Typica, Wood Valley, Green Beans, Pahala, Ka`u

In 2007 Ka`u coffees placed in the top ten at a global cupping competition and is now considered one of the best coffees in the world. Ka`u beans are extremely labor-intensive to produce, needing to be handpicked from the mountain slopes. The high elevation, cool temperatures, and volcanic soil helps result in a harvest that takes nearly 10 months, which is much longer than that of other coffee growing regions. Ka’u coffee is grown on the southern slopes of the Mauna Loa volcano, 20 miles south of the neighboring Kona Coffee Belt.

Natural coffee cherries are dried with the seeds still inside until the drying time of approximately 2 weeks is complete. When the internal moisture content of the beans is between 9 to 12 percent by weight, the beans are dry. This moisture level is the global standard for all types of coffee.

Typica originated from Yemeni stock, taken first to Malabar, India, and later to Indonesia by the Dutch, and the Philippines by the Spanish. It later made its way to the West Indies to the French colony at Martinique. Typica has genetically evolved to produce new characteristics, often considered new varietals: Criollo (South America), Arabigo (Americas), Kona (Hawaii)