What Makes Kona Coffee Beans Distinct on the Farm?

Hawaiian Kona coffee is known for a maltose-like sweetness and a mellow, balanced body. Production has stayed tight and prices have climbed close to Blue Mountain levels after leaf rust appeared in Hawaii in 2020 for the first time, adding to earlier pest outbreaks and reduced rainfall.

Kona grows in the Holualoa area south of Kailua-Kona, where Typica plants and washed processing shape the cup. Leaf rust, caused by Hemileia vastatrix, spreads quickly and can devastate coffee crops over large areas, which is why the Hawaii Department of Agriculture and the USDA confirmed and tracked the 2020 detections.

Hawaiian Kona coffee, with its rich maltose aroma and mellow, balanced flavor, has long been favored by coffee lovers and the baristas at Front Street Coffee. However, in 2020, leaf rust appeared in Hawaii for the first time, casting a shadow over the local coffee industry. Combined with earlier pest outbreaks and reduced rainfall, Kona coffee production has remained tight, and prices have climbed close to Blue Mountain. This article will systematically sort through Kona coffee's unique characteristics—from news from the producing region, historical disasters, Kona's growing conditions, Typica variety traits, and washed processing methods, to Front Street Coffee's roasting and brewing parameters—taking you through a comprehensive understanding of this island specialty coffee's flavor code.

When people mention Hawaii, many first think of blue seas and golden beaches. But the answer from Front Street Coffee is: there's also fascinating Kona coffee beans. Kona coffee's intense maltose sweetness and full, substantial mouthfeel have captivated Front Street's baristas and countless coffee fans alike. Today, Front Street is here to talk about coffee on this island.

First, a quick update on the latest developments in the Kona producing region.

According to foreign media reports, in October 2020, signs of leaf rust activity were detected in Hawaii for the first time. The Hawaii Department of Agriculture (HDOA) notified Governor David Ige's office of this concerning discovery about two weeks earlier; and roughly a month before that, a coffee farm in the Haiku area of Maui had already reported suspected leaf rust symptoms in a submission to HDOA.

It is currently unclear how leaf rust was introduced to Maui, Hawaii, and how long it has been present cannot be determined. Two weeks later, the USDA National Identification Services confirmed that coffee leaf rust had also appeared on the island of Hawaii—the leaf rust fungus, officially known as Hemileia vastatrix, was detected in samples collected by a coffee farmer in the Holualoa area south of Kailua-Kona. Leaf rust is gradually spreading across Hawaii, posing a serious threat to the local coffee industry, because this disease spreads extremely quickly and can devastate coffee crops over large areas.

Coffee leaf rust is a highly contagious plant disease that can deal a devastating blow to coffee crops. Symptoms mainly appear on the leaves; fruit and branches are rarely affected. After leaves are infected by the rust fungus, small pale yellow water-soaked spots initially appear on the underside, surrounded by light green halos; when the spots expand to 5–8 mm, orange-yellow powdery spore masses emerge from the stomata on the diseased areas, and the spots then gradually enlarge, with several spots merging into irregular large patches. Afterward, the centers of the spots dry out and turn brown, and brown spots are visible on both sides of the leaves. Eventually the leaves gradually fall off, and the coffee plant can die within a few years.

Hawaii's economy mainly depends on tourism, the defense industry, and agriculture. Agriculture is the backbone of the local economy, mainly producing sugarcane, pineapple, bananas, and coffee, among which sugarcane has an annual output of up to 1 million tons and occupies the largest share, but coffee's status should not be underestimated either. According to data from the Hawaii Department of Agriculture, the local coffee planting area is about 7,200 acres, with an annual output of up to 5.7 million pounds of green beans, and the coffee output value reached 54.3 million USD in 2019. The Kona region, where leaf rust was discovered this time, is precisely the core producing area of Hawaiian coffee. Kona coffee grows on volcanic terrain, and with high-density artificial agricultural management, every bean can be said to be "pampered," so its price is naturally high, second only to Blue Mountain. Kona beans are uniform and neat in appearance, with both strong acidity and sweetness. Therefore, the appearance of leaf rust this time has made the Hawaii government attach great importance to it and begin taking defensive measures.

