The Independent Voice
“Best Agricultural Newsletter in Hawaii”
Newsletter of the Kona Coffee Farmers Association
April 2024
PO Box 5436 Kailua Kona Hawaii 96745 USA
www.konacoffeefarmers.org info@konacoffeefarmers.org
Contents
Message from President Petersen
2024 KCFA Board of Directors
Requesting Input to Achieve Generational Profitability
Low-Cost Tool for Coffee QC
Singapore gets Ready for Bean-Less Coffee
HDOA CBB CLR Subsidy Application
Joke:)
Preserving the Integrity and Future of Hawaii Grown Coffee
NCA Speaks up Against Bans on Decaf Chemical
Exotic Flavour Descriptions
From CTAHR-Presentations
Ulu- The Tree of Life
El Nino
Recipe: Kona Coffee Chocolate Banana Pudding
Editor – Clare Wilson
MESSAGE FROM PRESIDENT PETERSEN
Aloha Coffee Farmers,
March has been a busy month for your Association. We met for the Coffee Farmer’s Symposium at the Outrigger Resort Convention Center. Our sponsors really came through for us, funding the meeting so members did not have to pay a registration fee to attend. Over one hundred farmers attended, and one hundred and thirty-seven lunch tickets were collected. I am pleased with the participation and all the evaluations showed that those who completed an evaluation would choose to attend in 2025 and that it was worth their time attending the conference. If you would like to give your Board some additional Symposium feedback, please leave a message at our mail info@KonaCoffeeFarmers.org.
We have started our new KCFA year after the Annual meeting. I would like to thank Carolyn Witcover, John Zulkoski, Erika Zemby and Colehour Bondera for their service to KCFA as their Board term ended this year. The Association has 3 new Board members. Sammi Piasecki, Terry Martin and Miles Mayne. We welcome them to the board and look forward to working with them. In addition, the Association has 7 committees: Communications, Education & Protection, Events and Social, Finance,Legislative, Promotion and Symposium. All the work that is accomplished by KCFA is due to the efforts of the committees. If you would like to participate in non-board work of KCFA, please volunteer for a committee. You can do so by leaving a message at info@konacoffeefarmers.org.
We realize that some of you have had issues getting your membership renewed online. Those problems are internal to the website. We are specifically looking for an individual with website experience to assist in renovating and troubleshooting concerns like membership renewals. Hopefully, somebody can help with this. By working on a committee, you can work with fellow farmers to promote our Brand and have some fellowship with like-minded farmers. Likewise, right now is a suitable time for members to provide input to the Board so please feel free to contact a board member or send your ideas to the website.
The Legislature is still in session and the 100% Kona Coffee Labeling bill recently passed through House Consumer Protection and Commerce Committee with a few changes. The bill’s path requires a different committee hearing so please submit a yes/no or reply with your testimonies supporting HB2289 after you receive an email call to action from KCFA. Hope your spring practices for your coffee are going well and on time. Until next time.
Mahalo nui noa!
Mark Petersen, President
______________________________________________________________________
2024 KCFA BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Left to right: Terry Martin, Miles Mayne, Franck Carisey, Suzanne Shriner, Jim Monk, Sammi Piasecki, Clare Wilson, Barbara Anderson, Cecelia Smith, and Mark Petersen.
Missing: Shamira Linnet
Ready to take off on a busy and productive year!
______________________________________________________________________
REQUESTING INPUT TO ACHIEVE GENERATIONAL
ECONOMIC PROFITABILITY FOR HAWAI’I AGRICULTURE
HAWAII AGRICULTURALISTS – ALOHA!
I am requesting your input to identify the underlying issues impacting your achieving success as an agriculturist in Hawaiʻi. HDOA needs to understand the obstacles you are confronting and develop strategies, investments, and legislative priorities to support a vibrant agriculture industry in Hawaiʻi. Your input on these issues is necessary for
HDOA to put together programs and provide the resources you identify as important to achieve Generational Economic Profitability.
Mahalo nui in advance for your participation,
Sharon Hurd, Chairperson
Hawaii Board of Agriculture
LINK TO SURVEY:
https://qualtricsxmntvc3cpf3.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_dgPkAFacWR7bfts
UC Davis-Developed Roastpic Promises Low-Cost Tool For Coffee QC
https://tinyurl.com/yef8cwnd
“…The Roastpic system includes a printed diagram called the Roastpic Photosheet. Users take a photo of samples placed on the sheet. The app then provides data on color, size and defect count, while offering summaries and graphs for an instant report…”
“It takes about 20 minutes to identify defects in each batch of green coffee,” Ristenpart said of existing traditional QC methods. “With Roastpic and its built-in machine learning algorithms, you get so much data from just one photo…”
SINGAPORE GETS READY FOR BEAN-LESS COFFEE, SAY ANALYSTS
https://www.comunicaffe.com/singapore-gets-ready-for-bean-less-coffee-says-
globaldata/
“…Tim Hill, Key Account Director, SE Asia, Global Data, adds: “Despite coffee’s popularity, high prices are impacting consumption as consumers navigate the economic and environmental crises. As many as 30% of Singaporeans stated that their spending on coffee is quite/very high**.
“Brands are therefore tapping into the growing consumer desire to balance affordability and make sustainable choices by focusing on innovations to create new coffee options. For instance, Singapore’s Prefer claims to have created a first-of-its-kind bean-less coffee in Asia using a fermenting technology similar to the one used to brew beer. The company also claims that this new and innovative method of bean-less coffee eliminates the dependency on coffee harvest, thus ensuring cost optimization for producers and consumers.”…”
HDOA CBB CLR SUBSIDY APPLICATION
Aloha Coffee Farmers,
The CBB-CLR Subsidy Program is open and accepting APPLICATIONS for APPROVED PRODUCT receipts from 7/1/22 – 6/30/23. If you want to APPLY ONLINE, go ahead. Email or call 808-323-7578 to make an appointment with Melanie if you prefer or with any questions. The Deadline is June 1, 2024 for this round. If you are new to the program, you will also need to fill out the County Form so send me an email to get that. (There may be a lag in checks being cut as State and County are still finalizing their Contract.)
