Did you know the coffee bean is the seed of a cherry? Yes! That's right. The coffee cherry is a fruit grown on coffee trees, shrubs, and bushes in over 50 countries across the world. The only U.S. location with suitable conditions for growing coffee is Hawaii.
Coffee trees thrive in the equatorial zone between the Tropics of Capricorn and Cancer, known as The Bean Belt. There are over 120 varieties of coffee with each needing the proper soil, weather conditions, and altitude to produce coffee. Everything from the variety of the plant, the chemistry of the soil, the weather, the amount of rainfall and sunshine, and even the precise altitude at which the coffee grows can affect the taste of the final product.
Coffee grown in Hawaii can be grown at significantly lower altitudes in comparison to the majority of coffee producing locations across the world. The most known coffee in Hawaii is grown in the Kona region. Kona coffee is world-famous that it is exclusively grown on the slopes of two volcanoes on the Big Island, the Mauna Loa and Hualalai volcanoes, which provides nutrient-dense, volcanic soils. Less than 1% of all coffee in the world is grown in Hawaii making it a rare find due to it being in high demand. Finding 100% Kona coffee tends to be purchased for a pretty penny because of the supply and demand issues, but also because Hawaii ensures every hand involved earns a living wage, which is unfortunately another rarity.
Have you had Kona coffee?
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