Estate Kona Coffee is a specific term that means you are getting Kona Coffee that is the product of one Kona Coffee farm, never mixed with crops from other farms. Our Estate Kona is from about 900 ft. elevation, single estate farm, and a classic taste of Hawaii. With a perfect medium roast to showcase the flavor unique to the slopes of Mauna Loa in the Captain Cook area on which Kona Coffee beans are grown. In whole bean Kona Coffee, because you already know the aroma of grinding your own Kona Coffee is enough to put a smile on your face, before you even pour the water.
KONA COFFEE GRADING
SYSTEM
HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED WHAT IS MEANT BY THE DIFFERENT GRADES OF KONA COFFEE AND HOW THE GRADES ARE DETERMINED?
Here is a simple explanation. Kona coffee is graded by the Hawaii Department of Agriculture based on a grading system that takes a number of factors into account, including a bean size, shape and number of defects in each bean. This grading process is done during the dry mill stage of processing Kona coffee before it is roasted. It can be very confusing to understand what the different grades are. I hope this helps so can you decide which grade is right for you. There are five primary grades of Kona coffee beans.
PEABERRY This is a small pea shaped bean that is actually an anomaly because it is a result of only one coffee bean developing within a coffee cherry. Typically, two Kona beans grow within the cherry and it is very rare that a Peaberry bean is found. If we are lucky, Peaberry is only 3% to 5% of the entire season’s harvest.These beans are very small in size but result in twice the flavor to create a very robust coffee.
KONA EXTRA FANCY These Kona coffee beans are the largest variety of the Kona coffee beans, with a mild flavor and smooth palate. These beans are also rare among the Kona beans and account for about 20% of what a crop will produce. Many coffee connoisseurs consider this to be the truest form of Kona coffee.
KONA FANCY These are also large coffee beans that are similar to Extra Fancy grade but have a bit more body but still retain a smooth consistency.
KONA NUMBER 1 ( Also known as Estate) These are medium sized beans with bolder body and a nutty but smooth finish. This is typically a commercial grade of Kona coffee
KONA PRIME These are the smallest of the Kona coffee beans. While still a very nice coffee, this grade gives up some of the smoothness of the better grades are is not quite as mild. Anything smaller or with more defects than Prime grade do not meet the quality requirements to be sold as a Kona coffee and is considered off grade.
KONA SELECT This grade has not been sorted and contains all of the mentioned grades except off graded beans.
To be called 100% Kona Coffee, it must be grown on farms on the slopes of Hualalai and Mauna Loa, volcanic mountains in the Kona district on the western side of the Island. All 100% Kona Coffee will have one other thing in common: it will never be available at a low price in the marketplace due to its limited supply and high cost of production. If you do see an inexpensive package of coffee labeled as Kona, it’s guaranteed to be a blend with 0% to 10% Kona, and 90% to 100% coffee from another part of the world.
What is a Kona coffee blend?
A Kona coffee blend is made by combining cheaper Colombian or Brazilian coffee with a little bit of Kona Coffee. Blending coffee is not illegal, but it does leave a bitter taste in the mouths of 100% Pure Kona Coffee farmers like ourselves.The biggest problem this creates for us is brand confusion. Companies selling Kona coffee blends can provide a product that is much cheaper than 100% Kona Coffee but still has the word Kona on the label. But remember: when you are drinking a cheaper Kona Coffee blend for one fourth the price of 100% Kona Coffee, what you are really are drinking is cheaper coffee with a few Kona beans thrown in for flavor.
Why do we sell only 100% Kona Coffee?
Because we love Kona Coffee in its purest form. At O'mana Farms, we only grow, sell, roast and ship 100% Kona Coffee. As coffee farmers, our goal is to bring the best single-estate coffee we can produce from our farm to your cup.