Talk:Kona coffee

Removing Hawaii's Top Coffee Growers section
Currently it lists two growers who may have some degree of notability, but makes no claim to these being top coffee growers in Hawaii. I wouldn't mind seeing a more general section on coffee growers in Hawaii (there certainly are enough unique traits of the Hawaiian coffee industry to warrant one), however, as it is, this section offers little to the article but to justify the reference links at the bottom. If I have time, I might start work on this section. In the meantime, I'm interested in any comments/objections anyone might have. ScottW 22:34, 8 April 2006 (UTC)

NPOV
The article has good info but reads somewhat like an industry ad. Sentences like "due to the industry's standard and reputation of fine quality products" smack of weasel words. Adding NPOV template until I or someone else can fix it up. vpoko 22:47 07 August 2006

reliable sources tell me that the amount of coffee per tree is considerably more than 20 pounds - sometimes up to 40 pounds.Bobnessownage 07:52, 11 August 2007 (UTC)

The coffee trees in the Kona region start bearing fruit at age 2 or 3 (depending on altitude and fertilization). They can become up to 150 years old. Regular annual pruning (Kona style) will leave 2 to 3 bearing branches, while the total branch removal every third year (Beaumont Fukunaga method) will leave 4 to 5 branches for 3 years, with one non-, one less, one heavy fruit bearing year. So both numbers are correct: The average healthy well cared for coffee tree pruned in 'Kona style' bears approx. 20 pounds of roasted coffee annually on a consistent base. Pruned with the 'Beaumont Fukunaga' method it may go up to 40 pounds in the third year. Fluctuations in the harvested amounts caused by weather shifts occur as well. Normally two good harvests are followed by a low harvest. The amount of 20 pounds of roasted coffee has to be multiplied by 7 to understand the 140 pounds of coffee cherry the tree actually has to produce. 'Tree' is a misnomer for the coffea arabica plant as it is actually classified as a shrub. 3:01, 27 January 2008

YEAH but what does it TASTE LIKE?
Someone please provide some words. 198.49.180.40 17:53, 13 December 2006 (UTC)


 * The specific flavor qualities associated with this coffee do need to be described! Where are the editors who began this article and why have they not addressed this comment, left in December of last year?  Badagnani 03:55, 23 January 2007 (UTC)
 * There are a number of different varieties of "Kona coffee", all of which have different tastes. I do have access to a number of sources, but since they sell coffee, I doubt they could be called reliable.  I'll see what I can find. &mdash;Viriditas | Talk 23:47, 22 May 2007 (UTC)
 * its a typical high quality Arabica bean, but it lacks a lot of the specific qualities that mark south/central american, oceania and african/arabian arabicas (the three areas where arabica is grown. its fairly mild overall. still, its an arabica, not a robusta, so its by no means inferior. the cost is due mainly to us labor providing the crop. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.232.10.255 (talk) 22:32, 9 March 2012 (UTC)


 * imho it provides a lasting warmth to a coffee blend, ideally in 33-50% proportion. Kona blends often have only 10%.  ==Treekids (talk) 20:20, 2 June 2023 (UTC)

NPOV in "Counterfeit" section
This section reads like some sort of consumer guide to Kona coffee purchases. It is unencyclopedic in its style, and is certainly of questionable neutrality. I suggest removal or else major reworking of this section to ensure a neutral point of view and more encyclopedic/consistent style.

Quote of section below:

