Did you know that coffee starts out as a cherry? A coffee cherry, that is. What we call the “coffee bean” is actually the seeds of the fruit of the coffee tree. The cherries grow in clusters along the tree branches and turn bright red when they’re ripe for harvest. Coffee is generally picked by hand.

Kona Coffee, the kind Rina grew on her farm, comes from only one place in the world -- the Kona district on the west side of Hawai'i Island (the Big Island). It’s grown mostly on small coffee farms like the one in Midnight Sea, many of them owned by the same families for generations. What makes Kona Coffee so special? It’s the unique combination of sunny mornings and misty afternoons plus the sheltered location and volcanic soil.

Coffee first came to the Hawaiian islands from Rio de Janeiro in about 1825 and made it to Kona by about 1828. They discovered that the unique climate of the Kona region was perfect for growing coffee and before long, Kona coffee’s distinctive flavor became world-famous. By 1866 it had captured the attention of none other than Mark Twain, who wrote in his Letters From Hawaii that “Kona coffee has a richer flavor than any other, be it grown where it may and call it by what name you please."