The Independent Voice
“Best Agricultural Newsletter in Hawaii”
Newsletter of the Kona Coffee Farmers Association
November 2024
PO Box 5436 Kailua Kona Hawaii 96745 USA
www.
Contents
Message from President Petersen
Microscope View of Caffeine
Exporting Coffee With Confidence
Kona Coffee Cultural Festival- November 1-10
KCFA Burlap Bags are ALMOST here!
Double Roasting
Should We Treat Infused & Co-Fermented Coffees Differently?
Crop Insurance Webinar – November 19th
La Nina Forecast
CBB/CLR Subsidy
Recipe: Lilikoi Posset
Editor – Clare Wilson
Message from President Petersen
Aloha Coffee Farmers,
As the cherry picking continues, we are glad to have bags of cherries to pulp. It’s been a tough year for some with the Coffee Berry Borer (CBB) showing an uptick. On our farm, despite our vigilant efforts, we have measured an increased CBB infestation. However, it’s not all bad news; the coffee leaf rust has’nt been as troubling for us, and for that, we are grateful.
Our recent KCFA gathering at Kahaluu State Park was a delightful success, and although I missed the chance to join due to family commitments, I’m eager to catch up with each of you soon. Looking ahead, the Holualoa Coffee and Art Stroll during the Kona Coffee Cultural Festival on November 2nd promises to be a vibrant celebration of our beloved coffee’s heritage. I encourage you to visit our KCFA booth, engage with visitors, and perhaps find some unique KCFA merchandise for yourself or as gifts.
Mark your calendars for the Coffee Farmers Symposium on February 25th, 2025 at the Outrigger Resort. As members, you’ll enjoy complimentary registration, and it’s an excellent opportunity for learning, sharing, and camaraderie.
As the year swiftly passes, I extend my heartfelt thanks to our dedicated volunteer Board for their tireless work. And for any inconvenience experienced by members during membership renewal on our website, I offer my sincere apologies; rest assured, we are on top of it.
Wishing you a generous harvest and favorable weather. Let us continue to grow what may be the world’s best coffee.
Mahalo nui loa!
Mark Petersen
A microscope view of caffeine
“from Instagram @explainingtheuniverse”
EXPORTING COFFEE WITH CONFIDENCE
If you are looking to export green coffee but are concerned about timely payments from foreign companies, there’s a reasonably-priced solution for small businesses. Ex-Im Bank is U.S. Federal Agency that helps protect U.S. companies that export. They offer accounts receivable insurance to cover your export sales if your international customer doesn’t pay you.
Coffee is frequently a “handshake” business, where companies may expect you to ship on a Net30 or delayed payment basis. Unforeseen circumstances can make you vulnerable to losses. The Ex-Im program can help you vet buyers, cover your invoices up to 95% and allow you to ship with confidence. Growing your international market makes sense, and helps balance your sales in the event of a US market slowdown. If you are heading in this direction, reach out to the Hawaii Ex-Im rep at Gregory.Moore@exim.gov
KONA COFFEE CULTURAL FESTIVAL- November 1-10, 2024
Kona Coffee Cultural Festival Events-all events here
KONA COFFEE CULTURAL FESTIVAL LANTERN PARADE
November 1, 2024
6:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Kailua Pier to Hale Halawai County Pavilion
Hale Halawai County Pavilion
75-5760 Ali‘i Dr., Kailua-Kona
6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
THE HOLUALOA COFFEE AND ART STROLL- KCFA will be here!
November 2, 2024
9:00 am – 2:00 pm
Historic Holualoa Village
Holualoa Village
Celebrate the 25th annual Holualoa Village Coffee & Art Stroll. Take a casual stroll along Holualoa Village, talk with farmers about their passions and visit the shops and galleries, each featuring coffee themed art and merchandise. There will be food vendors stationed throughout the Village as well.
______________________________
KCFA Burlap Bags are ALMOST here!
Update:
Our 100% Kona burlap bags have been stuck in supply-chain limbo for over a year. But our ship is arriving soon! We expect them to land in LA on 11/8, clear customs and head towards us. We’re so sorry for the long delays! You can purchase them on “backorder” through the website and we will send you an email in late November when they are in hand. While there, pick up some Grainpro and protect your parchment and green in storage. Our prices are below the retail price and Members receive a discount when they sign in, before checkout. Our quality is excellent!
TO Order Burlap Bags: https://konacoffeefarmers.org/
TO Order GrainPro Bags: https://konacoffeefarmers.org/
DOUBLE ROASTING
https://hoos.coffee/blog/
« The Surplus Dilemma
One of the happy problems I’ve run into with running my own business is an overabundance of coffee. Through Hoos Coffee Consulting, I often help clients dial in their roasts. And most of the time, they don’t want to take back all the coffee they’ve shipped for test roasting in my training space. So I have a lot of leftover coffee of various roast styles and origins from all over the world. Additionally, with the Iteration Coffee program, where I create box sets for people to taste, I end up with a lot of coffee leftover from experiments that I make before releasing the boxed sets. Combine these two aspects of my business and I typically have a fair amount of leftover light-roasted coffee that I donate to local nonprofits, schools, teachers, and other organizations.
