Kona Rainforest Farms sits as a beacon for sustainable organic coffee farming. Producing their own organic fertilizer for the lack of sustainable alternatives, they now produce their fertilizer for a multitude of organic farms throughout the state.  Newly planted acres of exciting varieties such as SL-28, K7 and Red Bourbon and their off-grid solar mill present a bright and exciting future for KRF. Each step of resourcefulness sets a new standard for the industry. Partnering with Kona Rainforest Farms, we get the chance to partner with a farm that leads organic coffee farming into a new era.

SL34

SL34 was originally selected in Kenya the late 1930s at the Scott Agricultural Laboratories. Individual tree selections made at the Scott Laboratories in Kenya during the 1935-1939 period were prefixed “SL.” SL34 was selected from a single tree on the Loresho Estate in Kabete, Kenya since research at the Scott Laboratories was often conducted in cooperation with local, private estate owners. The tree was labeled “French Mission.” 

French missionaries known as Spiritans established a mission in 1893 at Bura (Taita Hills, Kenya), in which Bourbon coffee seeds originating from La Réunion island were planted. The seedlings from Bura were brought to another French Mission in Saint Austin (near Nairobi) in 1899, and from there seeds were distributed to settlers willing to grow coffee. This is the origin of so-called French Mission coffee. 

Red Bourbon

French missionaries introduced Bourbon from Yemen to Bourbon Island (now La Réunion)—giving it the name it has today—in the early 1700s. Until the mid-19th century, Bourbon did not leave the island. But beginning in the mid-1800s, the variety spread to new parts of the world as the missionaries moved to establish footholds in Africa and the Americas.

Producers Name: Dawn Barnes & Managers Lit and Jessie

Farm Name: Kona Rainforest Farms

Location: Captain Cook, Kona, Hawaii Island

Harvest: Hand picked in Fall 2023

Variety: SL 34 & Red Bourbon

Process: Washed, 18hr dry anaerobic fermentation

Drying Method: initial patio dried and finished in dryer

Certifications: Organically grown

This is a relationship coffee from our friends owner Dawn Barnes and farm manager Lit . This is the third year purchasing SL34, first year year buying Red Bourbon and fifth year purchasing coffee from KRF. Purchased 50lb at $42 per pound.  We hope to continue working and building on our long relationship with KRF.