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 We, the Eckert Family of Lyman Farms, are doing our very best to produce for you the Best Coffee in all of Kona. We love our coffee and take Quality Control very seriously. So, here at Lyman Kona Coffee Farms, we go through every extra quality care process step we can think of to deliver to you the Best Cup that Kona can offer. We are very proud of our meticulous production and processing methods. The end result is a fantastic cup of Kona Coffee.
Coffee as a delicious and stimulating beverage has been known for 1500 years, or longer. By the year 1700, there were coffee houses in several European major cities, and all coffee at that time came from Arabia. Coffee seedlings were brought to Arabia from its native Africa. Today, we know several separate species that do not cross-pollinate. The most valuable species is Coffea Arabica, which evolved in Ethiopia (East Africa). Other, but inferior species, such as Robusta, developed in Central and West Africa. Coffea Arabica has several thousand varieties.
Kona Coffee is a Federally Registered Trademark and must by law originate in the Kona Districts of The Big Island of Hawai’i. All Kona Coffee must contain 100% Coffea Arabica beans. Kona Coffee was first planted on the Big Island of Hawaii in the late 1820’s by the Missionary Samuel Ruggles. When Mark Twain visited in 1866, he found that "Kona coffee has a richer flavor than any other, be it grown where it may and call it by what name you please."
Today, nearly all Kona Coffee is of the variety “Kona Typica”. That variety, according to overwhelming consent of all experts, produces the Kona Coffee that is a “Specialty Coffee” gourmet item, an affordable luxury that’s famous around the world as The Champaign of Coffees, the Best available anywhere. What makes Kona Coffee the Best on Earth is its combination of growing conditions and processing methods.
Grown only in Kona
 We feel the best Kona Coffee comes from "Kona Typica" variety trees (and all of our trees are Kona Typica). This variety has over the last 120+ years become the hallmark of Kona's Best (there are other varietals grown in Kona that produce more cherry, but that are less refined in their taste profile). The Kona Coffee Belt of Hawaii contains over 750 coffee farms — Coffee Made in USA ! Most are small family farms, usually just two to three acres in size. The coffee fruit is known as Coffee Cherry. Nearly 90% of all Kona Coffee is sold as Cherry by these small family farms, directly to large processing companies -- right after picking. Most 100% Kona Coffee comes from these large processors and represents good Kona Coffee, but is a result mingled of many different farm origins, from high to low elevation, and from growers who apply vastly differing levels of care and quality control to their product. Such coffee can never be called "Estate" Coffee. If a package does not say "Estate", it's not an Estate Coffee.
Kona Coffee Estate Grown
Less than 10% of all Kona Coffee farms are Coffee Estates. An Estate is defined as an operation of one origin, where all phases of production are under the control -- quality control -- of one and the same grower. Most farmers simply sell their coffee cherry to large processors, and only a few Kona Coffee farms produce "Estate" coffee. Lyman Farms is a certified Kona Coffee Estate (by both Kona Coffee Council and Kona Ccoffe Farmers Association), and we say so on each of our bags. We feel that true coffee farmers are "up to their eyeballs in coffee cherry and have mucilage under their finger nails". We WORK our farm and have our hands in the dirt. We are truly a "from seed to cup" operation and apply only 100% organic practices: We grow our own coffee seedlings, do our own pruning, organic weed control and apply organic fertilizers ourselves. We have no full-time help (so it's mostly Hans and Karen). All of our equipment is new and state-of-the-art: We own our own full service wet mill, where our coffee cherries are pulped (with purified water). We have our own 1600 sq. ft. drying deck, and our strictly climate controlled storage facility. Our "fluid air" electric roaster produces only about 8 lbs of roasted coffee per each run, so that we can do small custom roasting batches. Our Roast Master runs it usually twice each week (that's Hans).
