Introduction and Ahhh-loha from Lyman Kona Coffee Farms 100% and Organic
Because much of any high quality product’s integrity rests with your trust in the producer, please allow me to introduce us to you.
I am Hans Eckert, retired from teaching college and, before Hawaii, have lived in Los Angeles County for the last 30 years (via Berlin, Germany). Since 1981, I spent much time on the Big Island, wishing I could live there. Before we bought the 8 acres of unimproved jungle in 2003, I spent 18 months studying Kona coffee through interviews, workshops, internships, and educational opportunities offered by the U. of Hawaii and the Kona Coffee Council. My wife Marsha and I started our farm “from scratch”, so that we could take the greatest advantage of laying it out for optimal efficiency and productivity. My passion is to produce consistently one of the finest coffees within the Kona Coffee Belt. I place far greater value on highest quality rather than highest yield. I really need to feel good about my product – and I do. There are about 800 Kona Coffee Farms, and most sell their coffee cherry to one of the large processors. Most 100% Kona Coffee comes from these large processors whose cherry comes from dozens of locations – high and low elevation, great or little care applied. This makes such coffee (honestly) “Generic” Kona, and far from all that Kona can be. We are one of only 50 or so “Certified Coffee Estates” (by both Kona Coffee Council and by Kona Coffee Farmers Association). This means Single Farm Origin Coffee, and that only one operator (I have no employees) controls the quality of all phases of production– “from seed to cup”. All Kona Coffee must be by law 100% Coffea Arabica species. We have 3200 “Kona Typica” variety trees on our 5 ½ acre coffee orchard, which we planted in April of 2004. Our 8 acre Farm (and BnB Inn www/MangoSunset.com) are located at 2100 feet in North Kona. We are one of only 40 “Certified Organic” Coffee Farms in all of Hawaii (out of 800m in Kona alone). We have two separate irrigation systems (rare in Kona), plus rain, so that we may deliver water to our trees when they need it.
Our farm and garden has always been totally free of poisons, pesticides and herbicides. We are 100% Certified Organic — only 40 out of 800 Coffee farms are. We use very strict quality control We pick only fully red cherry, by hand (I pay pickers extra to go slow only the ones that look like tomatoes you want to eat the same day). Our coffee cherry gets processed within hours after picking – in our own wet mill; we float all cherry, and skim off all ‘floaters” they are less-than-perfect and become compost; after mechanical demucilaging and being “floated” again, we still put our beans in a fermentation tank over night, and then skim off all floaters a third time. We sun-dry our coffee on our own 1600 square foot deck and rake it frequently. If the sun does not collaborate fully, I bring my coffee parchment to the ideal 10.5% moisture with my own (designed/built) coffee finish dryer (see article “Thinking Outside the Box” in ROAST Magazine, Fall 2011). Whereas most processors produce a pound of roasted coffee from about 6 to 6 ½ lbs of coffee cherry, here at Lyman Farms we need about 8 lbs we winnow out our selection at every step to improve the final result to perfection.
At about 10.5% moisture, we bag our coffee and store it in our own climate controlled (68 %, 68°) storage facility. We Dry- Mill (husk) our coffee at an Certified Organic dry mill. We pick it up as soon as we have the paperwork and store our greencoffee with our parchment. OUR GREEN COFFEE IS NEVER OLDER THAN 90 DAYS. Our parchment is always less than 12 months–but we “rest” it for 2-4 months before dry-milling. Our average yield per Season (August-July) is 32 thousand lbs. We roast all coffee ourselves – to order, usually twice a week. We won KCC Gold and Silver medals over 4 years in a row.
Others awards include several HCA Excellence Award, our label won the top award in ’09; we were honored with the “Collaborator of the Year 2008” Award by the Soils & Water Conservation folks (NRCS). We would very much welcome yourfurther contact and inquiries.
We named Lyman Kona Coffee Farms after David and Sarah Lyman, who arrived as invited missionaries from Boston in 1832. They founded and operated a school for 60 years, they taught in Hawaiian and built the first wood-frame house on the Big Island (now part of the “Lyman Museum” in Hilo). David and Sarah are my daughter Karen’s sixth generation grandparents. Marsha’s Great-Grandfather was born in the crib that is displayed in the Museum.
Mahalo Nui and A Hui Hou!
Dr. Hans F. Eckert 100% Certified Organic 73-4261 Mamalahoa Hwy.
Owner/Operator 100% Certified Estate Kailua-Kona, HI 96740
Lyman Kona Coffee Farms 100% Certified AHH-LOHA coffee@LymanKonaCoffee.com
Big Island of Hawaii, U.S.A. Ph 808-325-0909 Fax 325-0601