The Hawaiian coffee producing region has previously suffered pest infestations

In addition to the leaf rust discovered this year that may affect Kona coffee production, a few years ago the Hawaiian producing region also experienced a pest outbreak. The sudden surge in Kona coffee prices stemmed precisely from the 2010 pest outbreak. In 2010, the Hawaiian producing region was invaded by fruit pests, with the island's specialty coffee regions Kona and Ka'u suffering the most severe damage, and the island's coffee production plummeting by 50%. Later, through control with pesticides and biological beetles, by 2015 Kona coffee had recovered more than 40% of its production. Although the disaster was brought under control, in recent years reduced rainfall on the island has also affected the Kona producing region. As coffee bean production has steadily decreased while market demand remains strong, prices in recent years have kept pressing close to Blue Mountain coffee.

The Kona coffee producing region

The Kona producing region is located in the southwestern part of the Big Island, 20 miles long and 2 miles wide, covering the slopes of Hualalai and Mauna Loa, at an elevation between 300 and 1,100 meters, making it the most suitable growing environment for coffee trees. Therefore, the slopes of Hualalai and Mauna Loa are covered with coffee trees. Only coffee beans grown within this area and subject to the strictest certification standards can be sold under the trademark name Kona. Front Street Coffee, through cupping, unanimously agrees that Kona coffee overall features nutty notes, such as walnut, plus berry-like notes such as bullace plum and a creamy sweetness, and is clean overall with rich layers.

Front Street Coffee—Hawaiian Kona coffee beans

Producing region: Kona producing region

Estate: Queen Estate

Altitude: 1100m

Variety: Typica

Processing method: Washed processing

Typica coffee variety

Typica is the oldest native variety from Ethiopia, and today almost all Arabica coffee varieties are derived from Typica. Typica has an elegant flavor, but it is weak in constitution, has low disease resistance, is prone to leaf rust, and also produces few coffee beans, making it difficult to meet economic viability. Kona began planting Typica in 1892, introduced from Guatemala. The Typica grown in Kona has large beans, and is planted at elevations of 600–1100m. Compared with other coffee-producing countries, Kona's planting elevation counts as low altitude, but on the island of Hawaii, Kona already counts as high altitude. People once tried to transplant Kona's Typica to other islands, but because other islands had too high temperatures and too low elevations, Typica did not grow well, and therefore could not produce the soft acidity and aroma unique to the Kona producing region.

Kona coffee processing method

The Kona producing region mainly uses the washed method. Its biggest difference from the natural method lies in using fermentation to remove the mucilage layer. After fermentation is completed and the mucilage is removed, because fermentation bacteria and impurities remain on the coffee beans, they need to be washed again. To wash them clean, this step consumes a large amount of clean water, after which the fruit is dried and hulled. Hawaii's clean, sweet mountain spring water provides the most ideal conditions for the washed method for Kona coffee beans, and this method creates the bright, clear appearance and pure, fresh taste of Kona coffee beans.

Front Street Coffee's experience roasting Kona coffee

Front Street's roaster uses a Yangjia 800N, with 550g of green beans charged. The drum temperature is brought to 200°C before charging, the damper is set to 3, and after 1 minute the heat is adjusted to 150°C with the damper unchanged. Roast until 5 minutes 35 seconds, at 150°C, when the bean surface turns yellow, the grassy smell completely disappears, and dehydration is complete; adjust the heat to 140°C and change the damper to 4. At 9 minutes 30 seconds, the bean surface shows ugly wrinkles and dark streaks, and the toast aroma clearly turns into coffee aroma, which can be defined as the prelude to first crack. At this time, you need to listen clearly for the sound of the first crack. At 9 minutes 30 seconds, first crack begins; reduce the heat to 70°C and open the damper fully (adjusting the heat must be done very carefully, not so low that there is no cracking sound). At 182°C, turn off the heat, and drop the beans at 193.4°C.

Front Street Coffee's brewing experience

Dripper: Kono

Water temperature: 89–90°C

Grind size: fine granulated sugar size / sift powder with a No. 20 sieve to 80%

Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:15

Coffee dose: 15 grams

Brewing method: Front Street Coffee uses staged extraction, that is, three-stage pouring. Bloom with 30g of water for 30 seconds, then for the second pour use a small stream in circles up to 125g and stop; wait for the water to drop, then slowly pour again at an even speed, with the water level not too high; pour again until 225g and stop. Extraction time is 2 minutes–2 minutes 10 seconds (including blooming time).

Brewed flavor: balanced and warm osmanthus honey sweetness with an elegant, full yet not heavy mouthfeel; the brewed coffee gives off a mulberry aroma that makes one feel sweetly happy, and the finish has a silky malt note; when cooled, it is like a cup of mulberry tea.

For more specialty coffee beans, please add the private WeChat of Front Street Coffee, WeChat ID: kaixinguoguo0925

The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.