“Best Agricultural Newsletter in Hawaii”
Newsletter of the Kona Coffee Farmers Association
November 2026
PO Box 5436 Kailua Kona Hawaii 96745 USA
www.konacoffeefarmers.org info@konacoffeefarmers.org
Contents
Welcome from President Petersen
Harvesting is Ending. Marketing Season is Beginning
HCA’s Position on Mainland Blending
Coffee Variety Trial Reveals Yield and Leaf Rust Winners
Groundbreaking Funding for Hawaii Coffee & Cacao Research
Why Buying and Selling Coffee Online is Changing
U of H to Receive $40 Million to Support Local Coffee & Cacao Farms
Study: Shocker – Coffee Improves Mood
Report: Fed Regs are Crippling Hawai’i Farms
Holualoa Coffee & Art Stroll
Dole Ends Oahu Coffee Farm Operations
Kona Coffee IPM Workshops Calendar
Tax Charges Added to Fed 100% Kona Fraud Case
U.S. Coffee Drink Calories Climbed 40% in 15 Years
Recipe: Kona Coffee Cheesecake
Editor: Clare Wilson
WELCOME FROM PRESIDENT PETERSEN
Aloha Coffee Farmers,
Well, here we go again with a round of a Kona monsoonal weather event. As I write this, we still have a few days of blustery conditions in the forecast. Hopefully, along with the wind, we’ll receive some gentle rain for our farms.
Many of you may have seen the recent webinar discussing the potential effects of the expected “Super El Niño” pattern. My biggest takeaway from the meeting was the possibility of significantly drier conditions beginning as early as January. While none of us can predict exactly what Mother Nature has in store, it is a good reminder to think ahead and make preparations to help protect our trees should dry conditions prevail next year.
Beginning November 6, the Kona Coffee Cultural Festival kicks off, and what a wonderful celebration it is for our community and our industry. For nine days, residents and visitors alike turn their attention to the coffee that makes Kona famous around the world. If you have the opportunity, please get out and support your association by marching in parade or working in our booth during the Arts and Coffee stroll. You can find the full schedule at Kona Coffee Cultural Festival.
As always, KCFA’s success depends on the dedication of volunteer board members and committee participants. Your board is already hard at work planning the Coffee Farmers Symposium in March, along with our Annual Membership Meeting. These gatherings are a great opportunity to become more involved, whether by serving on a committee or considering a position on the board. We have a hardworking and productive team, and we would welcome your ideas, talents, and energy as we continue to support Kona coffee.
I hope your harvest is progressing smoothly, your cherries are sweet, and your mills are humming along. As Thanksgiving approaches, I wish you and your families a joyful holiday season filled with good food, good company, and, of course, a great cup of Kona coffee alongside that slice of pumpkin pie.
Mahalo nui,
Mark Petersen, KCFA President
Harvest is Ending. The Marketing Season is Beginning
By Mark Petersen
How Global Markets, Authenticity, and New Labeling Laws May Shape the Future of Kona Coffee
As the last cherry comes off the trees and pulpers, dryers, and mills continue operating at full speed, many Kona growers are entering the next phase of the coffee year. Harvest season may be ending, but marketing season is just beginning. For many farms, the focus now shifts from picking and processing to inventory management, quality evaluation, buyer relationships, and sales decisions. The coming months will determine whether this year’s hard work translates into profitable returns.
This year’s marketing season arrives at a particularly interesting moment. Global coffee prices remain historically strong, production challenges are occurring in major producing regions, and demand for specialty coffees continues to grow. At the same time, Kona growers continue to face declining production, labor shortages, rising operating costs, and uncertainty regarding weather and future coffee supplies.
The key question for Kona producers is straightforward:
How does Kona coffee fit into today’s rapidly changing global coffee market?
A Smaller Crop, but Strong Prices
Recent Hawaii coffee statistics reveal a trend familiar to many growers. Production has declined while prices have strengthened.
