Hawaii is the only US state to produce its own coffee.

This is due to the specific growing requirements of the coffee plant, it is only successful in the ‘bean belt’ the area of land between the tropics of Capricorn and Cancer.

Kona coffee is the name given to the coffee cultivated on the slopes of Hualalai and Mauna Loa in the North and South Kona Districts on the larger island of Hawaii.

The coffee from this particular region, on the tiny island is some of the most expensive in the world.

The particular weather patterns of sunny mornings, cloud or rain in the afternoon and very little wind coupled with very mild nights is fantastic for producing quality coffee. The volcanic nature of the island means that the soil is porous and mineral rich which and very fertile, again, fantastic conditions for coffee plants.

Many tourists and coffee enthusiasts have purchased a bag of ‘Kona Coffee’ on their travels.

Until recently, the chances were very high that the bag of coffee labelled as the Kona blend contained no more than 10% of the actual named bean in the blend.

If the bag of beans was actually produced outside of Hawaii (the Kona beans are shipped all over the world) legally it only had to contain one single bean per pound of coffee!

Please beware of any such misleading labelling as ‘Kona Style’ ‘Kona Flavoured’ or ‘Aloha Kona’ as this would not actually require any authentic Kona beans to be included in the blend at all.

There has been recent scandal in the U.S with ‘Kona Kai’ coffee which contained no authentic Kona beans but was retailed at the staggering price that only the authentic blend deserves.

It has led to the Kona Coffee Council and the Hawaiian Coffee Association fighting to obtain a federal trademark on their Kona-grown coffee beans.

The state of Hawaii went on to certify authenticity and a programme that guarantees place of origin for all its labelled coffee to be that of Hawaii’s Kona coffee.

The debate is still continuing to determine whether any bag containing less than 100% Kona coffee beans must be clearly advertised as a ‘blend’ and not sold misleadingly.

Any blend with a minimum of 10% Kona beans must have clear weight and measures clearly visible on its packaging.

As a result, even the most conscientious of the coffee producers in Hawaii are listing weights and percentages of beans in their coffees and blends and Hawaii has now the strictest and most stringent set of rules and regulations to govern its coffee industry matched nowhere else in the world.