What is the History of Kona Coffee, A Content Website

In 1828, coffee (Coffea arabica L.) was spread from Oahu Island to the district of Kona and the city of Hilo on Hawaii Island or the big Island. Between these two areas, coffee grew exceptionally well in Kona, but only satisfactory in Hilo. Coffee was introduced from Hawaiian Chief Boki's garden in Manoa Valley on the island of Oahu to the town of Captain Cook (formerly Naole) into district of Kona by Reverend Samuel Ruggles who lived above Kealakekua Bay.

By the 1840s, a Coffea Arabica L. strain of Guatemalan coffee was thriving in the upland on the Kona coast. The ideal climate and soil produced coffee beans with a unique flavor. Mariners arriving on trading and whaling ships were a ready market for Kona coffee. Coffee was an important crop in the late 1800, but by 1899, the world coffee market collapsed causing a shift from large plantation type operations to small family operations, which were about 5 to 12 acres in size. During the 1850s, labor shortages, droughts and coffee pests caused a shift to sugar production. The only farms that survived were those in Kona and the District of Hamakaua on the big island. In the 1860s, the whaling industry collapsed causing a major consumer of coffee to disappear.

However, in the 1890s, the rise in the world coffee market prices spurred Americans and Europeans to establish large plantations in Kona. By 1898, 3 million trees were planted on 3,000 acres of prime land. A year later in 1899, the oversupply of coffee on the world market causes prices to go downward and a shift to the more profitable sugar production. During the early 1900s, plantation owners began to subdivide their land into 5 to 15 acre parcels and leased the land to immigrants that were hired to work on sugar plantations.

From 1914 to 1928, the army purchased coffee to sustain troops during World War I pushing world market prices upward. After the war, the Great Depression of the 1930s causes the world market prices to drop. With the advent of World War II in the 1940s, coffee prices once again soared. In the 1950s, the Korean War generated other forms of employment, namely construction, civil service, military surplus and tourism and this resulted in the movement of coffee laborer from the fields to the newer opportunities.

In 1958, the Kona coffee farmers took a significant step at a time when the coffee prices were high. They established the Pacific Coffee Cooperative and Sunset Coffee Cooperative and built 12 mills in order to gain control of production, prices and profits. Prior to these cooperatives, the Cook Coffee Company and American Factors, in Captain Cook had control the Kona market. Additionally, 3,000 acres of coffee were planted. By 1959, the coffee production declined.

In 1969, a market for specialty coffee developed and Kona coffee had a reputation as one of the finest gourmet coffees in the world and even though the Kona Coffee name grew in popularity, the number of acres in production declined to 1,200 acres and farms dropped to 500. In 1998, the State of Hawaii passed a law making it illegal to label coffee as Kona Coffee that were not grown in the Kona Coffee Belt. As a result, the Kona coffee area increased by 3,000 acres. This law allowed only Kona Coffee growers to label their coffee as 100% pure Kona coffee improving their reputation. Furthermore, coffee estates sell directly to customers can ensure the same quality time after time.

From August to January, Kona coffee farmers use a labor intensive method of harvesting coffee beans by hand. Only the ripest red mature cherries are hand picked. The wet method is used during the pulping process to better preserve the coffee beans and its aroma. Berries are soaked in rainwater over night. Subsequently, the beans are separated from the skin and pulp, fermented with care, washed, spread out on wooden decks and raked several times a day to dry evenly in the sun and wind. Prior to roasting, the parchment (outer membrane) and silver skin (inner membrane) of the dried beans are hulled to reduce the overall effects of bacteria, molds, yeast and oxidation on the bean surface to expose the inner green beans.

The following information should be used as a resource for setting up a coffee orchard in the Kona coffee belt on the big island. Although more recent refinements after 1954 for growing Kona coffee have been developed by independent growers. These techniques will not be reviewed here.

ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS

Location:

In order to produce one of the worlds' best tasting gourmet Hawaiian coffee, which deserves the Kona Coffee Stamp, your orchard needs to be established in the upland Kona coffee belt above the coast. Within the belt, which extends from Palani Junction in Kailua-Kona to the intersection of Puuhonua Road and Holualoa Road, there exist the best climatic and environmental conditions for growing your own gourmet coffee. Below this belt from sea level to about 800 to 1000 feet elevation, the low rainfall and high sunlight causes coffee to grow poorly when grown in the open and without artificial irrigation. Above the 2,200 feet level, the relative lack of sunshine and the excessive amounts of annual rainfall will have a negative effect on coffee production.

Because there is considerable variation in the environmental and weather factors within the Kona coffee belt, locating the best location for establishing a coffee orchard may be to use common guava (Psidium guajava L.) as an indicator plant. Common guava, which was a common fruit in the Kona coffee belt, is considered to have similar environmental requirements that coffee trees possess. Wherever common guava grows profusely in an open area and produces a large crop of juicy fruits, this can be used as an indication that the land is suitable for establishing a Kona coffee orchard. However; today (2009) common guava does not grow as profusely as it did in the past. It is mainly confined to roadsides where rainwater runoff artificially supplies these plants with proper soil moisture. Nevertheless, use of the appropriate pruning methods and fertilization should produces high yielding trees and high quality coffee at different elevation within the Kona coffee belt.

Weather

In the Kona coffee belt, there exists the right combination of proper cloud cover, air circulation, temperature, wind, rainfall, soil, and light intensity that is essential for producing high quality coffee cherries in large numbers. Cloud cover during the hottest times of the days of the summer months allows for growing coffee trees with maturing a crop in the open, thus eliminating the need for artificial shade. Coffee orchards grown in the belt occur on the slopes of two large massive volcanoes, Hualalai (8,251 feet) and Mauna Kea (13,675 feet). These mountains are sufficiently high enough to deflect the normal trade winds which prevail from the Northeast and the weather on the other side of the island in the Kona coffee belt, which is not affected by the normal trade wind flow , is mild and fair.

On the windward (northeast) side of the Hawaii Island the months of November to March are the wettest months of the year and the summer months are dry. Conversely, in the Kona coffee belt, the months of November to March are relative dry and this period coincides with the coffee harvesting period. Rain begins falling in March or April and continues to September or October and this rainy period is essential for stimulating blooming, crop development, and vegetative growth of the coffee plants. The favorable weather for growing Kona coffee is due to the air circulation which results from the differential rates of warming and cooling of the sea and the land. It is during the summer months that thick clouds form almost daily providing vital shade for the maturing coffee crop. Except for the occasional Kona (south wind) storm, the daily movement of the land-sea breeze is quiet and pleasant. In the morning, as the mountains are heated by the sun, the land heats up the surrounding air causing it to rise. The rising warm air pulls in the cooler moist air over the ocean, which has a surface temperature cooler than that of the land. As the warm moist air rises, it cools and condenses to form clouds at the temperature inversion layer at about 2,500 feet elevation from 10:00 am to noon just above the Kona coffee belt and spreads up slope and seaward. Rain falls at 2,500 feet elevation generally throughout the afternoon. During the afternoon, the mountain slopes begin to cool more rapidly than the ocean surface and the warmer sea air rises pulling the cooler air surrounding the land out to sea and this mark the end of the rain. At night the warmer sea air continues to pull on the air above the land and the clouds dissipate by morning. Although the Kona coffee belt is narrow, weather conditions vary considerably within the belt. At the upper edge, the sunshine is minimal and the soil moisture maximal. This type of conditions causes coffee plants to develop excessive vegetative growth requiring frequent pruning. At the lower edge, the sunshine is maximal and the soil moisture minimal. Dieback of the coffee trees occurs during the dry period. Spacing of the plants and pruning method should favor shading to reduce soil moisture evaporation. In addition, in some areas the distribution of the annual rainfall causes coffee to increase in vegetative growth with more than one period of profuse blooming and fruiting. The ideal location is in the center of the belt.

Temperature

Coffee trees grow best in average daily temperatures ranging from 65 to 85 degrees and an average annual temperature of 70 degrees Fahrenheit, but can tolerate occasional temperature extremes of near freezing and 90 degrees.

