| Kona coffee is the market name for coffee (Coffea arabica) cultivated on the slopes of Hualalai and Mauna Loa in the North and South Kona Districts of the Big Island of Hawaii.
It is one of the most expensive coffees in the world. Only coffee from the Kona Districts can be described as "Kona". The weather of sunny mornings, cloud or rain in the afternoon,
little wind and mild nights combined with porous, mineral rich volcanic soil, creates favorable coffee growing conditions.
Kona coffee blooms in February and March. Small white flowers known as Kona Snow cover the tree. Green berries appear in April. By late August, red fruit, called "cherry" because of resemblance to a cherry, start to ripen for picking. Each tree, hand-picked several times between August and January, provides around 15 pounds of cherry, which result in about 2 pounds of roasted coffee.
Within 24 hours of picking, the cherry is run through a pulper, the beans are separated from the pulp, and then placed overnight in a fermentation tank. The fermentation time is about 12 hours at a low elevation or 24 at a higher elevation.
Michaels sells Hawaiian 100% Kona either in 8oz. whole bean or ground coffees.
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