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 The Estate
Kaanapali Estate is located in the western side of the Island of Maui, the most beautiful island of Hawaii. The farm is originally a part of the Pioneer Mill sugar plantation, which diversified the land out of sugar cane into coffee in 1988. Pioneer Mill had been farming the land since 1860.
This is the only coffee farm on the Island of Maui, and, as far as we know, the only farm in the world growing the Mokka coffee variety commercially. The Mokka coffee is characterized by its very small and almost perfectly round-shaped coffee beans.
Growing and Processing
The entire estate is planted in a hedgerow style with the tree spacing 0.9 m apart in the rows and 3.7 m separating the rows. Rainfall is very scarce, just 800 mm/year, so the entire farm is drip irrigated, with the water coming from the West Maui Mountain streams feeding the 100-year-old ditch system formerly used by the sugar plantation.
 
This system allows for easy infield maintenance and efficient application of fertilizers through the drip system directly to the root zone. The over riding reason to plant the trees in hedgerows is to facilitate mechanized harvesting. Harvest is normally in the fall months extending into January. Picking can also be done by hand allowing for best selection of coffee cherries. Harvest can theoretically be done almost year round, but flowering begins usually in February where concentration on the next crop begins to be a priority. Harvesting during flowering will negatively affect the next harvest.
Kaanapali Estate coffee plantation
 The Mokka coffee variety
Mokka coffee makes a case against the belief that large beans mean a better cup, in the case of Mokka, it is hard to find a bean larger than a screen 14. The bean is round and is often mistaken for a peaberry. Upon closer examination one can notice the classic dicotyledonous flat side signifying two whole beans per cherry. The cup is smooth and wonderfully fused with different chocolate flavours and often times with good acidity.
Here are some of the characteristics of Kaanapali Estate:
Single Estate Name:
Owner:
Region:
Micro-region:
Altitude:
Total Rain per Year:
Processing Method:
Variety:
Drying Method:
Flowering Period:
Harvesting Period:
Other interesting information: |
Kaanapali Estate
James Falconer
Maui
Lahaina
30 metres above sea level. This is one of the northernmost coffee estates in the world situated very close to the tropic of Cancer. Its altitude is equivalent to 1000 metres above sea level in the Equator
800-1000 mm
Fully Washed and Natural
Mokka, a very rare variety characterized by its round shape and very small size
Rotary dryer
April-June
January-March
It is the only coffee plantation in the island of Maui.
Only commercial plantation in the world growing Mokka coffee variety, characterized by its very small and round-shaped beans. |
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