Coffees from the big island of Hawaii fill a special niche for roasters around the world. “Kona” is a term of designation that encompasses a large volcanic escarpment of fertile farmland on the island’s western coast, which is one of the island’s most populated regions and home to a rich indigenous political history, as well as some of its deepest modern commercial farming legacies. Growing elevations in Kona are low compared to almost any specialty in the world (equivalent to 500-800 meters). The region’s latitude, however, is uniquely high, roughly the same as Mexico City, making Kona one of the world’s northernmost tropical specialty landscapes. This unique confluence of global position, as well as other factors that the island offers in abundance, including soil fertility, proximity to the pacific, a supportive agricultural sector and custom arabica genetics, have earned Kona coffees a small but deeply devoted following. Greenwell Farms is a 100-acre estate that has been in existence since 1873. The Greenwell family’s presence on the big island goes back to 1850 when Henry Nicholas Greenwell first arrived from England. He spent the next 40 years developing and growing a coffee plantation, which in 1873 was granted a “Recognition Diploma” at the World’s Fair in Vienna, Austria. Tommy Greenwell, the great grandson of Henry, took over leadership in 1980 and currently manages the family plantation on the same original property. Greenwell Farms employs 150 staff during the 5 harvest months—a longer than typical harvest season for coffee, due to the cool climate and high latitude in Kona. Coffee seedings are usually grafted using robusta root stock and local typica cultivars, to strengthen the plant’s soil penetration and stability without sacrificing the genetics that Kona has become known for. Plants spend a full year in the nursery before being transplanted to the field; then, the first harvest is typically 3-4 years later. Coffee ripens in several waves over the prolonged harvest period, and is picked, depulped and fermented clean overnight in small batches. Finished dried parchment is dry-milled and prepped to Kona’s strict exportable grades: Extra Fancy is the island’s highest certified grade, which is sorted with a minimum screen size of 19 with the fewest imperfections and presents the sweetest, most expressive cups. Coffee from Kona is highly scarce, and Royal has had the privilege of buying coffee from the Greenwell family for over 25 years. It’s always a pleasure making their coffees available to the greater roasting world.
