Lehuula Farms:
Direct Marketers of Estate-Grown Kona Coffee

By Patricia D. Sherman

Bob Nelson, who has owned Lehuula Farms coffee plantation on the Kona coast for more than 20 years, came to Hawaii by a roundabout route—through the Midwest and Alaska.

“Although I grew up on a farm in the Midwest, I could see there was no future there for the small farmer.” So he got a degree in wildlife biology from the University of Alaska and worked for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. In Alaska, he met his wife, Mae, an Eskimo.

He has been a full-time coffee farmer since 1994. “When I retired from a successful career in Alaska, I realized I would be too young to sit back and do nothing.  As an avid scuba diver, I had made many trips to Hawaii and felt that a second career in a warmer climate would be ideal. I also wanted to do something that would be challenging and keep me physically and mentally active.  A coffee farm in Hawaii perfectly fit that bill!” he says.

Lehuula Farms is at the 1,400 foot level on the westerly slope of Hualalai Mountain, in the center of the Kona Coffee Belt. “The deep volcanic soils combined with near perfect climatic conditions (sunshine, moisture, and etc) produce what many believe to be one of the best, if not the best, coffee in the world,” Nelson says. “On average, we produce between 11,000 and 12,000 pounds of cherry per acre annually from 4,000 coffee trees. We do not use any herbicides or pesticides on any of our producing coffee and much of our fertilizer comes from coffee skins or pulp.”

Coffee farming is like any other farming operation, he says. “It’s a true labor of love. If it is going to be done properly, it is going to be a lot of hard work. One does not have to be a rocket scientist to grow coffee; however, taking it up another notch requires a lot of diligence and perseverance.” Producing an excellent product, though, justifies the hard work. “It’s worth it when I hear back from customers exclaiming about the quality of our coffee and how much they enjoy it.”

One hundred percent Kona coffee from Lehuula Farms is sold directly to consumers by the Internet. Nelson sees this type of direct marketing from small farmers as an industry trend. “The American consumer likes having the ability of purchasing an estate grown product directly from the grower. However, diligent horticultural practices and proper processing are a must if farmers are to produce a high quality product. The best that coffee will ever be is just prior to harvesting. Nothing can be done to increase that quality; however, many things can happen between then and the brewing of that cup of coffee to adversely the quality”.

Visit www.lehuulafarms.com.

Patricia D. Sherman is the Editor of CoffeeAtlas.com.

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