Coffee

[JayJay]

Does anyone have any ideas why coffee isn't grown commercially to any extent in East Hawaii?

JayJay

[macuu222]

As far as I know, there are several places in east hawaii that grow coffee commercially and I find it better tasting than the Kona coffee grown on the other side.

I grow coffee on my property in HPP. I do all the picking and drying and shelling and roasting myself and I get enough coffee to never have to buy any. And my own personal opinion (biased of course)....is that it is so much better than the coffee they sell on the kona side.

[mella l]

Sharkey's Coffee is grown and processed on the east side. I have heard from many others that it is superior to the west side coffee. Others on the forum are growing coffee also, perhaps they will tune in, from Glenwood???

mella l

[pslamont]

Well, I WAS growing coffee until a rogue band of feral goats showed up and ATE ALL MY LITTLE TREES... ARRRUGGGG

I will be planting again, however I have decided to watch the two coffee trees I found in the wild for their flowering and berrying.. I will pick that coffee cherry, plant it and get some trees that are native to my area. They will then be planted in the shade house and allowed to grow for two years in containers... THEN placed in the ground.

In the meantime, we are hunting the goats and coming up with fencing!

But from my neighbors, a lot of coffee is grown from Glenwood rain and shade to Kau hillside and it is great coffee. Kona Coffee just has the PR.... give us 10 years and that will all change!!!!

Just another day in P A R A D I S E !!

[jade]

Makuu222,

How many coffee trees do you have? I am curious as to how many you need to support yourself with coffee. I have eight. One is producing now and a few more are flowering. I live in HPP too.

Jade

[macuu222]

I have about 50 mature trees. And I'm the only one that drinks coffee in our house....so a pound lasts quite a while.

[Hotzcatz]

From what I've heard, coffee was the major crop on the Hilo side of the island however when sugar came in all the coffee trees were pulled up and sugar was put in instead. The coffee remained in Kona because the land was too steep to grow sugar on. There is still loads of "wild" coffee growing in the gulches.

[oink]

Does anyone do anything with the fleshy part of the ripe fruit? I found the few I tried to be delicious.

Pua`a
S. FL
Big Islander to be.

[Hotzcatz]

I've been wondering the same thing, it seems the berry should be usable for something. Jam, jelly, pie? Coffee wine?

[Carey]

This summer we were doing transect work over at Amy Greenwells'. One of the older workers told of eating the berries as a youngster as a candy like treat. It is delicious to pop the whole red cherry as a snack. (have no idea how much caffeine, but boy did we work that day!)