HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0421.015 2020-2022 Ci
comm.COUNTY CLERK
COUNTY OF HAWAO
Nov. 1, 2021
My wife&1 own a coffee farm in Captain Cook, Hawaii and we sell only 100%Kona coffee direct to consumers
throughout the United States. I support and strongly urge the Hawaii County Council to adopt Resolution No.
223-21,which asks the State Legislature"to amend the minimum percentage requirement for blends of
geographically named Hawaii-grown coffee from 10%to 51%."
Protecting the name and meaning of"Kona coffee"is critical to ensuring not only my success as a Kona coffee
farmer,but the success of all the Kona coffee farms and farmers around me.Allowing coffee suppliers to label
Kona blends with only 10%Kona coffee as"KONA" in large, bold print and"blend"in much smaller print not only
misleads the consumer, but it undervalues our product and what the name"Kona coffee"should mean.
By protecting the integrity of the name Kona, HI,you will be not only protecting your constituents,and their
livelihoods,you will also be protecting the land and our ability to continue using the best farming practices
(which are labor intensive here). Forcing us to compete with products that consumers believe to be Hawaiian
due to their packaging, but are actually primarily South American(Brazilian)makes it difficult for us to invest in
our land and pay our skilled and very hard-working help a fair wage--which they deserve.Kona"blends",being
typically 90%South American coffee in origin are often sold for less than it takes to even PRODUCE the same
amount of Kona coffee(approximately$15/ib).Kona coffee should be valued at a higher premium than that
given that it accounts for a miniscule 0.00015%of the world's coffee(Kona yields around 2.5 million lbs of green
coffee per year while the top ten coffee-producing countries produce over 16 BILLION lbs per year). Beyond just
being one of the rarest coffees in the world, Kona coffee farmers have also developed a long history of high
farming standards and best practices that deserve to be protected by the law and are worthy of the market rate
of 100%Kona coffee.
Even though you've heard this before, it is worth reiterating...this type of misleading practice is not allowed
anywhere else in the world.You do not see bottles of sparkling wine that announce"Champagne" in big bold
flashy letters with the word"blend"beside it in a much smaller unobtrusive font. Nor do you see"Waterford
{blend)"announced proudly on crystal knockoff.You don't see this because it is unfair to the consumer, it's unfair
to the producer,and it doesn't make good fiscal sense for the region.
Again, I strongly urge you to amend the current minimum percentage requirement for blends of geographically
named Hawaii-grown coffee from the 10%allowed now to 51%because it is the right and best thing to do for
the state of Hawaii.
Maa�lvl�tle�2i� ` Lete:a.Ze�+�rter
83-5614 RabdfitfiZRd/ CaptaavvCao , fil 96704
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