Coffee and Macadamia Nuts Keeping Us Busy

This is the time of year that our activities are divided among our crops. The beautiful Kona coffee is especially productive with coffee beans that are larger than normal. Poor branches are bending over. We are grateful for all the rainy days earlier this year.

Right now we are drying parchment coffee on very large tarps spread on our driveway. The parchment spends a few days on drying tables to drip dry and then moved to the tarps in full sun to complete the drying before they are stored. This process saves us at least a week of drying.

At the same time, macadamia nuts cover the ground in our mac fields. Macadamia nuts do not ripen on the tree and are gathered from the ground. For a while, these nuts will rest on the ground until we have a break in coffee picking.

We spent some time last July pruning the cacao trees to improve their health. They seem to appreciate our efforts and are covered in their tiny blossoms. To try new efforts on the vanilla beans, we planted slips of vanilla vines around the base of several of the cacao trees. This is a common method in some other countries that grow vanilla commercially. The short cacao trees provide support and the right amount of shade for the vines.

Of course the news once again is Madame Pele and the volcanic eruptions - around 100 miles away from us and fortunately this time, once again, the eruption is contained within Halema`uma`u Crater.