A Coffee Lovers Paradise in Hawaii

A few weeks ago I sent out an email that included a little morning meditation on gratitude and thinking about where and how we receive the things that enrich our lives and all the steps it takes for these things to get there. Something I am particularly grateful for is Coffee, and not only coffee- but my husband who doesn’t miss a beat bringing me my morning coffee nearly everyday (he really is the best :)). Anyway, Since Coffee is something the majority of us know and love, I figured I would share a bit about this little slice of heaven nestled on the hillside of Big Island in Hawaii.

Truly heavenly and truly the best coffee

Here, on the Big Island, It’s fairly rural and very low key. On the Kona side, rain sweeps down the volcanos daily providing water to all of the lush jungle and coffee plants here. Heavenly Hawaiian is one of many coffee farms in Holualoa, but from my experience it’s one of the best. It came highly recommended from a diver and friend who is also a major coffee enthusiast.

While there are many coffee farms to visit I will say my experience here was the best. Heavenly Hawaiian is quiet and peaceful. From poolside coffee and chocolate, to farm cats, to lush plants everywhere, Heavenly Hawaiian is truly just that- heavenly.

Founded in 1994, it’s been growing and providing coffee to locals and tourists alike. I was recently lucky enough to strike up a conversation with the CEO Alex Hollis, who is a coffee expert with a background in Culinary arts.

“Coffee is not native to Hawaii Island or Hawaii at all, even though we grow coffee on 5 islands. Coffee is orignates from Africa and the Arabian Peninsula with particular ties to Ethiopia with its discovery dating back to somewhere around 800 A.D. Coffee spread to Yemen to the port of Mokka where it was then exported all over the world. Coffee did not arrive in Hawaii until the 1800's where it was brought in on 3 seperate occasions, but the trees did not take proper root in Hawaii until 1828 when they were planted in Kona.”

In speaking with Alex, she told me that Heavenly Hawaiian has partially shade grown coffee. Shade grown coffee is the most ethical and sustainable way of producing coffee. Being shade grown, it means that these coffee plants can exist healthily on the hill because of the rain that runs down the mountain.

“Because of this incredible environment, Kona provides the perfect ecosystem for coffee to flourish naturally. Because of our wind currents and the volcano that we are situated on, the we in the perfect place for coffee to grow,” Alex Says. The soil too is incredibly nutrient rich which not only creates healthy roots, but helps to stabilize them along the mountain to prevent erosion. The weather patterns have a huge part to play in the overall health of the coffee growth too.

Alex stated, “Because of our wind currents and the volcano that we are situated on, the we in the perfect place for coffee to grow. Basically, we get beautiful warm sunshine in the morning, but warm breezes bring warm air up the mountain from the western side, and they mix together with the cold trade winds coming in from the eastern side of the island. When this happens, the warm and cold air mix to create clouds that come over and cover Kona in clouds and provide both shade and rain for our coffee trees. So we have both natural shade and natural irrigation for our coffee trees”.

Alex’s expertise in coffee requires the farm to be aware of the weather. Since the weather is so perfectly situated for coffee growth, it creates an environment that lessens the reliance on irrigation systems and chemicals that might be required in a non-shade grown coffee plant.

The most amazing thing to me is that nearly 70% of the world’s coffee is grown by small farms, but only about 24% of coffee is shade grown. That means 50% of the coffee on the market has likely been unethically harvested. Nearly 120 MILLION people rely on coffee to power them through their day, so it’s important to consider where it might be coming from.

Heavenly Hawaiian is just a small but mighty example of how to utilize the natural environment to sustain a precious (let’s be honest they are TRULY precious goods haha) crop while maintaining the integrity of the ecosystem on the mountain side.

Finally, Heavenly Hawaiian has incredible volunteering opportunities where you can stay at the farm for 3 months and learn the art of growing coffee! The work stay program provides the opportunity to learn everything from the agricultural aspects to the customer service aspects all while living and learning on the island with people from all around the world. Sounds like a coffee lovers dream to me!