"Protecting its food origins is a fairly new concept in the USA and the government is lying low in enforcements of existing spotty laws. As long as there is no food contamination, blatant mislabeling, or obvious fraud happening, the consumer has to carefully check the source of the coffee him/herself. Various clues can help to verify the origin: Is there a website on the label? Do they have a contact phone number? Are they based in Kona, Hawaii? If it is a local farm, you can most likely speak to the owners directly or even visit the farm yourself. If it is from a big roaster, they most likely have bought Hawaii State certified coffee from a large processor or farm in Kona. Or from a coffee broker, who would also only buy state certified Kona coffee. Both can give you a run-down of the procedure and even show you copies of the paper works & seals of Kona bags. Buying fake Kona coffee at a roadside stand in Hawaii may happen of course. But Kona is a very small community with two roads only and the other hardworking local coffee farmers would quickly put an end to it. When to be suspicious and rather not buy: Be careful when you see 1) 100% Kona coffee with a SALE sign attached 2) 100% Kona coffee for less than $15 per pound. 3) Kona coffee without the 100% in front of it. 4) Kona coffee with artificial flavors, eg vanilla, hazelnut, raspberry, because they cover the unique and expensive flavor of Kona coffee for a reason. 5) 5 lb bag 'deals' from obscure roasters on Ebay 6) Local gas stations suddenly serving Kona coffee by the cup for a buck. 7) Hawaiian hotels or restaurants rarely serve 100% Kona - nearly all of them say "Kona" on the menu, but serve cheap and flavored blends. Inquire before ordering. 8) When you search a roasters address from their label on Google Earth, but you only find e.g. a golf course in Florida. 9) Kona roast, Kona blend, Kona style are never 100% Kona coffees. Cute label or not."

Thurston Weatherton (talk) 05:00, 30 December 2007 (UTC)


 * Section removed for reasons above. Beechhouse (talk) 16:21, 21 January 2008 (UTC)

Original research
Cherry picking unpublished studies (doesn't list a pub name) and primary source documents isn't acceptable. Please add secondary sources for this material. If Kinro is the author, then that needs to be said. Viriditas (talk) 14:31, 19 October 2008 (UTC)

This is misleading to the consumer as two independent studies have shown. However, the current Hawaiian state labeling laws for Kona coffee permitting the prominent display of the wording "10% Kona Blend" are in direct conflict with the Federal Fair Packaging and Labeling Act of 1966, which requires that the specification of identity should not be false, misleading, or deceptive in any respect, or that amounts of the product which are not present in the commodity in a significantly effective amount can not be mentioned in the identity statement.

Age to buy
I have seen on some tv shows (to name on Lilo and Stitch the series, the episode Baby-Fie) where they say you must be 21 to buy Kona Coffee. My questions are, Is this true? and If so why? Thank You--Bkopicz3 (talk) 12:44, 10 May 2009 (UTC)


 * No, it was a joke. I doubt TV shows are considered good encyclopedic sources? [Disclaimer: we live in Kona] W Nowicki (talk) 18:33, 10 May 2009 (UTC)

I was not trying to bring it in, but i have heard this in other shows and the chances of many shows mentioning this false fact is rare. Since it is not illegal in Kona, is it illegal anywhere else?--Bkopicz3 (talk) 00:49, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

"Variety"?
Reading the article now, I would proposed not calling this a "Variety", since it is not in the botanical sense. It is more like the Appellation d'origine contrôlée concept for French wines: dig up a plant in Kona and move it to another region and the beans from that same plant can no longer be called Kona. In fact other parts of Hawaii are growing in Coffee production probably faster than Kona (of course need a reference for this). They often grow the same botanical varieties, but sometimes the microclimates are different.

Also I would remove that "World's most expensive coffee" box at the bottom, since the link goes to another specific variety, not any kind of "award", and the curly braces around "years" make it look like an erroneous template? W Nowicki (talk) 18:42, 10 May 2009 (UTC)

Need a Coffee production in the United States article
Or something, to discuss the other areas that grow cofee in the USA. As far as I know, that would be the other districts of the Big Island, and the other islands like Kauai for example. Someone added the claim that Kona is ..."the only coffee grown on United States soil" which of course is not true. "Kona" is only one district of Hawaiian coffee. Who knows, there might be some on Guam or Samoa, etc. That could also have more history about the growing in all the islands, and interaction with sugar cane industry, for example. W Nowicki (talk) 22:54, 7 October 2009 (UTC)

Well I started Coffee production in Hawaii at least. W Nowicki (talk) 01:32, 6 November 2009 (UTC)

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