“Best Agricultural Newsletter in Hawaii”
Newsletter of the Kona Coffee Farmers Association
February 2018
PO Box 5436 Kailua Kona Hawaii 96745 USA
www.konacoffeefarmers.org info@konacoffeefarmers.orgCONTENTS
New Board Members
Coffee Bills – 2018 Legislative Session
Shipping Discounts
A Note to Expired Memberships
Botanigard Subsidy Information
Farm Trade name Protected?
Coffee Prices in 1982
Market your Products in Japan
Op/Ed: Kona Typica – The Source of Kona Coffee’s Heritage Profile
Supporting Business Member: Aloha Insurance Services
Recipe: Cold-Brewed Kona Coffee
Write to Us
Editor – Clare Wilson
New Board Members
Aloha Members! I am pleased to announce our new board for 2018. At last weekend’s AGM, you voted to return Kay Dixon, Karen Zulkowski, Sandra Scarr, and Suzanne Shriner to the board. You also voted four “new” members to the board: Armando Rodriguez, Bruce Corker, Colehour Bondera, and Mark Dubay. As our board has staggered two-year memberships, our incumbents are Chris Coleman, Allan Frank, Chet Gardiner, Jim Monk, and Cecelia Smith.
The board then voted on officers. I will be returning as your president this year. Sandra is vice president, Karen is your recording secretary and Jim will be our treasurer.
As always, our goal is to support the mission of KCFA, and are open to any thoughts or concerns you have. Please email us at info@konacoffeefarmers.org.
–Submitted by Suzanne Shriner
Coffee Bills before the 2018 Legislative Session
Among bills of importance to coffee farmers, the 2018 Session of the Hawaii Legislature will be considering:
House Bill 1757—Truthful Labeling for RTD Coffee. Currently marketers of ready-to-drink (“RTD”) coffee products carrying Hawaii-origin names (for example, Royal Mills “Hawaiian Kona Premium Coffee” and “KonaRed Kona Blend”) are not required to disclose what percentage, if any, of the coffee in the package is Hawaii-grown. This bill will require the same label disclosure of the percentage as is currently required for roasted and instant coffee. The bill was drafted and introduced at the request of KCFA by Kona/Ka’u Representative Richard Creagan who was joined by 18 other representatives as co-sponsors. To review the language of HB1757, the status, and written testimony submitted to committee hearings, click on the following link to the Legislature’s website: https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/measure_indiv.aspx?billtype=HB&billnumber=1757&year=2018
House Bill 256—51% Minimum and ID of Non-origin Coffee in Blends. This bill was introduced last session by Rep. Creagan and 10 other co-sponsors to raise the minimum of genuine Hawaii-grown coffee in Hawaii coffee blends from 10% to 51% and to require label identification of where the non-origin coffee was grown. Last year HB256 was given a hearing and favorably passed by the House Agriculture Committee, but the House Consumer Protection and Commerce Committee (CPC) did not schedule a hearing to consider the bill. HB256 “carries over” into this year’s session and CPC is being requested to schedule a hearing and pass the bill on to the Senate. To review the bill, its status, and last year’s written testimony from the Agriculture Committee hearing, here is the link:
https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/measure_indiv.aspx?billtype=HB&billnumber=256
HB2305/SB2125—CBB Subsidy Program Manager. These companion House and Senate bills will extend through 2022 the authorization of the Program Manager position for the Hawaii Department of Agriculture’s subsidy program to assist coffee farmers with offsetting the cost of purchasing Botanigard and Mycotrol to combat CBB. The links to these bills and status is:
https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/measure_indiv.aspx?billtype=HB&billnumber=2305
https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/measure_indiv.aspx?billtype=SB&billnumber=2125
When we send out notices of committee hearings on these bills (usually on short notice), we encourage KCFA members to submit testimony in support for each committee hearing. Your voice is important.
–Submitted by the Legislative Committee
Shipping Discounts: A Benefit of KCFA Membership
February 2018 UPDATE
Shipping coffee to the mainland is expensive, and can be a sales barrier for some customers. In the world of “free shipping”, keeping your costs low is important. KCFA has partnered with Siriani Shipping Solutions to bring discounts to our members for a variety of carriers and there is no cost to you.