Rainfall

Although coffee trees require a certain amount of soil moisture to grow optimally, the amount of rainfall required is dependent on the depth at which the tree roots penetrate and soil texture, which determines its water holding capacity. For example, fine grain soil hold water much better than sandy soil, which is composed of large soil particles. Rainfall at sea level below the Kona coffee belt ranges from 20 to 30 inches per year. At 2,500 feet elevation, the rainfall is about 100 inches per year. From 2,500 feet the rainfall decreases rapidly to less than 30 inches per year at the 5,000 feet level. Coffee production is possible with the range of 30 to 100 inches per year. Within the coffee belt the rainfall ranges from 40 to 70 inches per year. In the Kona Belt, the ideal rainfall for growing Kona coffee ranges from 50 and 100 inches per year. Coffee can also be grown in areas with higher rainfall ranging from 250 - 300 inches per year, however: the soils must have good drainage. Additionally, heavy fertilization is required and cloudy conditions limit the amount of sunlight. However, more important than the amount of rainfall per year is the rainfall distribution throughout the year. In order for coffee trees to bloom profusely, one or two months of dry weather during the winter months is required. In areas with more than one adequate dry period, flowering is light and intermittent throughout the year. This causes an increase in harvesting costs when compared with coffee production that involves a single harvest per year as is the case in the Kona belt.

Soils

Hawaii Island or the big island is the youngest of the Hawaiian Islands. This island is sufficiently young that the effects of weathering is relatively absent in Kona. The soils in Kona can be grouped into three classes based on how they were formed. Ash has a fine uniform texture and is brownish-yellow in color. This soil can be classified as heavy clay based on particle size, but its structure is loose and open. Soil composed of ash absorbs moisture readily and retains it without forming puddles except in the very wet areas above the Kona coffee belt. This soil is remarkably permeable and a deep ash mantle with a slope of 25 degrees erodes very little. Scoria is material formed on the surface of an a'a lava flow. The material is clinker like, which are hard black particles several inches wide to fine powder. Flow rock is made up of angular blocks that develop when the continuous surface of a pahoehoe flow cracks naturally. These angular blocks show no visible signs of erosion and if classified as soil, it is done so by convenience.

In the 1930s, ash soils with their underlying substrate, a'a or pahoehoe lava flows, were arbitrary classified into 6 classes of soils.

Areas within the Kona coffee belt with deep ash soils, which are 18 inches or deeper, are the most prized locations. This type of soil is fertile and allows for deep root penetration. The type of underlying substrate, whether it is a'a or pahoehoe is of no known consequence.

Medium ash soils, which are 3 to 18 inches deep, that overly the scoria on the top surface of a'a flows are called scoriaceous ash. This type of soil has excellent drainage and allows for deep root penetration. Fertility is reduced wherever the scoria is close to the ash surface. When pahoehoe is the underlying substrate, the soil is referred to as pure ash soil. This substrate does not protrude through the ash layer, but where the ash layer is thin, coffee plants grow poorly because of lack of good drainage.

Thin ash soils, which are less than 3 inches in dept on top of a'a flows, were referred to as ashy scoria. The surface of this type of soil is not uniform, and the surface contained fine scoria and ash to course scoria to massive outcrops. Despite the variation in surfaces, these soils were regarded as excellent. On pahoehoe flows, the thin ash covering collects in pockets and are referred to as pockety ash soil. This type of soil accounts for about 40% of the usable surface and is excellent soil only where the pockets are deep. The remaining 60% is exposed pahoehoe lava.

Ashless soils refer to either an a'a or pahoehoe flow without a layer of ash on its surface. A'a flows are referred to as scoria soils. Although this type of soil appears to be fertile due to the profuse growth of native vegetation, the rough jagged surface made it physically too difficult to manipulate the soil. A pahoehoe flow was referred to as flow rock. Trees were planted in naturally formed cracks. Holes were artificially made by blasting the rock. By 1932, many of the bare rock planting of coffee on pahoehoe flows were abandoned in Holualoa. When compared with trees grown in ash soils, those grown in pahoehoe soils grew more irregularly, more dieback occurred during the dry spell after the first good crop, and at lower elevations the dry weather had a drying effects on the trees. The yields are light and heavy with each crop cycle. Good yields can only be obtained with heavy fertilization.

