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Plantation History
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The Story of Hawai’i’s Moloka’i Coffee
Hawai’i, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, has been the home of the world’s finest coffees for over 175 years. First brought from Brazil to Manoa Valley on the island of Oahu at the request of the early kings, the original Hawaiian coffee trees arrived on the British warship H.M.S. Blonde as the Governor of Oahu returned from travel to London via Rio De Janiero. These coffee trees produced seedlings that were taken to Hawaii’s ‘Big Island’ where they would flourish. Hawaii’s ideal coffee conditions had been discovered. Several small farms were soon established along the Kona Coast, utilizing an altitude, rainfall and solar combination near perfect for the delicate bean.
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| On Moloka’i, at the request of King Kamehameha V in 1865, an immigrant named Rudolph Meyer brought the coffee tree to our island. Kamehameha V chose Molokai as the site where his “royal” coffee would be grown, for his own consumption, and for the enjoyment of distinguished visitors and contemporaries. This coffee was grown and picked with great care in the Mountains in central Molokai for over 2 generations. Kamehameha’s Coffee still grows wild today on the island, in a lush rainforest just steps above one of the plantations.
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| About 100 years later in 1980, plant scientists and farmers from South America rediscovered Molokai’s ideal microclimate for coffee growing. With Brazilian coffee expert Antonio Mansor, they brought coffee back to the island and developed a plant which could utilize Molokai’s unlimited sunshine, unique volcanic soil, and isolated climatic conditions existing only in the foothills of Mount Kalae near the village of Kualapu’u. These factors, with misty rainfall descending from the 5,000 foot mountain range, continue today to produce an exceptional harvest, which is processed on-site immediately using modern technology with traditional methods. |
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| The founders of this new plantation raised the plants in a nursery for years, finally transplanting them into the fields in a pattern that would allow scientific management, such as drip irrigation and fertilization, and mechanical pruning and harvesting. Today, coffee experts from around the world visit the little island of Moloka'i to see what may be the most modern and unique coffee orchards in the world. The original plantation is the largest private coffee farm in the Northern Hemisphere, and yields a limited amount of very special beans. It is one of only a handful of coffee farms in the world that processes using both the wet process and the natural dry process, producing two distinct green coffees. These coffees are roasted fresh and in small batches, ensuring only the freshest gourmet coffee. |
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| No trip to Hawaii would be complete without a visit to one of the Molokai coffee plantations. The largest and original farm is near the village of Kualapu’u, below the ancient coffee forests of Rudolph Meyer and King Kamehameha. Tours are arranged at their reception area. Tours of other farms are by arrangement with the Molokai Coffee Growers' Cooperative, at 1-800-709-BEAN. |
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Order by Phone: 1-800-709-BEAN
© 2002 - 2010 Molokai Coffee Company & Cooperative * 99-910 Iwaena Street * Aiea, HI 96701 USA
Phone: 808.487.9600 * info@molokaicoffee.com
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