First Harvest 2024: A Complete Recap
Cultivating Community For More Than 26 Years
At Kona Coffee & Tea, we speak often about one of our main mottos, "Cultivating Community." Most days we do pretty well at our cafe doing just that. We have so many regular happy faces who've been coming for years (26 to be exact) to grab their cup of 100% Kona coffee each day and talk story on the bustling lanai. Our community has always been strong.
But once a year we really get to outdo ourselves. Once a year we get to open our gates to our coffee farm, high in the lush hills of Holualoa above our cafe. It is a very special place and it's so tough to put it into words. So once a year, we feel honored to welcome the public to our First Harvest event and really show you all what goes in to creating the coffee that fuels the bustling community of Kailua-Kona, Hawaii.
Our 10th Annual Event
This year was our 26th year in business and our 10th annual First Harvest event. What started as a tiny gathering of maybe 17 people, has grown into what transpired on Saturday...more than 100 friends, family, and guests arriving with big smiles, ready to pick.
More Than 300 Pounds Harvested!
This year was a huge success, with sunny skies and exactly 301 pounds of cherry picked by YOU! So what happens to the cherries our guests picked? Arturo, our Director of Farm Operations, will be processing this particular coffee harvest in a special way, different than our normal coffee. More on that in the coming months.
We met guests from Germany, Canada, Guatemala, some from California, Washington, Texas...each and every Hawaiian Island, and an entire community of local Kona faces, some new and some we've seen for years! After the picking contest, our hungry guests sat down to a delicious meal of Teri chicken, rice, and a tossed salad served by Chance and our crew of staff and volunteers.
We gave out 3-month Kona coffee subscription awards and other prizes for "youngest picker," "oldest picker," and even "best dressed" this year and more! We even hosted more than 20 little keiki.
A Moment Of Gratitude
We are grateful. To each and every guest who attended, we thank you. To our staff who created this event, specifically: Chance Punahele, Danny Jesser, Arturo Piedrahita, Chenoa Jesser, Marc Beauregard, Malia Bolton-Hind, The Boltons, and so many more Kona Coffee & Tea staff, we thank you. And to our volunteers, we couldn't have done it without you.
We invite you to visit our flagship cafe in Kailua-Kona. Come by and talk story! You are part of our community.
And now, what you all have been waiting for...the breathtaking photos, by Johnny Prehn!