Wind

Coffee trees should be grown in areas where the wind in not strong and constant. Choosing to grow coffee trees in constant wind, such as on the windward side of the island, requires protecting the trees with a strong wind break or establishing a farm in wind protected gullies or valley bottoms.

Strain Selection

Once an area has been identified as suitable for planting coffee in the Kona coffee Belt, using the right variety of coffee seeds is crucial. In the 1950's Kona coffee farmers recognized two strains of coffee. The Brazilian stain, which was referred to as Hawaiian coffee, is to be avoided. The Guatemalan strain, also known as the American coffee, is considered superior to the Hawaiian strain.

Preparing Seeds

The ripest cherries from the Guatemalan strain should be pulped within a few hours of harvest, fermented overnight in water, and washed in clean water. All malformed seeds that floated in water were discarded. For the best germination rate, seed should be planted immediately or dried in shade for 10 days before shipment to a distant location.

Seedling Beds

A single layer of seeds are spread out in seed beds or flats, covered with soil, exposed to direct sunlight, and kept moist constantly. Germination occurs in 60 days at rates of 70 to 80 %. Within 70 days, seedlings with emerged cotyledons (first leaves) can be transferred to the nursery at the start of the rainy season so that when the seedlings are ready to be planted a year later, it will coincide with the next year's rainy season. Also, plants may be transferred after 100 days when the cotyledons are fully opened and hardened, or after four to six months when a few pairs of leaves have developed. Water soluble orchid fertilizer was applied according to its directions every two weeks to plants left in the seedling bed after the cotyledon stage. It would be best to keep the seedlings in the beds or flats for the longest duration unless overcrowding becomes a problem.

Nursery

A plowed and harrowed nursery contains furrows that are 5 inches deep and 3 feet apart. Fertilizer 10-15-10 high in phosphate is applied to the bottom of the furrow, each furrow is covered with soil and the field is leveled. Pegs attached to draw strings are used to mark the bands of fertilizer. In the nursery, seedlings are planted directly over the band of fertilizer and typically spaced in rows that are 3 feet apart and 10 inches apart within rows. A nursery one acre in size can accommodate 17, 425 seedlings. Another spacing used in the past was 18 inches to 2 feet between plants. If limited nursery space is a consideration, spacing of up to 2 feet between rows and 10 inches within rows is acceptable. All unhealthy and dying plants should be removed. Nursery plants should be watered heavily prior to transplanting. Transplanting seedlings from seed beds or flats to the nursery required moving the seedlings in wet burlap bags to protect the root hairs from drying and transferring them into moist nursery soil. After about a year, the trees are about 15 to 18 months old and are ready for transplanting to the orchard. The plants should be about 2 feet tall and bushy. Pruning the roots 2-4 months before transplanting keeps the roots close to the tree trunk. Many growers in the past considered that 2 year old nursery plants were ideal for transplanting because these plants can withstand transplanting better than 1 year old plants. Also, growers were careful to raise nursery seedling in the same locality as the orchard.

Orchard

Transplanting of nursery plants to the orchard should be done during the months of May, June, and July. During May, thick clouds that shade the trees and daily rain are usually present to support the young trees. Planting after July may be risky because the growing period may be too short before the dry season begins in November. A coffee orchard should be cleared just prior to transferring plants from the nursery. Spacing of the trees has a direct effect on coffee production. Crowed trees, which do not receive sufficient sunlight for proper growth, develop unproductive, flimsy, elongated vertical stems that grow tall in order to reach the sunlight and shade the rest of the tree. To keep the tree productive, these verticals must be removed. Proper spacing allows the tree to spread out and develop verticals that are shorter, sturdier, and prolific. In contrast, spacing that is too wide, allow for more weeds to develop unless the orchard occurs in a cloudy area. Around the 1880s, most of the coffee orchards were established below the 1,500 feet elevation and the spacing of 6 by 6 feet to 7 by 8 feet was proper for coffee cultivation at a time when commercial fertilizers were not available. During the 1910s and 1920s, the heavy use of fertilizers and extension of coffee orchards into the higher elevations resulted in crowing of the trees. By the 1930, spacing of 8 by 9 to 9 by 10 feet was deemed more appropriate at 1,500 feet and 10 by 12 at the 2,000 feet elevation. In very dry sections, 7 by 8 spacing is necessary to crowd the trees to reduce evaporation of moisture from the soil. For most localities a 9 by 9 feet or 8 by 10 feet arrangement is considered ideal.

