Cultivation Philosophy
Nurturing the coffee tree is as much an art as replenishing the soil it grows in. Our nine farms are cared for by Ruben Tello and his immediate family. They live on the farms and have been involved in farming coffee for over a decade. They plant, pick, prune, and maintain our coffee on a very detailed schedule. Most coffee farms have to hire outside services to accomplish this but Ruben believes strongly in managing the process from start to finish.
Kona coffee is grown in a relatively small area, roughly one mile wide and only thirty miles long. The Kona growing area rests along the western slopes of the Hualalai and Mauna Loa volcanoes. Dr. Paulo is the only farmer with nine special farms located in the heart of coffee country in Captain Cook and Honaunau. In addition to excellent elevations (ranging from 700 to 2400 feet above sea level), we have nearly perfect soil, rainfall, and hours of sunshine and cloud cover. When we plant, we select seeds taken from the most productive coffee trees on the Ali’i Gardens Farm and nourished in our own germination beds and nursery. The plants are nurtured until they are at the perfect stage for planting on the farms. The cherry coffee beans begin to ripen near the end of May, and harvesting continues until early the following March.