The current owners of Redbird Kona Coffee, Ronna and Steve Schreiner, purchased the farm and business from Ken and Gail Hennig on April 3, 2007. We are from Gig Harbor, Washington and truly enjoy the climate in Kona, as well as the coffee business. Ken and Gail sold us a wonderful business that we are looking forward to personalizing and growing without compromising quality. Our Redbird Kona Coffee is grown on a small 9 acre farm at an elevation of 1000 feet. We currently have approximately 4 acres of mature coffee trees producing Kona Coffee. We have another 4+ acres at Redbird that we are going to clear and plant in 2007, with added production beginning in 2009. Even with the increased production that we expect, our goal remains the same: to ensure that the coffee from our farm produces the best cup of coffee for your consumption. The winter in Kona is generally very dry and is followed by a rainy spring which brings the trees into bloom. The bloom is called Kona Snow. The trees will generally flower 7 to 10 days after a good rain. The coffee beans begin as small green beans, and ripen into red when they are ready to be picked. The reason it is called cherry is because the type of tree, Kona Typica, which is a member of the Arabica Coffee Tree Family, is actually a form of cherry tree. The coffee beans are the center of the fruit, or where you would find a pit on a regular cherry. The production rates normally comes in a bell curve with small crop usually in late August, peaks in November and tails off in early January. The higher the elevation of the farm, the later the pickings start. Everything is hand picked on our farm. Hand picking ensures only the ripe red coffee cherries are picked. When on the Island, we are available at KTA Superstores in Keahou, Kailua-Kona, Waimea, and Hilo, Foodland in Waimea, Foodland Sack N Save in Kailua-Kona, Waikoloa Village Market, and historic Kimura's Lauhala. If you want more information or have questions about our farm please contact us at coffee@redbird-kona-coffee.com.