bean that, after many careful processing steps will be roasted and become one of the world famous Moloka'i coffees. |
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| As the coffee cherries ripen, they slowly turn color and are ready for harvest. On Moloka'i, we use a system of selective mechanical picking. The mechanical harvesters used are Brazilian-made and were originally designed specifically for Moloka'i. Similar adaptations of these harvesters are used in the Pacific Northwest for nut and berry picking. |
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Molokai's largest farm, is also the oldest coffee plantation in Hawaii, and was the first to use mechanical picking methods in the late 1980’s. The fields were laid out in long rows which allow the large harvesters to move slowly over the trees. A system of rotating and vibrating rods are carefully adjusted so as to pick only the ripest cherries and to leave the trees unharmed. The freshly picked coffee is transported constantly to a state of the art wet-processing plant during each day of harvest. |
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| Some of the Moloka'i farms use a wet fermentation process. The organic farms use a dry method, referred to as an "Eco Mill" to conserve water and meet USDA Organic standards. Both produce equally high quality coffee. The first step in wet-processing is a floatation sorting and pulping to ensure once again that only coffee from the ripest fruit will continue the process. It is fascinating to witness the results of this method; only the most careful of hand-pickers could match the quality of beans that are allowed to pass into the next step. |
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In wet-processing, once the coffee beans are stripped of their fruit skin and washed in a fresh water bath they are transported to large fermentation tanks where they will rest for about 12 hours. During this time, natural enzymes will consume the remain mucilage sugars left on the bean. This process of full-fermentation is a traditional method which requires great care by skilled experts to avoid over-fermentation. It is a complex and time consuming step. The alternative organic dry-process, used in the smaller Moloka'i farms, avoids this risk and also the burden of disposal of large amounts of contaminated water. |
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| After wet fermentation or dry processing is complete, Moloka'i coffee beans are then transported to a nearby drying facility. In some cases, they will be sun-dried on large patios under the warm Hawaiian rays before being finished in a large mechanical dryer. |
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In the case of sun drying, the coffee is raked constantly for several days and moisture level tests are performed every few hours. Final moisture levels are achieved in the mechanical dryer. |
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| When optimal sun-dried moisture levels are reached, large rolling canopies are used to shade the beans as they are collected for transport to further drying or storage. These canopies are an insurance policy against an unexpected rainstorm, which can add undesireable moisture back into the coffee. |
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The beans are often "reposed" in controlled storage for 6 weeks before they can move on to the milling and grading process. However, when harvesting is occuring rapidly due to unexpected ripening, sometimes the beans need to be moved out early to the mechanical dryer to make room for incoming wet beans. |
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| In the dry mill, the beans (which are still enclosed in a thin parchment skin) will be hulled and polished before being separated by size, density, and color. A series of specialized machinery assists this process. Beans are then graded using stringent criteria as defined by the Hawaii Department of Agriculture. Only the finest Moloka'i beans will pass grading and go on to be packed in 100 pound burlap sacks. These coffees will be certified by grade and origin and shipped to our discriminating customers all over the world. |
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Moloka'i Coffee small batch roasts its coffees to its strict specifications at Hawaii Coffee Company on Oahu. We then package our coffees into various brands that are sold in our Moloka'i store as well as shipped directly to consumers in Hawaii, the mainland US, and internationally. Our roasted brands use only the freshest Moloka'i coffees from the highest grades, ensuring the ultimate in quality. Please take a minute browse our on-line store or call us at 1-800-709-BEAN. We are committed to always expressing our coffees directly to your doorstep within 1-2 days. We are very proud of our coffees, and we do hope you can rediscover paradise each morning in a fresh brewed cup of Moloka'i Coffee.
Aloha,
The Moloka'i Coffee Ohana
Moloka'i, Hawaii, USA
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