Kona Blends, the Unreal Thing
Very importantly, any mixes or blends that contain less than 100% Kona Coffee are, quite frankly, cardboard imitations of the real thing, and are no better than "10% Scotch Whiskey" or "10% Idaho Potatoes". There are a couple of very large coffee companies that make huge profits selling their "kona blends". Many consumers are misled by usage of our good Kona name, especially since such packages do not even identify the other ingredients beyond "10% Kona". It's still legal, but they all contain cheap "filler coffees" that are imported as green coffee into Hawaii. Upon entry into the State of Hawaii, all green coffee must go through a regimen of toxic pest control that applies fumigation. If a package does not say "100% Kona Coffee", it's not Kona! We also recommend that you stay clear of all "flavored" coffees (such as vanilla or Mac Nut): they oftentimes consist of inferior grades of coffee (not good enough to sell as is) that are then sprayed with chemical artificial flavor compounds. Make your own good cup, and then add your own cacao (Cocoa) or Baleys, or whatever: stay natural and enjoy!
Lyman Farms Coffee is completely Natural and Poison Free
Our family coffee farm was started by us "from scratch", out of the jungle. We are completely herbicide and pesticide free, and we have for quite some time applied only 100% organic practices. In our garden, we grow organic herbs that we use in our BnB food, and we have over 60 varieties of organic exotic fruit trees, bushes and vines on our farm. We are currently in last part of the transition phase to be officially "Certified Organic". Our product is the Real Kona Thing, an award winning Kona Coffee that carries the unique stamp of the Kona region of the Big Island of Hawaii — delicate yet flavorful with a rich aroma, and famous among coffee connoisseurs throughout the world. Our most recent award was the Silver Medal of the 2008 Kona Coffee Council's People's Choice Award.
Perfect Coffee Growing Conditions
 Growing Conditions include well drained soil, plenty of moisture during certain times, and a dormant period (shorter days, cooler nights). Our mineral rich lava soil is simply ideal for growing coffee, as are the Western slopes of our volcanoes. At Lyman Kona Coffee Farms, we assure that, with the help of our irrigation systems, the right amount of water is delivered to our trees at the right time. Elevations below 1,200 feet must provide shade for their trees. At our farm location of 2,000 feet, we do not have to worry about shade at all because our typical afternoon cloud cover makes things perfect. Elevations above 1,200 feet (Mauka Coffee) also produce a higher grade coffee with larger and denser beans than those in the lower, hotter regions that have a faster ripening period.
Hand-Picked, Meticulously Cultivated
Similar to really good wines, Kona Coffee processing methods are crucial to obtaining the superb end product. Most small growers simply sell the coffee cherry they harvest to a processor, and that's the end of their involvement. Only Estate Coffees carry the personal stamp of care and knowledge on their product. At Lyman Kona Coffee Farms, we very carefully, and with great pride, control every step of our Estate production process: selecting the right seedlings (for replacements) and from tending our 3,200 tree orchard year-round, to every step of the milling and roasting processing steps, right to the cup of freshly ground coffee that our guests at the Inn enjoy. We harvest by hand, take our good time doing so, and pick only the red, sun-ripened cherries. We do not use any pesticides or herbicides. Our weed control is all mechanical, and our pest control is all-organic. All fertilizers we use are approved organic. We have our own custom built "wet mill" processing pulper and demucilager, and process within hours after the cherry is picked (with purified water). We go through a total of half a dozen quality control steps to assure that only the top of each crop goes to the next level. While most Kona Coffees require 6 to 6 1/2 lbs. of coffee cherry to produce one pound of roasted beans, here at Lyman Farms, we requiere over 7 1/2 lbs: we winnow our coffee at every step to make it better. We save our cherry skins and use them as organic fertilizer. We sun-dry our coffee on our own large drying deck. The Dry Mill we use to husk our "parchment" coffee is organically certified and we observe the process from start to finish.
 
Hans, having been trained to do so, roasts coffee to order at least once a week on our own custom roaster (fluid air, electric model), and we package it immediately. We mail out our orders several times each week, so our customers always receive our coffee that has been freshly roasted. That is another crucial advantage over most store-bought product that may have been sitting on the shelf for some time. The scent and flavor spectrum of our Kona Coffee has been described by the world famous Cupper Willem Boot as deliciously rich, medium-bodied and mildly acidic coffee, with a heady aroma and a complex taste — and with a hint of chocolate.
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