Growing Coffee
Coffee flowering
Coffee flowering
Coffee flowers occur several times throughout the year following the coffee season. This "Kona Snow" only lasts a few days before the flowers wilt and the cherries start to form.
Pollination
Coffee flowering
Bees, some from local bee farms but mostly wild pollinate the Coffee Flowers.
Ripening of the cherries
Once the flowers have wilted and fallen off, the green cherries slowly grow larger. As the season comes closer these will then yellow and then ripen into red "cherries" which are ready to be picked.
Coffee picking
Coffee picking on our farm and throughout Kona is done by hand. Rough volcanic terrain and trees that have coffee ripening at different times even on the same branch means that coffee pickers must hand pick the ripe and ready "Coffee Cherries."
Coffee pruning
At the close of the coffee season period pruning is necessary. Some of the uprights on the coffee trees are cut down and stacked in piles to be later chipped. If the trees are not pruned they will grow into long thin sticks with only a few leaves and coffee cherries as it's energy is put into just staying alive. It will take up to two years to harvest from pruned uprights so some will be left in place so there is coffee to harvest next season.
Pulling shoots
The pruned coffee trees will send out shoots that will grow into new uprights. These must be selected and those that are unwanted pulled off. Coffee trees do this often so even a branch too long in a horizontal position will send out new shoots.