Holes are dug large enough to accommodate all of the roots and slightly deeper than needed for the roots. Hole sizes can range from 1 to 2 cubic feet. Rather than cutting roots to fit the plant base into the hole, it is preferable to dig up more soil for extra long roots. At the bottom of the hole, high phosphate fertilizer is added and covered with one-half inch of soil. When digging up the nursery plants, one of several methods can be employed. Water should be sprinkled on the roots to protect the fine feeder roots if the soil is dry and although the soil can be removed, all roots should be held in wet burlap, and all work should be done during cloudy weather. Another method is to water the nursery bed amply and dig out the plants with a ball of soil clinging to the roots. A third method is to fertilize one month prior to transplanting. Lastly, Root pruning can be done by cutting all roots with a sharp spade 4 - 6 inches away from the base of each plant eight to ten months or as late as 1 month prior to transplanting. Injuring the roots causes these roots to produce side roots, thus, increasing the number of roots many fold. Plants are usually set in the hole so that the top of the plant base is slightly higher than the soil surface. The method used to set plants into the hole depends at which elevation the orchard exists. The topping system of pruning is used for orchards at 1800 feet elevation or higher where the weather is cloudy. The tree is placed into the hole in an upright manner and the lower lateral terminal shoots are trimmed. Below 1800 feet elevation, the multiple vertical system of pruning is used to produce several upright trunks as quickly as possible. To do this the plant is set into the hole at a 45 degree slant. This stimulates the production of vertical shoots and three to five verticals are allowed to develop. A less popular method was to cap the plant by remove the upper one-third to one-half of the main upright of the plant but allowing several leafy laterals lower down on the main upright. During the first year, a handful of high phosphate fertilizer (10-10-5) should be added to the base of each tree. After flowering during the second year, regular coffee fertilizer should be used.

The coffee plant developing from a seed has a single vertical (upright, stem, or shoot). As the seedling develops, two leaves with one on the opposite side of the other appear at each node of the vertical. In the axil of each leaf, two axillary buds develop. These buds develop into laterals (lateral branches) and are referred to as primary laterals. Once a primary lateral is destroyed, a new one will not replace it at the same node. Instead adventitious buds will develop in the axil of leaves occurring below the destroyed lateral. Throughout the life of the first vertical, adventitious buds can emerge at any time from the axil of leaves. Stumps have been known to continuously produce adventitious buds for over 50 years. The buds in the axil of the leaves on the primary laterals develop into secondary laterals, which in turn, produce tertiary laterals in a similar manner. All of the laterals (secondary, tertiary, etc.), which develop on the primary lateral, are referred to as sub-laterals.

In the early stages of growth of an upright vertical, buds that give rise to new vertical growth are inhibited by the terminal bud until this bud ceases growth. When this happens, buds closest to the bottom develop more rapidly than those near the top. If, however; the terminal bud is removed before the bud ceases growing, the opposite happens. Buds develop more quickly at the top of the vertical than at the bottom. In contrast, when an upright vertical eventually bends to an angle of 40 degrees or more, due to the weight of three successive crops, the terminal bud cease growth and no longer inhibits the development of lateral buds and these buds begin to develop. Buds develop more quickly on the portion of the bent vertical that is between the base and the top of the arch. Those buds that occur between the arch and the downward sloping tip develop more slowly. Pruning, girdling, notching, or bruising the surface of the vertical or pinching off the terminal bud will break the inhibitory effect of the terminal bud allowing vertical buds to develop.

The apical bud of a primary lateral inhibits development of secondary lateral buds until the primary bud ceases growth. When this happens, the buds on the primary lateral closest to the base will develop more quickly than those that are further up. If the terminal bud of the primary lateral is removed before growth ceases, the secondary buds nearest the terminal bud will develop more vigorously than those buds lower down.

