Hawaii

Coffee was first brought to Hawaii by Samuel Ruggles in 1828.  In 1899 the coffee market crashed and landowners began to lease out their plantations as a matter of survival. 

Japanese workers (originally working on sugar cane plantations) stepped in and kept the plantations thriving and many of those families are still based there today.

Hawaii is best known for their Kona coffee - grown, of course, in the Kona district.  The volcanic soil, gentle sun, afternoon rains and cool evenings allow the cherries to ripen slowly.  They are harvested several times per year between January and August.