About About Us - The Keopu Mauka Lani Story

The Blessing of Keopu Mauka Lani Plantation in 1987 was the beginning, remembers Suzanne Farrow, Plantation owner  of Keopu Mauka Lani Coffees.. . . 

Little did I know at the time, the friend who blessed my Plantation was the son of my father's best friend in 1928-1929, Daddy Bray of Honolulu. What a small world it was when we discovered we had bonded, as did our fathers. Pappa Bray shared with me that more than 200 years ago this land was named Keopu Mauka for its deep rich soil and weather patterns. It was a favorite of King Kamehameha's many Royal gardens and oftentimes the King would come to labor in the garden here with his people. 

The meaning is as follows:

Ke ("the") opu ("belly") Mauka ("mountain") Lani ("heavenly")

"The Heavenly Belly of the Mountain . . . Keopu Mauka Lani."

Oh, I'm ahead of my story. You see, I had spent 14 years of my life with my husband entertaining Chairmen of Boards, politicians, and movie stars in some of the Southwest's most revered resort properties, and yet I felt the need to find peace and quiet . . . I wanted to "ground" my life!

I moved to Kona, Hawaii in 1984 to find land. I became fascinated with the fact that Kona coffee is a fruit of the Gardenia plant family. The project to clear land and plant Kona coffee seedlings literally enchanted and fascinated me. I saw that as I gave to Nature, she gave back in abundance.

So Keopu's Kona coffee adventure began . . .
The stories of growing a Kona coffee plantation are a collection of many ups and downs . . . 
but for many who remark "Oh, owning a Kona coffee plantation sounds so romantic," here's one for you…

There was a time in 1988 when my business partner and friend, Barbara Kennedy and I decided to take the day and relax on the beach, but first I had to check on the young trees that had been through a heavy storm the night before. Big mistake . . . for four days Barbara and I labored in the orchard standing up more than 800 little trees that had blown over in the storm. So much for the beach!

Then there was "Fall 1991" when Kona coffee fruit was ripe and Kona coffee pickers would arrive in three days. The mill owner came by to tell me, "You're on your own girls. The price of Kona is too low for me to mill this year."   So, Barbara and I looked at each other and immediately rigged up a pulper with a washing system and built a drying platform.

Now I can laugh at the long, hard hours pouring Kona coffee into the pulper, fermenting, washing, picking imperfect "floater" beans, and dragging 100 pound bags to spread and rake for drying in the Kona sun. As is typical in Kona's Fall picking season weather, afternoons bring alternating sun and showers so we would have to run out of the office to cover up the coffee, only to uncover it as the sun did its dance in and out of the rain clouds. For four long months of daily blood, sweat, and tears we learned the Kona coffee business from the ground up to the cup!

Locals watched in amazement and wondered, 
"Were Farrow and Kennedy as strong as Anna of the Big Island?" 
On the Big Island there was a legendary woman, Anna of Waimea, who upon her husband's death, had to learn to slaughter her own cattle since no slaughterhouse would take her cattle.  At that time locals believed that no woman should run a cattle ranch. Anna called her men and they agreed to work together. It was a horrible task that year to prepare the cattle for market, but she gained the local's respect and she never had trouble with the slaughterhouses again . . . but it took a special breed to make it through. So bets were on, "Would those two California gals on the hill survive the 1991 Kona coffee season?" 
With the strength of Anna's story and my mother who believed in me giving me courage, I thought, "If Anna could slaughter cattle to keep her business going out here in the middle of the Pacific, then we can pulp, pick, wash, and dry beans!" And so we did!

That season we processed thousands of pounds of Keopu Fancy "cherry" fruit Kona coffee and sold the "green" beans for the highest price ever (at that time) on the Kona Coast . . . to a man on the East Coast who traveled the world over buying only the quintessential coffees for his customers.

So what did I learn through it all?
Perseverance in the midst of seemingly insurmountable odds, reverence for all life, striving for "win-win" relationships that support everyone's talents and abilities, radiance in the Kona coffee blossom dancing in the warm sun, wildlife strutting around the property unafraid, the eternal breeze through the trees, the tropical sun melting my worries into the earth, and the magnificence of Spirit at work in my life. That is the romance of my Kona coffee business.

When I set out on this adventure I wanted to create a sweet, smooth cup of Kona coffee to ingratiate the finest occasion and call it "The Beaujolais of Coffee"™ I wanted to give customers quality inside and out so they could feel the satisfaction of drinking a great cup of Kona coffee. With my Kona coffees you can know that I do everything possible to ensure that you are buying excellent quality and taste . . . with every cup.