The trend is striking. Between 2021-22 and 2023-24, Hawaii coffee production declined approximately 32%, while average cherry prices increased about 11%. Despite stronger prices, the total farm value of Hawaii’s coffee crop declined roughly 25%.
For growers, this may be the most important economic story of the past several seasons. Higher prices alone have not been sufficient to offset declining production, rising labor costs, pest management expenses, weather variability, and increasing costs of doing business. The challenge facing many farms today is not simply obtaining a higher price per pound. It is maintaining profitable production while preserving the premium reputation that distinguishes Kona coffee from other origins.
The World Coffee Market Remains Volatile
Coffee markets around the world continue to experience significant volatility. Weather-related production concerns in Brazil and Vietnam, the world’s largest coffee producers, have supported higher international prices in recent years. Meanwhile, global coffee demand continues to expand, particularly in premium and specialty markets. Producers in Central America have benefited from stronger Arabica prices, while Southeast Asian producers have experienced strong demand for Robusta coffees used in espresso blends, ready-to-drink beverages, and soluble coffee products.
Yet Kona occupies a unique position.
Hawaii coffee represents only a tiny fraction of world coffee production. Its value has never depended on volume. Instead, Kona’s value is derived from geographic origin, quality, scarcity, traceability, and reputation. That distinction becomes increasingly important as growers move into the marketing season.
Kona Is Not Competing on Commodity Prices
When growers hear reports of rising world coffee prices, it is tempting to compare Kona directly with Brazil, Colombia, Honduras, Vietnam, or Indonesia. In reality, Kona operates in an entirely different marketplace. Commodity coffees compete primarily on price and availability. Premium origin coffees compete on quality, authenticity, story, and consumer trust.
Kona’s Position in the Marketplace
Recent State of Hawaii analyses estimate that Hawaii coffee accounts for approximately one-tenth of one percent of world coffee production while receiving price premiums that far exceed commodity coffee values. The average export value of Hawaii green coffee has been reported at more than ten times the value of average global coffee prices.
This premium exists because consumers are paying for something fundamentally different. They are not purchasing simply a beverage ingredient. They are purchasing an origin, a reputation, and an experience. The long-term prosperity of Kona coffee therefore depends on preserving the connection between the Kona name and authentic Kona coffee.
Transparency May Become Kona’s Greatest Competitive Advantage
One of the most significant developments affecting Kona growers during the past several years has been the strengthening of Hawaii’s coffee labeling laws. For decades, products labeled as “Kona Blend” could legally contain as little as 10% Kona coffee by weight. While technically compliant with state law, many consumers reasonably assumed that a Kona-labeled coffee consisted primarily of Kona coffee.
Growers have long argued that these blends diluted the value of the Kona name while allowing others in the supply chain to benefit from Kona’s reputation. More importantly, the 10% blend standard often had the unintended consequence of shifting Kona coffee into a marketplace where it behaved more like a commodity ingredient than a distinguished origin product.
When ninety percent of a blend consists of lower-cost coffees from elsewhere, the consumer’s purchasing decision increasingly revolves around price rather than origin. In effect, Kona becomes an additive rather than the defining characteristic of the product. This dynamic places Kona in competition with commodity coffees from Brazil, Vietnam, Indonesia, and other major producing countries. That is not a contest Kona can win. Hawaii’s labor, land, and regulatory costs ensure that Kona coffee will never compete successfully as a low-cost commodity.
Nor should it. The economic value of Kona coffee lies precisely in the attributes that commodity coffees cannot easily replicate; limited supply, traceability, geographic identity, quality, and reputation.
Hawaii’s New Labeling Laws
Recognizing these concerns, the Hawaii Legislature enacted significant reforms to Hawaii Revised Statutes §486-120.6 governing coffee labeling.
Act 211 (2023)
Act 211 strengthened disclosure requirements beginning July 1, 2024.