An issue I’ve run into, though, is that my clientele are usually focused on roasting light, and my boxed sets tend to focus on roasting light as well. However, in my area, light roasts aren’t as highly regarded as dark roasts. So, even though I have a lot of coffee to give away, it doesn’t always match the preferences of the people I’m donating to.
This led me to experiment with re-roasting light-roasted coffee to transform it into a more approachable dark roast for donating within my community. Along the way, I found that my previous ideas about re-roasting coffee and what makes a quality dark roast were challenged. I, and others in blind tastings, have found very enjoyable qualities coming from these double-roasted dark roasts. Sometimes, even preferring them to single roasted dark roasts in head-to-head blind tastings…”
SHOULD WE TREAT INFUSED AND CO-FERMENTED COFFEES DIFFERENTLY?
https://tinyurl.com/2wdjsdhk
“The terms “infused” and “co-fermented” coffees pique the interest of many people in the industry, but not always for positive reasons. While some celebrate these processing methods for their innovation, others dismiss them under claims of inauthenticity.
Regardless of opinion, there is a tendency to group the two together. When talking about infused or co-fermented coffees, the other is usually a part of the conversation. For some, this may be instinctual. The two processing methods found the spotlight in specialty coffee roughly around the same time as each other.
However, despite a lack of formal or universal definitions, many agree that infusion and co-fermentation are not the same. This then raises the question of whether we need to treat the two processing methods differently and if grouping them together causes more harm than good…”
WHY RETAINING VALUE AT ORIGIN THROUGH DIRECT TRADE MATTERS
https://tinyurl.com/3mtvset2
“The concept of “direct trade” has become synonymous with specialty coffee. Often used in marketing to show that brands care about sustainability, many roasters and coffee companies claim they “know their farmers” or “buy ethical coffee”. But without real action behind these statements, the impact can be superficial.
At its core, direct trade is about more than just branding: it’s ensuring that more value (or the sales price) stays with coffee producers at origin.
Historically, buying directly from farmers has been nearly impossible for most roasters,
especially smaller-sized enterprises. Coffee trade has been expensive, complex, and often not feasible due to a number of trade barriers.
In today’s market, however, there are more opportunities than ever before that simplify
international trade, thus making it more affordable. By working with companies at origin,
roasters can buy directly from producers, bypassing intermediaries who no longer add direct value to the supply chain….”
Crop Insurance November 19, 2024
**For more information or to register, visit: https://www.hawaiicoffeeed.
From CTAHR
The Natural Resources Conservation Service produces this weekly report using data and products from the National Water and Climate Center and other agencies. The report focuses on seasonal snowpack, precipitation, temperature, and drought conditions in the U.S.
https://tinyurl.com/mryxp48k
“The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has forecasted a 60 percent chance of weak La Niña conditions to develop and persist through early spring 2025. The classic La Niña, which is essentially a colder-than-normal ocean temperature in the equatorial Pacific, can affect seasonal global weather patterns and provide an insight into how the winter in the U.S. may unfold. In general, the northern and central states are cooler and wetter during a La Niña year, while the Southwest and Southeast experience warmer and drier conditions. It is important to note that observed weather patterns can vary from La Niña or El Niño forecasts, and anomalies do occur for several reasons. One factor that could affect the outcome this season is the weaker strength of the La Niña.
CBB-CLR SUBSIDY
Aloha Coffee Farmers,
If you completed an application for the CBB-CLR Pesticide Subsidy Program for Fiscal Year 2023-24, you should receive your check in coming months. If you have questions about the timing of this or need to change your mailing address, contact Darcy Oishi at 808-973-9524 or Darcy.E.Oishi@hawaii.gov.
Act 216 creates this program through 6/30/26 (reimbursing receipts through 6/30/25). Please save your receipts. A list of eligible products are listed here: Approved CBB-CLR Product List. The Fiscal Year 2024-25 Program will reimburse at the 75% rate, receipts from 7/1/23- 6/30/24 (pending funding). The program will open sometime later this year. Please contact Darcy Oishi for an update.
To get your email or phone on a notification list for when the program is ready, please email at hdoa.cbb@hawaii.gov or leave a message at (808) 323-7578.
Melanie Bondera has left the program after six years and wishes you healthy trees and high yields this coffee harvest season.
Darcy Oishi – CBB-CLR Subsidy Program Hawaii Department of Agriculture
808-323-7578
Recipe – Lilikoi Posset
Ingredients
2 cups heavy cream
2/3 cup sugar
½ cup lilikoi juice
Mix heavy cream and sugar in a saucepan. Stir over low heat to dissolve the sugar. Slowly increase the heat until you see bubbles on the sides of the pan.
Take the pan off the heat and let it cool for a few minutes. Stir in the lilikoi juice.
Pour into ramekins and let them cool for a bit before refrigeration.
To serve, top with some fresh fruit.
Recipes Wanted! If any of you have recipes that you can share, please submit them to the editor: clarewilson98@gmail.
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.
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. Write to Clarewilson98@gmail.com
