Ripening Kona Coffee Cherries, Hawaii Photo Print

"Ripening Kona Coffee Cherries at Greenwell Farms in Kealakekua, Hawaii" by Catherine Sherman. At Greenwell Farms, a cluster of ripe red coffee cherries hangs from a branch amid the coffee tree's shiny green leaves. Some cherries are at various stages of ripeness indicated by their transition from green to yellow to red. Greenwell Farms offers guided tours of its coffee farm and processing facilities and also has a store where you can buy their Kona coffee. Henry Nicholas Greenwell (9 January 1826 – 18 May 1891) was an English merchant credited with establishing Kona coffee as an internationally known brand. He started the farm in 1850. His family became major land-holders in the Kona District of the island of Hawaiʻi. The Greenwell Store is now a museum and historical center. Kona coffee is the market name for coffee (Coffea arabica) cultivated on the slopes of Hualalai and Mauna Loa in the North and South Kona Districts of the Big Island of Hawaii. It is one of the most expensive coffees in the world. Only coffee from the Kona Districts can be described as "Kona." The weather of sunny mornings, clouds or rain in the afternoon, little wind, and mild nights combined with porous, mineral-rich volcanic soil create favorable coffee-growing conditions. The loanword for coffee in the Hawaiian language is kope.