Burlap bags have been used in many countries for hundreds of years to hold coffee beans. These bags, hung on a drying rack, each wait to be filled with around 100 pounds of one of the world’s best coffee beans–100% Arabica from the Kona, Hawaii region. The daily temperature, temperature changes, volcanic soil, and average rainfall combine to give coffee grown in Kona, Hualalai, Honaunau, Holualoa, and Kealakekua a uniquely sweet and smooth flavor that demands a premium price.
The harvesting process is done by hand. Pickers hit the fields for 8 to 10 hours a day hand picking coffee cherry from trees based on color and feel. A good picker can fill a bag or more–100+ pounds–a day. The cherry is then delivered or sold to the processor to extract the coffee beans, dry them, roast them, package them, and sell them.
These burlap bags have also recently returned to vogue as a fashion item, being sold by Hawaii companies as burlap beach bags, and yoga totes.
