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Kona Nightingales & Kona Coffee - The Big Island of Hawaii
By David Bowman Published: 08/09/2007
If you keep your eyes pealed while driving Queen Ka‘ahumanu Highway on the Big Island's west side, you might spot one or more of the descendants of the fabled Kona Nightingales, the sweet-singing donkeys that used to haul coffee and taro in the pre-mechanized years before World War II.
The floppy-eared equines are no longer used for such labor, of course, but they can still occasionally be seen grazing the terrain around historic Ka‘upulehu.
The latter-day Nightingales may be curios now, emblazoned on mugs and T-shirts and carrying only lore and legend on their sturdy backs, but the crop their forebears used to tote is as popular as ever. Say the words “Kona coffee,” and you conjure a beverage that has no equal in the world, a treat for the nose and palate alike.
Hawai‘i, remarkably, is the only coffee-growing state in the union. While O‘ahu, Kaua‘i, Maui and Moloka‘i all harvest and market java commercially, it is the Kona variety that has both name recognition and the quality to back it up. The green flanks of Hualalai and Mauna Loa volcanoes, blessed with a microclimate of morning sun and afternoon mists, are the perfect setting for the crop's cultivation. Drive south out of Kailua-Kona, the Big Island's tourist hub, and you're bound to pass one of the area's nearly 600 independent coffee farms, most of which average just three acres in size. Only a handful are larger than 50 acres.
Kona coffee's reputation is well-burnished. Author and raconteur Mark Twain, who made a celebrated visit to the Big Island in 1866, waxed enthusiastic about this home-grown delight: “I think Kona coffee has a richer flavor than any other, be it grown where it may and called by what name you please.”
The history of Kona's coffee industry is one of advances and setbacks. It is also a truly multicultural narrative, with Native Hawaiians, Caucasians, Chinese, Portuguese, Japanese, Koreans, Filipinos and Puerto Ricans all playing a major role. Today, the strong identification Kona has with the precious drink can be seen each November in the annual 10-day Kona Coffee Cultural Festival, the oldest and most successful coffee celebration in Hawai‘i, and the only one of its kind in the U.S.
The first coffee trees arrived in the Hawaiian Islands in 1825 by way of the British warship HMS Blonde. In 1828, cuttings from these trees – an arabica variety originating in Ethiopia – were brought from O‘ahu to the Kona area by the Rev. Samuel Ruggles, an American missionary. The plantings took kindly to Kona's rich, well-drained volcanic soil, as well as its absence of frost and relatively few pests and diseases. What they yielded became known as “Kanaka Koppe” (Hawaiian coffee), and it is still cultivated in Kona today.
A visit to a Kona coffee farm is an educational experience, taking guests through the steps of harvesting, processing and roasting. The majority of Kona coffee is harvested between July and December, and many of the small mills that process the raw cherries ratchet into full operation during this time. (Be forewarned: An extremely noxious smell that is light years from the savory aroma of the finished product is part of the process.)
Coffee cultivation is more labor-intensive than any other agricultural commodity; this is especially true for the Kona brand. Mechanical harvesting is impossible here because of the rocky, sloping terrain. Hand-picking is a meticulous, exhausting process that allows for harvest of only the highest-quality cherry. An experienced and adept picker, in a good season, can fill three 100-pound bags of coffee cherries a day.
So pour yourself a steaming serving of Kona joe. And if you happen to see the free-roaming progeny of the Nightingales, raise a cup in their honor. Their noble legacy, like the robust coffee they're so identified with, will continue to be a part
Locations
Big Island
Photo Gallery - Kona Nightingales & Kona Coffee
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