“Best Agricultural Newsletter in Hawaii”
Newsletter of the Kona Coffee Farmers Association
September 2015
P O Box 5436 Kailua Kona Hawaii 96745 USA
www.konacoffeefarmers.org info@konacoffeefarmers.org
Message from President Tom
Royal Hawaiian Hotel – 10% Luxury?
In 2015, Coffee is Practically a Health Food
More False Labeling – Italian Tomatoes
Keeping Your Beauveria Alive: A Discussion
Legislative Update
Recipe:Banana Coffee Muffins
Write to Us
Editor – Clare Wilson

Patti and Tom Butler at KCFA Dinner
We didn’t quite make our goal but we were still successful at our first try.
If you were there you got a chance to meet Larry Nixon, the business manager at MacFarms Hawaii and got to see that he is as interested in Truth In labeling as KCFA is. He wants only 100% Kona coffee for his Kona Coffee chocolate flavoring for MacFarms 100% Hawaiian mac nuts.
MacFarms new packaging features our KCFA icon and it sure looks good.
Larry is looking for other ways to use his KCFA Kona coffee flavoring too. He’s our kind of guy.
The next thing to talk about is the weather. It has been so hot, the rain was a blessing, but now I am wondering if I should start building an ark. It was a beautiful sunset on Aug. 24 as I write this and where I come from they said,” Red skies at night is a sailor’s delight”. I hope that applies to farmers.
Last for now and next up on our to do list is the Coffee and Art Stroll in Holualoa town during the Kona Coffee Festival. Have you been there yet? It is so cool. The Art Village opens its doors, hearts and its road for strollers to stroll, lookers to look and tasters to taste.
There are so many strollers it reminds me of Greenwich Village in NY in its heyday with its art, food and coffee, (the coffee was never so good!). And this one is Free. What a great day to spend a Saturday morning or afternoon.
See you there, Tom
For more than 85 years the Royal Hawaiian Hotel on Waikiki has been Hawaii’s most famous luxury hotel and resort. Opened in 1927, the Royal Hawaiian features an opulent Moorish architectural style. Painted in a bright tropical pink hue, the Royal Hawaiian is often referred to as the “Pink Palace”. The lobby and corridors are stately and grand. The broad lanai looks onto the beautiful lush tropical garden. The luxurious rooms, with rates of up to $1,350 per night, provide views of Diamond Head and Waikiki Beach. This heritage resort is deservedly famous for offering the height of tropical luxury to visitors from throughout the world.
HOWEVER, when it comes to coffee provided for brewing in the guest rooms, the luxury is reduced by 90%. The coffee provided is a 10% blend masquerading as Kona Coffee. $1,000 or more per night, but the guests are provided with faux Kona Coffee. Why is this landmark to luxury not offering authentic Kona Coffee? Why is this heritage institution not supporting Kona’s coffee growers, the producers of Hawaii’s heritage agricultural product? We hope that the Royal Hawaiian will come to recognize true luxury and will proudly offer 100% Genuine Kona Coffee to its guests.
–Submitted by the Branding Committee

This article takes us through a history of facts and foibles about the effects of coffee on consumers. Beginning in the 1500’s coffee had a disreputable reputation that continued even in early studies. Once controlled studies applying scientific principles were developed, the results became much more encouraging. For almost everybody, coffee is a good thing. Follow this link to read the entire article: http://www.reviewjournal.com/life/health/2015-coffee-practically-health-food
–Submitted by Anita Kelleher
San Marzano is the name associated with Italian plum tomatoes of legendary quality. Your editor agrees that the San Marzano tomatoes can’t be beat for pasta and pizza sauces. In the European Union, tomatoes can be labeled San Marzano only if they meet the stringent criteria of a government-approved consortium. And yet, one must carefully inspect a tomato can label purporting to be San Marzano to verify it is the real thing. Check out this neat infographic to see how: The Mystery of San Marzano
–Submitted by Cecelia Smith
As a result of initiative shown by KCFA Board Member Christine Coleman, the Daniel R. Sayre Memorial Foundation’s 2015 Awards Dinner & Fundraiser will serve genuine Kona coffee.
The Kona-based Sayre Foundation raises funds to support the fire/emergency/rescue activities of the Hawaii County Fire Department and annually holds a dinner at which awards are presented to honor Fire Department personnel. This year’s dinner will be held September 5 at the Fairmont Orchid Resort. For information about the dinner, follow this link: http://tinyurl.com/q3832bs
When Christine Coleman became aware that the menu for the dinner listed “Royal Kona Blend Coffee”, she contacted the Foundation with an offer to donate coffee from her farm. She also suggested that offering Genuine Kona Coffee at the dinner would be a gesture that would build goodwill among Kona’s coffee farmer community—and something that would be appreciated by those at the dinner.
The Foundation was delighted with the suggestion and the donation. Buddha’s Cup 100% Kona coffee will be served at the 2015 dinner.
Many thanks to the Sayre Foundation. Many thanks to Christine.
–Submitted by the Branding Committee

