HOLUALOA — The children flocked around the coffee tree like so many blue-clad jungle fowl, hands pecking quickly at the bright cherry.
“Hurry up, hurry up! Remember, only the red ones,” they giggled, coaxing each other to pick faster.
It is no small thing to come in from the field laden heavy with harvest.
Jon Kunitake, whose grandparents arrived in Holualoa in 1895 as Japanese immigrant coffee workers, is a coffee consultant for Ueshima Coffee Co. He explains: “An amateur can pick maybe six or seven pounds of coffee in three minutes. But a good professional picker can get about 500 pounds a day.”
Kunitake should know. When asked how long he has been at UCC he answers “forever.” He has been as far as Africa and South America teaching people about coffee, how to care for it, and how to pick it.
Makoto Ikeda, the general manager of UCC Hawaii, says he is happy about this year’s turn out.
“It used to be just the picking contest,” says Ikeda. “But this is the second year we’ve had the games for kids and we are excited about it. It’s more fun for the kids and the parents too who are watching.”
This is all happening at the 40-acre Holualoa farm owned by the Ueshima Coffee Co., hosts of the Kona Coffee Picking Experience and Coffee Games on Sunday morning, part of the 45th annual Kona Coffee Cultural Festival. Community members and tourists alike have three minutes to run from one coffee tree to the next to fill their baskets with the plump red cherries as quickly as they can.
Midori Satoh is a parent and also the leader of the blue T-shirted pickers of the West Hawaii Dance Theatre. Her dancers are participating in the kids’ games, which feature groups of six pickers from different community organization like the Konawaena swim team and the Kahakai Japanese Club Warriors. Satoh and other parents watch as their kids run into the coffee orchard laughing and urging each other with good natured encouragements as the minutes tick away.
“We are here as a group within the community, to support the festival and to have fun,” Satoh says. “We are also in the recipe contest later today. We are trying to be involved as much as we can.”
Also participating in the festivities were newly crowned Miss Kona Coffee 2015, Polanimakamae Kahakalau, and Miss Aloha Hawaii, Kirstie Naone.
“We are representing the pageant,” says Kahakalau, “and to pick some coffee and have fun with the kids.”
Besides community members, many tourists are heading into the coffee orchards, baskets in hand to be a part of the experience. Miki Sawa, Yaeko Obara and Tomoko Saito are traveling together from Tokyo. “This is our fourth time in Hawaii and our second time at the festival,” said Saito. “We are enjoying this event and others.”
The winners of this year’s kid fundraisers are first place prize of $250 to Waikaloa Flash Soccer Team. A second place prize of $125 goes to the Kealakehe Robotics Team and a third place prize of $75 to Kahakai Japanese Club Warriors.