The law requires more prominent disclosure of coffee origins and percentages on products making Hawaii-origin claims, including ready-to-drink and single-serve coffee products. Products marketed as “100% Hawaiian” must contain coffee grown and processed entirely within Hawaii.
Reference: Act 211 (2023) and Hawaii Department of Agriculture implementation guidance.
Act 198 (2024)
Act 198 may ultimately prove even more consequential.
Beginning July 1, 2027, any coffee product using a Hawaii geographic designation such as Kona, Kaʻū, Kauaʻi, Maui, Molokaʻi, or Oahu in a blend must contain at least 51 percent coffee from that named origin. This replaces the long-standing 10 percent standard.
Reference: Act 198 (2024), State of Hawaii.
Why the 51% Requirement Matters
The economic significance of the 51% requirement should not be underestimated. Historically, a roaster could purchase relatively small quantities of Kona coffee and market a Kona blend. Roasters wishing to continue using regional Hawaii geographic names will require substantially more authentic Hawaii-grown coffee.
Nobody yet knows exactly how the marketplace will respond.
Some companies may discontinue Kona blends. Others may reformulate existing products. Still others may decide that obtaining larger quantities of Kona coffee is worthwhile because consumers place increasing value on authentic origin products. What is clear is that the law strengthens the relationship between origin and market value. For Kona growers, the reform represents an attempt to ensure that economic benefits associated with the Kona name flow more directly to the communities producing the coffee.
Federal Protection of the Kona Name
State legislation is only part of the story. Federal protection has also increased through litigation under the Lanham Act, the principal federal law governing false advertising and false designation of origin. The resulting lawsuits and settlements attracted national attention and reinforced the importance of truthful origin claims in coffee marketing. Senator Schatz also successfully included 51% minimum for Hawaii coffee at the Federal level under Public Law 119-37. Together, federal enforcement and Hawaii’s revised labeling laws represent the strongest protection of the Kona name in the industry’s history.
For growers, these protections are not merely legal issues.
They are marketing issues.
They are branding issues.
Ultimately, they are farm-income issues.
Quality and Traceability Remain Essential
Labeling laws alone will not guarantee higher prices. Quality remains the foundation of Kona’s premium reputation .As growers enter the marketing season, buyers increasingly seek:
- Consistent processing
- Proper drying and storage
- Reliable moisture management
- Low defect counts
- Documented traceability
- Strong buyer relationships
- Exceptional cup quality
Protected origin creates opportunity. Outstanding coffee converts that opportunity into value.
Looking Ahead
Kona coffee finds itself at a unique moment.
Worldwide demand remains strong. Specialty coffee markets continue expanding. Consumers increasingly seek products with identifiable origins and transparent supply chains. At the same time, Hawaii’s production remains limited, costs remain high, and growers continue facing labor shortages, pest pressures, disease management challenges, and weather uncertainty. Yet for perhaps the first time in decades, market forces and public policy appear to be moving in the same direction.
- Consumers want authenticity.
- Buyers want traceability.
- Federal courts increasingly recognize the value of truthful origin claims.
- Hawaii’s revised labeling laws are strengthening the connection between the Kona name and the coffee that comes from Kona.
As harvest ends and marketing season begins, growers are entering a marketplace that increasingly rewards not just what is grown, but where it is grown and how honestly that story is told.
The future value of Kona coffee may depend as much on protecting the integrity of the Kona name as on increasing production. If so, the recent labeling reforms may prove to be among the most consequential developments affecting Kona growers in a generation.
Link to References
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HCA’s Changing Position on Mainland Blending
The Hawaiʻi Coffee Association (HCA) has changed its position on the Federal 51% minimum, highlighting the ongoing industry struggle over Hawaii origin names. HCA originally supported the Law (effective 11/9/2025) but asked for a delay in implementation so members could replace bags already on shelves and educate the market. KCFA supported that delay. Now, with the law in effect for a year, the large processors want to remove the minimum percentage entirely and replace it with “truth in labeling” provisions.