Flower buds, which are produced in the axil of leaves on sub-laterals, develop during the following crop cycle. Proper pruning of a tree allow for the development of crop size that will not put excess stress on the tree and yet produce a good yield.

The objective in pruning coffee trees within the Kona coffee belt is to retain the basal portion of the tree or main trunk as a permanent structure, remove unproductive vertical stems, and favor vertical shoots that will be productive in the coming crop. Pruning is done during the %u2026 months when the tree is dormant. Coffee trees that have not been pruned grow into 15-20 feet tall trees. Realistically, the objective of the grower is to remove unproductive stems and save the productive stems which contribute toward the next crop, thus a grower will use the system that works best at the elevation where the coffee trees are grown. Proper pruning reduces excessive growth, which can weaken a healthy tree and shading of the growing verticals and sub-laterals, which can cause them to grow into flimsy elongated structures instead of strong sturdy ones with nodes that are closer together. In the Kona coffee belt, trees are pruned by using a topped or untopped system.

Untopped System

The secondary vertical system (Holualoa System) is the least drastic of the pruning operations. The main frame work of the tree consists of a main trunk at the base which gives rise to several sturdy primary vertical stems, which spread outward at an angle like that of a small tree. If a primary vertical stem becomes unproductive, it is pruned at about 2 feet away from the main trunk. A new primary vertical will develop on the cut stump, gradually thicken, and bend outwards to replace the previously unproductive primary vertical stem. Trees pruned in this manner form a loose interlocking canopy in an orchard resembling a closed forest. A primary vertical stem, which make up a part of the canopy, produces new growth in the form of short stocky secondary verticals at the top of the tree. The short stocky secondary verticals each produce primary laterals, which will bear fruit. All unproductive secondary verticals are removed just above a newly developing secondary vertical, which will replace the unproductive secondary vertical and produce fruit. This system was practiced almost exclusively in the lower side of the Kona coffee belt. Because the weather conditions are drier, this pruning methods provides shade for the soil, limits shoot production to the upper parts of the tree, and produces a sturdy tree that is more drought resistant than trees that are judiciously pruned. Although these trees are the least productive in the belt and more difficult to pick and prune due to the tallness of the trees, weeding and fertilizer use is moderate.

The multiple vertical system (Captain Cook or primary vertical system) involves reducing the coffee tree to a 2 to 3 foot permanent main trunk or stump with new verticals that are each removed every 2 to 4 years. Ideally, within the first year when a young vertical develops at the base of a one or three year old vertical, it is allowed to develop reaching a height of 4 to 6 feet by the end of the crop cycle. Although the new vertical produces only primary laterals and does not produce any fruit, it becomes a replacement vertical for the now fruit producing 2 or 4 year old vertical, which is removed. During the second year, the replacement vertical with developed year 1 primary laterals yields a good crop of relatively large fruit and increases in length by 2 feet in vegetative growth at the tip with year 2 primary laterals. During the third year, year 1 primary laterals on the replacement lateral produces a great amount of secondary laterals (two laterals arising from the base of a year 1 leaf), year 2 primary laterals yield a heavy crop of relatively large size fruit, and limited tip growth occurs. Within the fourth year, secondary laterals borne on year 1 primary laterals produces a heavy crop of relatively small fruit, year 2 primary laterals develop secondary laterals without fruit, year 3 verticals possess laterals, and the tip growth of the replacement vertical is slowed and bears a few year 4 verticals. Two to 4 year old verticals and unwanted newly developing verticals are removed once a year. An old vertical is pruned at the top of the arching base where it is truly vertical in orientation. An Under field conditions, however; this system rarely works as described above. During drier weather, dieback of the verticals may occur. More often verticals do not appear at the proper time. Ideal weather, proper care, and heavy fertilization are necessary for the proper development of verticals. The multiple vertical system was used mainly along the central elevation of the Kona Coffee belt, but was used also at the upper portion of the belt. The judicious amount of pruning required for this system precluded its use in the dryer areas of the belt.

