Submitted by Nya Wynn on the 2022 winter session program in Hawaii sponsored by the Department of Biological Sciences…
This week in Hawaii, one of my favorite things we did was visiting the Greenwell Farms Coffee Plantation. I did not have any expectations going in, but I found the tour very interesting and was blown away by all the intricacies that go into growing, processing, and selling coffee. We learned all about the history of the farm and how coffee originally came to Hawaii. We also got to see all the drying houses, coffee trees, and sorting stations. There were so many trees, but we learned that Hawaii only represents 0.4% of the world’s total coffee grown which was so eye- opening. Our tour guide also explained that due to various coffee diseases, including leaf rust, the farmers will plant other types of fruit trees in order to diversify the farm, making the plantation less susceptible to disease outbreak. Finally, we got to sample all the coffee they produce at the farm and had a blast trying to taste all the nuances of different flavors throughout the different types. Overall, we had a great day at Greenwell Farms, and as our tour guide said, “life’s too short for a bad coffee,” which will be my new mantra.