HCA’s new position statement reads:
The HCA supports removing the 51% minimum content requirement in Public Law 119-37 for coffee products using a Hawaiʻi geographic origin name, and replacing it with a strong truth-in-labeling standard. Under this standard, any coffee product using a Hawaiʻi geographic origin name must clearly and conspicuously disclose on the front of the package the percentage by weight of Hawaiʻi-origin coffee it contains, so that what is represented to the consumer accurately reflects what is inside the package.
As you likely know, cherry prices have been set low this year. Some processors are warning they will not to purchase cherry next year if the 51% remains at the Federal level. Meanwhile, enforcement actions on Oahu have raised tensions further. An anonymous complaint was submitted against Honolulu Coffee Company bags labeled below the Federal minimum (but meeting the state standard), which obligated HDOA/DAB to issue citations.
KCFA recognizes that producing coffee and selling coffee are different challenges. Even so, we continue to strongly support a 51% minimum for any use of the Kona and Hawaiʻi trade names.
Coffee Variety Trial Reveals Yield and Leaf Rust Winners
https://tinyurl.com/5a6djtb4
The coffee industry’s largest coordinated field trial has found that recently bred arabica varieties generally provided higher yields and greater resistance to coffee leaf rust than traditional pure-arabica varieties, while revealing important differences in how varieties performed across climates.
Published Oct. 2 in Scientific Reports, the study represents the latest output from World Coffee Research (WCR) and its long-running International Multilocation Variety Trial (IMLVT). The work was backed by WCR member companies.
The variety trial initiative, launched in 2015, last year resulted in a study examining coffee leaf rust resistance among 29 arabica varieties at 23 sites in 15 countries. The new research expands that work by examining both disease resistance and yield performance under different climatic conditions.
Both studies come against the backdrop of ongoing climate change and its effects on commercial arabica production, while WCR and partner institutions work toward strategic coffee breeding.
Key takeaways
- Online ordering lets roasters reach buyers anywhere without distributors.
- Fresh coffee peaks briefly, so roast dates and courier timings matter.
- Buyers increasingly expect farm, region, and process details before ordering.
RoasterCup combines roast-to-order fulfillment, automated admin, and traceable product pages.
In as little as six years, ecommerce has changed how people buy and sell coffee. During the pandemic, enforced closures shut roasters’ and cafés’ doors, and many businesses moved online quickly to recover lost sales.
As consumers tried to recreate their usual orders at home, online coffee sales grew sharply. In the UK alone, one in five people drank more coffee during Covid-19, and some coffee companies reported a 175% rise in sales within a few months.
Since then, coffee ecommerce has held its ground. Many customers still queue in cafés, and some café owners continue to buy through sales representatives, yet online channels offer clear advantages. Above all, they remove geographical limits, giving both retailers and consumers access to a wider range of roasters than before.
“Retailers and customers, both professionals and consumers, can now order from artisan roasters anywhere, without relying on a local distributor or a sales representative,” says Yassine Turki, CEO of RoasterCup. The online marketplace connects independent artisan producers of specialty coffee, tea, and bean-to-bar chocolate directly with consumers and wholesale clients.
This wider access to roasters and cafés around the world continues to drive specialty coffee forward, as the industry relies on flavour discovery and diversity to grow. However, online coffee retail keeps changing. Subscription models, hyper-personalisation, and new technology all influence how people buy and sell, so ecommerce platforms need to adapt to the shifting demands of retailers and consumers alike….”
Groundbreaking Funding for Hawaii Coffee & Cacao Research
https://www.comunicaffe.com/
The Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Coffee and Cacao (CCIL) is a new research program led by the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, with Clemson University as co-lead. The U.S. Department of State awarded the agreement for up to five years, with $8 million committed for the first year. Its work will include breeding varieties that resist disease and drought, improving farm management and post-harvest processing, developing pest-management strategies, and building research capacity in partner countries. The consortium includes SHAC, UC Davis, Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State, Mars, World Coffee Research, PlantVillage+, and the Coffee Quality Institute. Partners will work with small producers in the U.S., Latin America, Africa, and Asia.