The tall vertical system requires that two or three sturdy upright verticals arising from a low stump are kept until each of the verticals is no longer productive. This system is similar the multiple vertical system, except that the number of verticals allowed to develop is fewer and these verticals are allowed to remain on the tree for a greater number of years. Typically, verticals can be productive for up to 8 years as long as all newly developing verticals at the base of the tree are consistently removed. By the third year, the verticals bear many sub-laterals giving the vertical a bushy appearance. New verticals are allowed to develop close to the ground as replacement verticals for unproductive ones. An unproductive vertical is pruned at the top of the arching base arising from a stump where it is truly vertical in orientation. An alternative to removing an old vertical would be to cut off the unproductive upper portion at a height of 6 to 8 feet keeping the lower productive portion for 1 or 2 years longer. Occasionally, when a flimsy vertical develops, after the third year when the weight of the berries at the upper portion of the vertical of each successive crop causes the vertical to eventually bend toward horizontal, it becomes unproductive due to the lack of new tip growth. These verticals are then removed from the trees. The bending of the verticals will be discussed in the leaning vertical system. This system is most commonly used in the upper half of the Kona coffee belt from 1,500 to 2,000 feet. At this area in the belt, the trees receive proper shading from the sun and enough moisture to limit dieback and generate vigorous growth. The disadvantages of this method are that ladders are required for harvesting coffee beans and more gradual ripening of the berries.

The leaning vertical system (Honaunau system), as mentioned above, resembles the tall vertical system except that the verticals bend toward the horizontal. The tree consists of a low stump with one to three verticals. Verticals are kept on the tree for as long as 8 years or as long as the vertical is productive. A year before removing a vertical, a newly developing vertical is allowed to grow at the base of the vertical that will be replaced. Pruning a single vertical can produce up to 20 lbs of berries by the third year often causing the vertical to bend. As the crop is removed, the vertical returns close to its previous position, but is slightly bent. After repeated crops, the vertical eventually bends to a horizontal position. By this time, the vertical can attain a height of 12 to 15 feet. Once a vertical is bent to a horizontal position, buds on the tip of the vertical stop growing. The bending of the vertical causes the laterals to droop downward on the upper side of the horizontal vertical. The sub-laterals or all secondary, tertiary and etc. laterals on the drooping laterals produce berries, usually of relatively small size. Newly developing verticals are removed at frequent intervals during a crop cycle to ensure that the vertical remains vigorous. Pruning of the laterals causes the development of productive shoots. Leaning verticals are easily pruned and cherries are easily picked without the use of ladders. The disadvantage of his system is that the cherries produced by the laterals are relative small.

The topping system involves two different methods. In the first method, the apical bud of a young coffee tree is pinched off at the height of 6 to 8 feet. The second method requires that the top of the tree is cut after the second crop at the apical side of a node at the height of 6 to 8 feet. The main structure of the young coffee tree consists of one vertical, which serves as the trunk, and rapidly developing primary laterals. After the harvesting of two or three crops, the primary laterals are 4 to 5 feet long, and terminal growth is much reduced. The primary laterals are then pruned at 1 to 2 feet from the main stem or at least close to a good strong developing secondary lateral. On the primary laterals, crop producing secondary laterals develop on the upper surface in profusion. Sub-laterals, which are all laterals (secondary, tertiary, etc.) except for the primary lateral, are removed within 6 inches of the main trunk in order to provide space for air movement. In addition, secondary laterals are thinned at two to three month intervals such that only those which extend outward are kept and those that extend toward lower branches and would eventually shade them are removed. Every three or four years, sub-laterals, which are no longer productive, are entirely removed from the primary laterals. Verticals arising from the trunk are removed at intervals. The heaviest pruning is done at the end of the crop cycle. In practice, most growers removed unproductive wood. Some growers heavily pruned their trees every five to six years. Although the next year's crop was much reduced, the subsequent five or six years will produce fruit of higher yield and quality. Allowing too much wood to develop will cause succeeding crops to produce fruit of lower quality and quantity. If the tree losses vigor or a taller tree is desired, then a new vertical is allowed to develop to replace the original vertical. The topping method was used primarily at the 1,500 foot elevation, but by 1935 it was practiced mainly in the upper wet locations.