Happy Earth Day 2021

April 22, 2021 is Earth Day! It's been a busy year for us as we've been working towards more sustainability at the farm, coffee mill, and café. We're excited to share some ways we're celebrating planet Earth this year and beyond.

Ways We’re Being Sustainable

At The Farm

We continue to prioritize organic and eco-friendly options on our farm, and began working on a new method for our new trees. In January 2021, we planted 30 acres (about 3,000 coffee trees) of Arabica Typica coffee trees grafted onto Liberica species. Why? Because while the Arabica Typica coffee species is what we normally plant—it’s also synonymous with Kona Coffee—its root system is more susceptible to fungi and pests. By grafting onto a hardier root system like the Liberica species, which has very deep roots that nematodes cannot attack, we are able to combat some of the pests that have been detrimental in the Kona coffee growing region.

Some of the new coffee trees planted among other varieties of plants including banana and ʻōhiʻa.

Our farm does not use herbicides or chemical pesticides. The germinators are made in 100% organic matter, with applications of gibberellins and auxins. We plant our coffee trees with organic matter and mycorrhizae. We’re able to control pests such as the coffee berry borer and black twig borer with the organic fungus, Beauberia Bassiana, and leaf fungi including anthracnose, cercospora, and coffee rust, with organic bacillus. Another method we’re using to keep pests away is actually a long-standing Hawaiian agriculture practice commonly known as agroforestry. By planting coffee trees among a variety of plants including banana trees, ‘ulu (breadfruit), avocados, longan, cacao, and cherimoya (just to name a few), we are creating a diverse ecosystem that attracts necessary insects to help control pests that would otherwise attack one plant species. To learn more about the different plants we have already planted, check out our Farm Series blog post about cultivating land for the future. We believe these eco-friendly practices will benefit our farm both in the short and long term.

At the Mill

In order to offset the electricity used to operate our coffee mill, we installed more than 100 solar panels on the roof of the mill building. The power generated from these solar panels has helped offset the cost of our electricity bill to process our green coffee beans while making our mill more sustainable in the future.

At the Cafe

In addition to offering eco-friendly cups in our cafe, as well as compostable straws and composting our coffee grounds back on the farm, all of our coffee packaging is now more green for the planet. We slowly began rolling these out over the last year, beginning with our Medium roast bags, and recently started rolling out our eco-friendly Light and Dark roast bags. Soon, all of our 2-, 7-, and 14-oz. bags will be made from 60% renewable plant-based resources.

We at Kona Coffee & Tea remain focused on what we do best. We are passionate about growing and sharing the world’s best 100% Kona coffee with all of you. We are focused on family, community, ecology, and equality. We want to bring people together through the love of Kona coffee and Hawaiian culture. Thank you for being an integral presence of this remarkable dream. As always we wish you all much health and Aloha!

Kona Coffee & Tea is a family-owned and operated, single-estate farm. Our farm is located in the heart of the “Kona Coffee Belt” in the high elevations of Holualoa. Although our farm is not generally publicly accessible, we have started offering customized farm tours and farm experiences (Covid-19 restrictions may apply). Our Kona Coffee & Tea Café is located in the center of Kona.

All the coffee used in our café and sold online comes exclusively from our single-estate family farm. We are always eager and happy to answer all your questions and inquiries. You can reach us at kctc@konacoffeeandtea.com or use the contact link on our website konacoffeeandtea.com.