Processing Kona Coffee

Like fine vintage wines, 100% Kona coffee is distinguished from commercial blends by the tremendous care taken throughout every step of the process. The end result is a coffee that carries the unique stamp of the Kona region

Hand-picking
Coffee cultivation is more labor intensive in Kona than other regions around the world. In Kona, coffee is selectively hand picked to insure each coffee cherry is at the peak of ripeness. With Kona’s steady rainfall and varying elevations a typical picking season can last from late August through April. Since the cherries do not ripen at the same time, each tree will be picked several times throughout the season. As difficult as it may be, hand picking our coffee insures outstanding quality in the cup.

Wet-method Processed
Once the coffee cherries have been picked, they must undergo processing to remove the outer layers of skin and expose the coffee beans inside. We use the wet processing method, which is superior to other processing techniques used in other parts of the world. With the development of new technologies the wet method has also become more environmentally friendly.

Within hours of arriving at the mill, the cherries are sorted to remove any debris or unwanted fruit. Then the coffee cherry is pulped to remove the outer flesh. Rather than discarding this outer layer of the coffee cherry, we recycle it to fertilize the coffee trees. After removing the pulp the beans are carefully fermented, which helps give the coffee its characteristic bright, clear flavor. After thoroughly washing the beans are ready to be dried.

Drying
After our wet-mill process, the coffee is then naturally sun dried on large decks known by their Japanese name, hoshidanas. As the cherries dry, they are raked or turned by hand to ensure even drying and prevent mildew. Because of weather related conditions making sun drying impractical we also employ special mechanical dryers to speed up the process.

The drying operation is a critical stage in the process, since it affects the final quality of the green coffee. Over dried beans will become brittle and produce broken beans, which are considered defective beans. Coffee that has not been dried sufficiently is prone to rapid deterioration and mold.

Once the beans reach the correct moisture content, it is referred to as "parchment coffee" due to the stiff, white paper like skin. At this point the coffee can be bagged and stored until it is sent to the dry mill where hulling, sorting, grading takes place.

Dry Milling
The next step after drying is called dry milling. At this stage a hulling machine is used to remove the last layers of the dry skin to expose the green bean. After hulling the beans are sorted and graded. We place them in one hundred pound sacks for grading by the State of Hawaii Department of Agriculture. Once they are certified, we ship the green coffee to our storage and roasting facility in Jonesboro, Arkansas.

Storage
Storage of green coffee is critical to the maintaining ideal flavor profile of the green coffees. The lack of proper storage facilities is a major issue in many parts of the world. Poor storage will forever negatively affect the quality of the coffee. We keep all of our green and parchment coffee in a temperature and humidity controlled environment. This preserves the ideal flavor profile of the green coffees. We have found that coffee stored outside of climate and humidity control rooms begin to fade in color, lose its acidity, flatten out and lose its original flavor profile.

Roasting
Roasting coffee is a complex yet rewarding affair, more of an art than a science, requiring the perfect balance of timing and intuition. The coffee roaster performs one of the most critical and essential steps in creating great coffee. The roasting process is responsible for developing and bringing out the special characteristics of Kona coffee. It takes a tremendous amount of experience to achieve a consistent, quality product during the roasting process. A master roaster is truly an artisan.

Our roast master practices his craft using a state of the art Diedrich coffee roaster. The owner of Diedrich Coffee Roaster, Steven Diedrich, has been on the forefront of roaster technology for many years. He pioneered computerized controls and has refined this technique. While leveraging revolutionary technology, Diedrich has also stayed environmentally conscious. Designing machines that require less fuel and energy to operate while at the same time reducing air pollution.

These technologies allow us to roast in small batches, so that your coffee is always fresh. Recognizing the distinguished coffee palates of our customers, we also offer custom roasts for larger orders, should one of our customers have a specific set of parameters they would like to have in their Kona Cloud Coffee.

This attention to detail is practiced throughout the “seed to cup” journey your Kona Cloud Coffee takes.