CCIL traces back to advocacy that began in 2020, when SHAC and World Coffee Research started urging Congress to fund research on threats to these crops. With climate changes predicted to halve the land suitable for Arabica coffee by 2050, growers need immediate solutions to protect their fields. And consumer demand is growing. Mainland coffee sales contribute over $330 billion to the U.S. economy and support nearly 3 million jobs. Hawaiʻi is the only U.S. state that grows both commercially, and its small farms make it a “living laboratory” for CCIL. That role matters because local production is falling. Hawaii coffee output has declined precipitously in the last several decades, and cacao has been hurt by diseases like Black Pod Rot.
As this project moves forward, there will be opportunities for growers to participate directly in soils and fertilizer research, pest resistance trials and other beneficial activities. Keep an eye on the KCFA and SHAC social media pages for more information.
Science Recently Delivered this Shocker: Coffee Improves Mood
https://tinyurl.com/2wd5wy76
“Scientists in the UK and Germany have officially confirmed what most coffee drinkers feel intuitively every single day: coffee in the morning puts you in a better mood.
For four weeks, researchers from the University of Warwick and Bielefeld University tracked 236 young adults, pinging their phones seven times daily to ask whether they’d had any caffeine in the past 90 minutes and how they were feeling at the moment.
Combined, the resulting 28,000 mood snapshots clearly indicated that caffeine doesn’t merely combat grogginess, it actively makes people happier and more enthusiastic. The good mood feelings were especially apparent in the morning, within the first 2.5 hours after waking.
Meanwhile, caffeine’s effects on negative feelings, such as sadness, were smaller and less consistent throughout the day.
The team attributed the positive mood effects to caffeine’s natural ability to block adenosine receptors, which can increase dopamine activity in key brain regions. The phenomenon has been linked to improved mood and greater alertness in numerous previous studies….”
FEDERAL REGULATIONS ARE CRIPPLING HAWAI’I FARMERS, REPORT SAYS
https://tinyurl.com/4tczwhva
“The state could more than double the value of its agricultural industry if Hawaiʻi-specific federal regulations were streamlined to give local producers a greater chance of selling products in the continental U.S.
That’s according to the Hawaii Institute for Public Affairs, whose latest report estimates that farmers lose out on approximately $800 million in potential mainland sales every year – more than the entire industry’s estimated value.
The current federal biosecurity framework essentially treats Hawaiʻi like a foreign nation, pitting farmers against a tedious set of biosecurity regulations which, according to the institute, could be simplified to help local agriculture. Those regulations are designed to protect the mainland from Hawai’i’s myriad agricultural pests, such as fruit flies, but have crippled the islands’ farmers by keeping them from key mainland markets, the report says….
The problem should be a statewide economic concern, the report says. Addressing the problem would be a game-changer for the state, allowing farmers to unlock entirely new markets with new and existing crops, said Cameron Deptula, one of the report’s authors.
State leaders have long pledged to increase local food production and food security, though persistent struggles with regulations and the cost of land, labor, water and infrastructure have hampered efforts. Agriculture currently accounts for just 0.4% of the state’s economy, about $554 million in 2025.
The lion’s share of that value is created within the state, as hardly anything (fresh) leaves Hawai‘i.
“We export pineapples, papaya, basil, but not much else,” said Brian Miyamoto, Hawaiʻi Farm Bureau executive director….”
Holualoa Coffee & Art Stroll
The 27th annual Holualoa Coffee & Art Stroll welcomes everyone on November 7 from 9 AM to 2 PM. Stroll through the village, sample coffee from 24 Kona coffee farmers, and explore the many art galleries. Speak directly with the coffee farmers to learn what it is like to grow and produce premier 100% Kona coffee. Vote for your favorite.