Thank you,
Melanie Bondera
808-323-7578
CBB-CLR Subsidy Program
PRESERVING THE INTEGRITY AND FUTURE OF HAWAII- GROWN COFFEE
https://coffeetalk.com/daily-dose/from-origin/03-2024/102248/
“A bill aims to mandate that coffee sold as ‘Hawaii-grown’ must contain at least 50% of
actual Hawaii-grown coffee. Coffee growers in Hawaii support this measure, as a recent state- funded study showed it would increase income to nearly 1,500 small farms that are only marginally profitable under the current law. Currently, Hawaii-grown coffee farmers are unfairly forced to compete with fake products, often priced below their own cost of production. Some members of the coffee industry import foreign-grown coffee and mix it with Hawaii-grown coffee at a 9 to 1 ratio, often selling for more than $20/lb. solely because of the Hawaii origin name. This practice undermines Hawaii’s reputation, as consumers can’t taste one bean in 10 and pay a premium for it…”
NCA SPEAKS UP AGAINST BANS ON DECAF CHEMICAL
https://tinyurl.com/498benm9
“…Methylene chloride decaffeination — sometimes referred to as the “European method — has been a leading method of solvent-based decaffeination for decades. Its industrial application was bouyed by a landmark 1985 decision by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that deemed the chemical safe up to certain levels in food products…”
EXOTIC FLAVOUR DESCRIPTORS FETISHILSE COFFEE-PRODUCING COUNTRIES
https://tinyurl.com/5n66c933
- As experimental fermentations have grown in popularity, flavour descriptors have become increasingly specific and “exotic” – potentially fetishising producing countries.
- Research suggests that specific flavour notes are more desirable to consumers and the more specific the imagery, the higher the “willingness to pay”.
- However, more accurate flavour language based on a shared understanding between coffee producers and buyers could be more commercially viable
“COFFEE FLAVOUR descriptors have various functions. They primarily help customers navigate taste expectations – helping them make informed decisions about whether or not to buy a certain coffee.
But some argue that flavour descriptors increasingly fetishise coffee growing countries – a marketing gimmick that runs the risk of reinforcing harmful stereotypes.
Over time, the specialty coffee sector has adopted increasingly specific and novel flavour descriptors. Words like “passionfruit” and “overripe mango” are now commonly found on a bag of coffee.
Camila Khalifé, founder of Botánica and WBC sensory judge from Ecuador, explains that it’s all about the need to stand out from the competition. “The specialty coffee world was built on the idea that the more flavour the coffee has, the more descriptors it has, the more it costs, the more it’s worth…”
From CTAHR
Registration is required to receive the Zoom link. Click here
TIME: 12:00 PM
Pre-recorded presentation(s) from the days; presenter(s) will be played on Zoom
Following the PPT(s) – Live Q&A session with the presenter(s)
- Apr. 2 – Field trials controlling the coffee leaf rust infection by using fungicides in commercial coffee farms in Hawaii w/ Luis Aristizabal of SHAC
- Apr. 9 – Optimizing location-specific pesticide applications for Coffee Berry Borer on Hawaii Island w/ Melissa Johnson of USDA ARS DKI PBARC
Ulu- The Tree of Life
https://tinyurl.com/2n8samr6
“If a man plant ten breadfruit trees in his life, which he can do in about an hour, he would completely fulfil his duty to his own as well as future generations.” (Joseph Banks, 1769)
EL NIÑO
Neutral ENSO likely during austral autumn, says BOM update
https://www.comunicaffe.com/neutral-enso-likely-during-austral-autumn-says-bom/
International climate models suggest the central tropical Pacific Ocean will continue to cool in the coming months, with four out of seven climate models indicating the central Pacific is likely to return to neutral El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) levels by the end of April (i.e., neither El Niño nor La Niña), and all models indicating neutral in May.
“MELBOURNE, Australia – El Niño persists, although a steady weakening trend is evident in its oceanic indicators: climate models indicate sea surface temperatures in the central tropical Pacific are expected to continue declining and are forecast to return to ENSO – neutral in the southern hemisphere autumn 2024, reports the Bureau of Meteorology of the Australian Government…”KCFA
Like what you read here each month? If you’re not a current member of KCFA, please click here and join us at the Farmer, Supporter, or Business level.
Recipe- Kona Coffee Chocolate Banana Pudding
1 pkg instant chocolate pudding
1 cup milk
1 cup brewed Kona coffee
1 container whipped cream (Cool Whip)
1 diced banana
Chopped macadamia nuts
Put chocolate pudding in a bowl, add milk and coffee. Stir and as it thickens, add 1 cup whipped cream. Mix well. Stir in diced banana. Top with whipped cream and sprinkle with macadamia nuts.
Recipes Wanted! If any of you have recipes that you would like to share, please submit them to the editor: clarewilson98@gmail.com
LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THINK! >> Write to us. We welcome Letters to the Editor up to 150 words. We reserve the right to edit for clarity and length. Include your name and email address >> Email: info@KonaCoffeeFarmers.org with SUBJECT: Commentary.
Suggestion Box
Let us know what you would like to see in our newsletter. Suggestions on what to include or not. What could we do better. Let us know. Clarewilson98@gmail.com