Beauveria is a natural predator of coffee berry borer and part of normal biodiversity on some farms.
If there is an area in your orchard that is low on Beauveria you can possibly take an infected body of just a few of the coffee berry borer from an area where there is good population and put it in the area of your orchard that is lacking or a hot spot. It is my opinion that this could tie organic farmers over until a new Beauveria product is available for them.
Beauveria is a carnivorous fungus so it needs to complete its lifecycle in an insect body. When you see white at the flower end of the cherry during harvest you know the coffee berry borer has been infected and the fungus is getting ready to release spores and spread. It is a fungus that can continue its lifecycle in the soil or in the tree in humid areas. The conditions under which Beauveria persists is above 70% humidity, under 85° F, and protected from ultraviolet light as much as is possible. It is also a soil fungus and in drier areas, only a soil fungus, so you can see it is very challenged without soil protection.
Coffea species evolved as an understory forest tree. Often times if you have conditions in which a plant evolved they can be healthiest. You can increase humidity somewhat and keep temps and ultra-violet lower by having over story trees in and around your orchard. Ground covers and green manure can be very helpful with this and other biological diversity as well. The down side to this is that there is much data that show the coffee berry borer likes these conditions as well so you have to analyze which is right for you. If you already have humid conditions overstory might not be the best choice. (Who doesn’t have humidity with the weather this summer!)
Since sanitation is so important for control of the coffee berry borer one must be careful to remove all coffee beans during harvest. You only keep the white infected borer body in the orchard not the beans where there could be larvae of the coffee berry borer.
One method of relocating only the infected borer body is to squeeze out the beans and keep only the cherry skin that holds the infected white borer body of a few cherry, not the whole harvest. This skin can then be very carefully relocated to the area of your orchard that need Beauveria. When you place the infected coffee berry borer take care to select a spot that protects it from ultra-violet rays and heat so it does not dry out. Placing it inside of the tree canopy in an area that will catch air flow is helpful to disperse the spores. Using your spray equipment to just spray water, especially on the undersides of leaves, on a hot dry afternoon can be helpful to keep your Beauveria alive.
The EPA considers Beauveria a pesticide not a predator or biocontrol, so prohibits its transfer between farms for application to a food product unless it has a label.
Please participate in this discussion if you have something to add, by emailing here
–Opinion of and Submitted by: Kally Goschke
MEETING WITH JAMES CHANG:
On August 11 in Holualoa four members of the KCFA Legislative Committee members, along with KCFA President Tom Butler, met with US Senator Brian Schatz’s Washington-based Legislative Assistant James Chang. The Senator’s office had requested the meeting to discuss matters of interest to Kona’s coffee farmers.
In a wide-ranging discussion that lasted for more than an hour and a half, the following issues were reviewed: (1) the adverse economic effects for coffee farmers and the damage to the reputation of Kona coffee from 10% blends; (2) the need for more farmer-focused and practical advice from the millions of dollars in federal funds spent on CBB mitigation research in Hawaii: and (3) the need for building an effective marketing program for Kona and other Hawaii-grown coffees.
The KCFA very much appreciates the interest and attention of Sen. Schatz and James Chang to these issues.
–Submitted by the Legislative Committee

Michael’s Banana Coffee Muffins
Recipe courtesy of Paula Deen
Total Time:
45 min
Prep:
15 min
Cook:
30 min
Yield:12 servings
Level:Easy
Ingredients
1/3 cup melted butter
4 ripe bananas, smashed
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 tablespoons strong coffee
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch salt
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup chopped pecans, toasted or raw
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Grease a 12 cup capacity muffin tin or use paper liners.
With a wooden spoon, mix butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the sugar, egg, coffee and vanilla. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in. Add the flour, mix until it is just incorporated. Fold in the chopped pecans. Pour mixture into a prepared muffin tin. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes. Cool on a rack.
Recipe courtesy of Paula Deen Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/michaels-banana-coffee-muffins-recipe.print.html?oc=linkback
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.
