Picking coffee requires agile hands and quickness.

The art of Kona Coffee picking requires a method of pinching the coffee beans. This gives a sort of accuracy that enables the coffee pickers to pinpoint the red, ripe cherries and leave behind the green or unripe berries. Pickers will return to the field on an average of 5 times during the year as the green beans which were left behind become ripe and ready to pick.

A close-up of what a coffee picker looks at as s/he is picking.



In Kona you will see that the cherries that the picker is plucking are a nice crimson red. This is in stark contrast to the beans which are green and unripe. As you view these pictures, you start to appreciate the tenacity and patience that is required to constantly sort through the ripe cherry and keep the green coffee on the tree.