Why Buy Certified 100% Kona Coffee?
August 29, 2019
A recent presentation given by the Hawaii Department of Agriculture, Quality Assurance Division (HDOA) at the Hawaii Coffee Association’s annual conference revealed the coffee certification and grading statistics for the 2018-2019 season. At Hawaiian Queen Coffee we have every single bean of our 100% Kona coffee independently certified for origin and grade (quality) by the Hawaii Department of Agriculture. This is a voluntary quality control procedure that many farms in Hawaii decline to participate in due to the stringent requirements.
The highest grade of 100% Kona coffee is Extra-Fancy. According to the report given by the HDOA, the Extra-Fancy crop was just 1% of the total coffee submitted for certification statewide during the 2018-2019 season. Our Hawaiian Queen Coffee farm certified 16.7% of our total crop as Extra-Fancy during the same period.
The second highest grade of 100% Kona coffee is Fancy. According to the report given by the HDOA, the Fancy crop was just 1.4% of the total coffee submitted for certification statewide during the 2018-2019 season. Our Hawaiian Queen Coffee farm certified 18.5% of our total crop as Fancy during the same period.
The third highest grade of 100% Kona coffee is No. 1 (misleading isn’t it?). According to the report given by the HDOA, the No. 1 crop was 10.5% of the total coffee submitted for certification statewide during the 2018-2019 season. Our Hawaiian Queen Coffee farm certified 17.4% of our total crop as No. 1 during the same period.
The lowest grade of 100% Kona coffee is Prime. According to the report given by the HDOA, the Prime crop was 69.5% of the total coffee submitted for certification statewide during the 2018-2019 season. Our Hawaiian Queen Coffee farm certified just 33.4% of our total crop as Prime during the same period.
Peaberry is a rare special grade of 100% Kona coffee. According to the report given by the HDOA, the Peaberry crop was just 0.8% of the total coffee submitted for certification statewide during the 2018-2019 season. Our Hawaiian Queen Coffee farm produced 4.5% of our total crop as Peaberry during the same period.
We have been able to achieve such quality coffee through rigorous sustainable farming practices and maintaining very high quality control standards. A large amount of the Hawaii coffee industry does not submit any coffee for certification. There are many farms that are accurately labeling the grade of their coffee although it is not being certified by the HDOA. There are also many other farms that are mislabeling and marketing their coffee as Extra-Fancy or Fancy although it only meets the standard for Prime.
Is the coffee you are drinking certified by the HDOA? Does it truly meet the standard for Extra-Fancy? Is the Peaberry independently inspected for quality control? Be careful of deceptive labeling! Drink our certified 100% Kona coffee and taste the difference in every cup!