Dole Food Co. Ends Oahu Coffee Farming Operations
https://coffeetalk.com/daily-
“Dole Food Co. is set to end its coffee farming operations on Oahu, ceasing to grow coffee and laying off nine employees effective November 30. This decision comes as the company aims to sell the 154-acre Waialua Estate farm, following its previous sale of a 151-acre cacao orchard. Dan Nellis, Dole’s general manager for Hawaii, stated that the company will refocus on its core pineapple farming business, which spans approximately 2,700 acres on Oahu’s North Shore.
Dole, a $9 billion company with over a century of operations in Hawaii, established its coffee and cacao farms in 1996 after the closure of Waialua Sugar Co. The cacao farm was sold to Lonohana Estate Chocolate for about $8 million. The coffee orchard has been for sale without an asking price for over a year, featuring around 167,000 coffee trees on 208 acres, alongside lychee and other fruit crops….”
Kona Coffee IPM Workshops Calendar
Tax Charges Added to Federal ‘100% Kona’ Coffee Fraud Case
https://tinyurl.com/2ubux6yt
“A Hawaii woman accused of selling millions of dollars’ worth of foreign-grown coffee as “100% Kona” now faces four additional federal tax charges under a superseding indictment.
Patricia “Trish” Johnson pleaded not guilty Oct. 7 in U.S. District Court in Honolulu to the expanded 28-count indictment, which includes 16 counts of wire fraud, five counts involving monetary transactions in allegedly criminal proceeds, three counts of obstruction and four counts related to allegedly false federal income tax returns.
The four new charges involve Johnson’s federal tax returns for 2019 through 2022. According to court records reviewed by DCN, prosecutors allege Johnson understated gross receipts from her business and, in several of those years, reported false or inflated business expenses or costs…”
U.S. Coffee Drink Calories Climbed 40% in 15 Years
https://tinyurl.com/y6cnpzym
“Coffee consumption has been associated with several health benefits. However, coffee is often accompanied by the addition of sugar and cream, which can contribute to an increased consumption of calories from added sugar and saturated fat,” Fang Fang Zhang, senior author of the study, said in an announcement from the university. “The more we know about what people are consuming, the better we can understand the link between nutrition and overall health.”
U.S. adults consumed nearly 40% more calories from coffee drinks in 2018 than they did in 2003, despite drinking roughly the same amount of coffee, according to a new study involving more than 30,000 people.
The biggest driver of the increase was nondairy coffee creamer, which surpassed both sugar and dairy milk as a source of calories in coffee drinks during the span.
Published Oct. 19 in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, the study found that average daily calorie intake from coffee rose from 43 to 60 over the 15-year period, while coffee consumption remained relatively stable at approximately 13 ounces per person daily.
Led by researchers at Tufts University, the study analyzed dietary data from 30,459 adults participating in the federally administered National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.
Recipe: Kona Coffee Cheesecake
Chocolate Crumb Crust
1 Tbs butter
1 9 oz pkg chocolate wafer cookies, ground
pinch of cinnamon
1/3 cup melted butter
Coat bottom and sides of a 9” springform pan with tbsp of butter. In a food processor, combine rest of ingredients. Press mixture on sides and bottom of pan. Bake at 325° for 5 minutes. Cool
Filling
1¼ lb. cream cheese cut in 1” cubes
1¼ cups sugar
4 eggs, beaten
¾ cup whipping cream
¾ cup sour cream
¼ cup strong Kona coffee
1 oz chopped semisweet chocolate
3 tbs coffee liqueur
2 tsp vanilla
Combine cream cheese, sugar and eggs in food processor until smooth. Add whipping cream and sour cream. Process to combine. Melt chocolate with coffee and cool. Add chocolate mixture and liqueur to cream cheese mixture. Pour into prepared crust. Bake at 325° for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until sides of the cake are set 2” in from the edges and center of cake is still like pudding. Let cool and refrigerate overnight.
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.
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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
