Coffee farms among highlights of Maui ag tours

When Marilyn Jansen Lopes and her husband, Ricky, bought a used eight-passenger van at an auction in 2009, they intended to use it as an RV for camping and cruising. Little did they know it would inspire a business that draws people from all over the world.

"The van had been used by Kapalua Resort as a shuttle, and it was in excellent condition," Lopes said. "After a camping trip on Father’s Day weekend in 2010, we were driving along the shore between Olowalu and Lahaina. Through the van’s big windows, I saw the West Maui Mountains on one side and the ocean and Lanai on the other. I told Ricky, ‘We really should do something with this beautiful van.’"

An idea for "something" came to Lopes soon after, when she was having coffee with a friend at Whole Foods Market. In full view was Norwegian Cruise Line’s Pride of America, which was moored at Kahului Harbor.

"I turned to my friend and said, ‘Wouldn’t it be great if I could get seven passengers a day from that ship and show them some of Maui’s farms?’" Lopes recalled. "With Hawaii’s farm-to-table movement in full swing, I thought it was the perfect time to interest visitors in agriculture. I registered the business as Maui Country Farm Tours: Sharing Maui’s Agricultural Beauty in November 2010, and Ricky and I took out our first tour — to a few Upcountry farms — the following July."

The company’s offerings have expanded to five tours with stops ranging from Maui’s Winery to Surfing Goat Dairy. The West Maui Coffee Tour focuses on two coffee farms — a small family-owned business and a large commercial operation.

Piliani Kopemeans "coffee farm close to heaven," say owners Greg Stille and his wife, Susy, adding that it aptly describes their scenic location and aromatic brews. The couple hails from Northern California, where Greg, current president of the Hawaii Coffee Association, worked as a third-generation grocer.

In August 2004, after 22 years of visits to Maui, the Stilles bought a 2-acre property in the agricultural subdivision of Mahanalua Nui in Lahaina, an area that had been planted in coffee in the late 1800s.

On a hike in Launiupoko Gulch near their home, the Stilles discovered wild Typica coffee trees — likely descendants of trees from the 19th-century farms — that were laden with ripe "cherries." They picked the fruit, pulped it by hand, and dried, ground and roasted it. Pleased with the results, they sought experts and more information about coffee cultivation and processing. Before long, they were immersed in a new venture.

GREG Stille takes tour participants through the 1.5-acre orchard, where he explains how his coffee is grown and harvested. The group then heads to the 1,450-square-foot processing barn to learn how coffee goes from "seed to cup." (During the fall/winter harvest season, Piliani Kope offers a three-hour tour that lets visitors try their hand at all 11 processing steps.)

A coffee bar in the barn serves samples of two of the farm’s 10 pure-Maui-grown coffees, as well as Susy’s homemade pastries.

A 15-minute drive away, MauiGrown Coffee cultivates four varieties at Ka‘anapali Coffee Farms, a private agricultural community on land that was part of a vast sugar cane plantation run by Pioneer Mill Co. from 1860 to 2001.

In 1988, Pioneer Mill launched a project to convert 500 of the 10,000 acres originally planted in sugar to coffee. James "Kimo" Falconer was director of agricultural research. When Pioneer Mill shut down, so did the project, but in 2003, Falconer revived it under the name MauiGrown Coffee.

Here, Lopes discusses the history of coffee, from its origins in Ethiopia to its introduction to Hawaii in 1813. Guests take photographs among the trees. "They climb a viewing platform where they see incredible views of the orchards, mountains and ocean," Lopes said.

All the trees now bear green fruit and white blossoms. Ripe cherries will appear in the fall. Machines harvest them from September through February — which visitors might see, if they’re lucky. The visit concludes with samples of six of MauiGrown’s 42 coffee blends and roasts.

Lopes said her vision for the farm tours is to raise interest in agriculture and the people of the industry. "Their farms and ranches are in some of the most magnificent spots in Hawaii."

Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi is a Honolulu-based freelance writer whose travel features for the Star-Advertiser have won several Society of American Travel Writers awards.

Columnist wins society’s top prize

Star-Advertiser travel columnist Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi has won a gold award from the Society of American Travel Writers.

The top prize in the Western Writing Awards’ columnist category recognized three of Tsutsumi’s 2012 "Hawaii’s Backyard" features: about Kauai’s Train Day, Pearl Harbor aerial adventures and Maui’s Ironwood Ranch trail rides.

"Part personality profile, part feature, but always travel, this collection shows a real understanding and deep knowledge of Hawaii," the judges said. "Unlike many mainland writers who drop in for a florid feature, this local journalist provides readers with smart, nuanced coverage. It’s not showy or wordy. Just solid and well-written."

Awards were announced during the society’s Western chapter conference May 6 to 10. Tsutsumi has written "Hawaii’s Backyard" since 2001.