We had such a fun tour of the Kona Coffee Plantation! It was fascinating to learn all that goes into brewing a cup of the world famous Kona Coffee. The first thing we noticed upon arriving at the plantation was the AMAZING aroma of the coffee roasting!!! We waited in the hut pictured below and sampled some coffee before our tour began. We all loved the coffee except for Faithy. Kona Coffee is particularly expensive because it is grown on the mountainside where the beans must be picked by hand.
Our journey started off through the beautiful rain forest. We learned all about the different types of plants, and we were able to see a few neat tunnels created by lava.
This is an organic farm so they use only natural fertilizer if you know what I mean! We were able to feed the donkeys, pigs, geese, and chickens.
Our tour guide gave Ethan the fruit of the coffee bean to hold. If you pop it open, you will find the two white halves of the coffee bean.
Next the coffee fruit is transported from one place to another using recycled water.
Below is a picture of the coffee skins after the bean has been removed.
Once the beans are removed from the fruit, they are placed in dryers or placed on the drying deck. The kids are helping rake the beans to help them dry faster.
Below is a picture of the fruit, fresh bean and dried bean.
Next, the beans are classified according to their size in the machine below. This determines the grade of the coffee. Larger beans are more desirable.
Faith is standing in a room with bags of dried and sorted coffee beans. The room is kept at a specific temperature and humidity to keep the beans fresh.
After drying, the beans are roasted for varying amounts of time. The longer the beans are roasted, the darker the roast. Dark roast beans are removed after the second crack, which you can hear when standing next to the machine.
Our tour guide captured a Jackson chameleon for a pet. Ella loved it!
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