The USPS website is not very efficient for multiple orders, so many of our members use a program like Stamps.com for convenience and to streamline their USPS shipping. Siriani waives the monthly fee for Stamps.com when you sign up for their Shipping SOS service, saving you $15.99 per month and also giving you access to USPS discount rates ($0.85 off per medium flat rate box, for example).
For overnight and second-day carriers, there’s an even greater discount. For example, a second day package via Fedex gets a 45% discount off the list rate to the mainland and 55% off internationally. This can make your larger customers very happy.
Want to enroll? Go to www.siriani.com/kcfafsp or call them at 800-554-0005. The savings will quickly add up.
–Submitted by Suzanne Shriner
A Note to Expired Memberships 
Aloha from the Kona Coffee Farmers Association.
First and foremost, we would like to thank you for your past membership and participation in our Association.
We are writing to let you know that we have an exciting year planned.
We will be continuing our work in the legislative arena to protect Kona Coffee’s quality and brand, to expand national and international recognition of Kona coffee and to help our members and other coffee farmers deal with our rapidly changing growing, labor and business environment with workshops and other important education and information.
We’re also planning an extensive remodeling of our website to more effectively communicate with our members, prospective members and the public as well as expand into the social media arena.
And FUN! We believe that personal contacts and networking in supportive and entertaining social environments are vitally important to maintain a healthy Association.
We invite you to renew your membership in our Association and would welcome your participation as a volunteer in our ongoing efforts to support small, family farms here in our slice of paradise, the Kona Coffee growing region.
Mahalo,
Chet Gardiner, Membership Chair
Botanigard Subsidy Available 
Aloha Coffee Growers,
Do you have receipts for purchases of Beauveria bassiana dated 7/1/2016 through 6/30/2017? Reimbursement for up to 50% is available through the HDOA CBB Pesticide Subsidy Program. Applications are accepted through June 30, 2018, but please apply now. See the application for details.
The HDOA CBB Pesticide Subsidy application is online at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/2016-17HDOACBBAnnualReimbursement
Thank you for your interest in the CBB Pesticide Subsidy program. Contact the office at hdoa.cbb@hawaii.gov or call 808.323.7578 to obtain a copy of the application, or for additional information.
Mahalo,
Gwen Hicks
Is Your Farm’s Trade Name Protected from Infringement?
Here is an article written by Honolulu-based trademark and intellectual property lawyer Paul Maki with information of interest to KCFA members. The matters described in connection with protecting a farm’s trademark arose in the context of an actual trademark infringement that was presented last year to Guy Gostling of Kona Lisa Coffee, a KCFA member. Here is Paul Maki’s article:
Recently, a Kona coffee grower, and a member of the Kona Coffee Farmers Association, received complaints about his blended Kona coffee packaged in single cup servings. This was mystifying to him as he has never sold his coffee in single cup packaging and all of his coffee is marketed 100% Kona.
Looking into the complaints, the grower discovered that the source of blended coffee product was a company in California. He also discovered that the cause of the confusion was the fact that the California company was using a trademark that was substantially similar to the grower’s mark.
What was the Kona grower to do? He was familiar with general concepts about trademarks: the person who uses a mark first has priority and trademarks need never be registered to be protected.
The grower began using his mark years before the California company started using its similar mark. So, he had the California company on priority.
On the second point, trademark rights are territorial. That means that an unregistered trademark is protectible only in the geographic area in which it has been used (and, possibly, a reasonable area of expansion.)
The only way for a trademark owner to expand its area of protection is to secure the registration of the mark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Such a registration will give the trademark owner rights throughout the United States. (Note, however, that, with the territorial rules, a federal registration provides rights in the U.S. only. Note, too, that the registration of a mark with the State of Hawaii does nothing to establish any right to the mark outside of Hawaii.)
Fortunately (with the good fortune founded on good business planning), the Kona grower’s mark was registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. With this registration, he was relieved from the difficult burden of proving that he had sufficiently entered the market in California to have rights there, and the problem arising from the California company’s use of the similar mark was quickly resolved.
–Submitted by Bruce Corker
Coffee Cherry & Parchment Prices in 1982
Interesting approach to getting so much coffee cherry…
–Submitted by Cecelia Smith
How to Market Your Products in Japan
Learn specific marketing strategies for promoting your brand and driving sales in Hawaii’s #1 export market – Japan!
The program will include how to leverage social media. This event will be live-streamed so join in from your farm. Register here. https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_HVRtwbv0RX-7Aftp4JJPrQ
Date & Time
Thursday, February 22, 2018
09:00 am Marketing in Japan Program
Cost: FREE
This program is part of the HDOA State Trade Expansion Program (HiSTEP), designed to assist small businesses in Hawaii with growing their export business in markets around the world. More information is here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/histep-2018-seminar-marketing-in-japan-tickets-41144093090
–Submitted by Suzanne Shriner
”KONA TYPICA”
The Source of Kona Coffee’s Heritage Profile
In November of 2011 the KCFA adopted a formal resolution calling for the protection and defense of Kona coffee’s heritage flavor profile. The resolution affirmed that “the hard work, dedication and skill of generations of Kona’s coffee farmers have built worldwide recognition of the unique heritage and flavor profile of 100% Kona coffee harvested from Kona Typica trees.” The document resolved that the KCFA:
“Reaffirms and restates its policy to protect and defend both the Kona coffee heritage and the coffee flavor profile on which this heritage has been built; and Encourages all Kona coffee farmers to cultivate Kona typica coffee trees, to produce the highest quality coffee from those trees, and to continue to supply world markets with our renowned ‘Heritage Kona Coffee’”.
To read the full resolution, click HERE.
This resolution was adopted six years ago because a small group of “coffee consultants” were suggesting to clients that they should abandon Kona Typica for other, trendier coffee varieties. The consultants promised higher yields, greater bean size, and marketing advantages from being “different” and “set apart” from the Kona heritage profile. A few, but not many, succumbed to these suggestions.
Unfortunately, some of these same consultants injected their call to be “different” into the 2017 Kona Coffee Cultural Festival’s cupping competition. They created a new “Modern Profile” category for the competition. The argument is, again, that Kona farmers should advance beyond the “old” Kona heritage profile and reap economic gains by becoming “modern” and appealing to the different preferences “celebrated by modern, specialty coffee consumers”. The message is—be different, stand out, and attract more attention for your farm.
The broader Kona coffee community should not be misled by these self-interested consultants. Rather, we should be following the examples of French Champagne, Parmigiano-Reggiano Cheese, and Scotch Whisky. We should be protecting the Kona Typica heritage profile that has made Kona Coffee world renowned. If we do that, the Kona Coffee community as a whole will benefit in the long term.
–Op/Ed Article, submitted by Bruce Corker
Supporting Business Member: Aloha Insurance Services
Aloha Insurance Services has been a Business Member since 2013. They are a full service insurance agency, and as an Independent Agent, they have access to dozens of different companies, products and prices. Their website is: http://www.alohainsurance.com/
Please support our Business Members as they support us.
Recipes Wanted! If any of you have coffee recipes that you would like to share, please submit them to the editor: clare@huahuafarm.com
Recipe: Cold-Brewed Kona Coffee Concentrate
If you have not tried cold-brewed coffee, you should. Delightful iced coffee with no bitterness. If you don’t like iced coffee, heat a cup of cold-brew coffee in the microwave.
Adapted from nytimes.com.
Ingredients:
2/3 cup medium coarse ground Kona coffee
3 cups cold water
In a pitcher, stir the coffee and water together. Cover and leave at room temperature overnight or 12 hours.
Strain twice through a coffee filter or cheesecloth.
Mix concentrate with equal quantity of water. For iced coffee, pour in a tall glass with ice. For hot coffee, add water to taste and heat in the microwave.
LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THINK! >> Write 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.