Mel Morimoto jokes that he’s been connected to Kona’s coffee industry for so long, coffee flows in his veins.

In the early 1960s, when he was a young boy, he remembers waking up before dawn with his parents and older brother, climbing into their old military Jeep and riding three miles to a farm owned by a family friend to pick coffee. The farm was in Honaunau, in the 20-mile-long, 2-mile-wide "coffee belt" between the 700- and 2,000-foot elevations of Mauna Loa.

"We’d drink cocoa and eat Saloon pilot crackers smeared with peanut butter and guava jelly while we waited for the sun to come up," Morimoto said. "Then, rain or shine, we’d pick coffee, stopping only for lunch and when there was no longer enough light for us to see the ripe red ‘cherries.’"

Because everyone was needed during the harvest season, including children, schools in Kona scheduled "summer" breaks from August to November. During those months, Morimoto and his brother picked coffee every day at various farms. Although they were happy to help supplement their family’s income, it was hard work.

"Just imagine — it’s hot and humid, mosquitoes are constantly biting you and your day starts and ends when it’s dark," Morimoto said. "When we got older, we were expected to carry burlap bags filled with coffee; the bags were heavier than I was! Coffee growth depends on the weather, and sometimes we went through as many as six rounds of harvesting from July to April. What we did wasn’t special; back then the lives of many people in Kona revolved around coffee."

Morimoto lives on a 1-acre parcel in Captain Cook that he inherited from his parents; it’s covered with coffee trees that they planted decades ago. Retired as the manager of the Kona Coffee Living History Farm (konahistorical.org), he oversees the care of those trees, motivated by a sense of responsibility to hold fast to his roots. That’s also why he has volunteered for the Kona Coffee Cultural Festival (KCCF) for 16 years, the past four as its president.

Started by a small group of farmers who wanted to honor Kona coffee pioneers and preserve, perpetuate and promote this important chapter of the Big Island’s story, KCCF is observing its 45th anniversary this year. The inaugural event was one day; today, as Hawaii’s longest-running food festival, it goes on for 10 days and features nearly 40 events produced by volunteers who represent the now ethnically diverse face of the industry.

Planned festival events include coffee talks, farm tours, coffee-themed games, mochi-pounding demonstrations, Japanese calligraphy, lau hala weaving and lei making. The cupping competition spotlights the best-tasting Kona coffee brews, and the recipe contest showcases the innovative ways coffee is used in cooking and baking.

"Coffee put Kona on the map," Morimoto said. "Like our community of farmers, processors, roasters and retailers, the festival has evolved a lot over the years. What’s wonderful is seeing people from different backgrounds coming together to celebrate the success of an industry built on strong work ethics and family ties."

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.

Kona coffee history

In 1828 the Rev. Samuel Ruggles brought coffee cuttings from Oahu to Kona. The first coffee plantations were established there in 1841; by the late 1800s large plantations were cultivating coffee on more than 6,000 acres.

When an oversupply caused coffee prices worldwide to plummet in 1899, plantation owners began leasing their land to workers, primarily Japanese immigrants. By 1915 those tenant farmers were producing most of Kona’s coffee.

Today Hawaii is the only U.S. state that grows coffee commercially. In Kona there are about 600 independent, family-owned coffee farms averaging 3 to 7 acres in size. Some 3,500 Kona acres are devoted to coffee, annually yielding 3.8 million pounds of parchment (dried coffee beans before hulling), valued at $14 million.

Several farms offer tours and tastings, including Ueshima Coffee Co. (ucc-hawaii.com), Holualoa Kona Coffee Co. (konalea.com), Greenwell Farms (greenwellfarms.com) and Heavenly Hawaiian (heavenlyhawaiian.com).

HIGHLIGHTS

A complete schedule is available at konacoffeefest.com.

Friday

» Kona Coffee Living History Farm tour, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Also Nov. 9-13.
» Art exhibit, Donkey Mill Art Center, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Also Nov. 7 and 10-15.

Saturday

» Coffee and art stroll, Holualoa, 9 a.m.- 3 p.m.
» Miss Kona Coffee Scholarship Pageant, Sheraton Kona Resort & Spa, 5:30- 10 p.m.

Nov. 8

» Kona coffee-picking experience and coffee games, UCC Ueshima Coffee Co., 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
» Big Island Showcase, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., and Kona coffee recipe contest, noon-2 p.m., Sheraton Kona Resort & Spa

Nov. 9

» Talk by Shawn Steiman, who holds a doctorate in coffee science, Daylight Mind Coffee Co., 6-8 p.m.

Nov. 10

» Kona Coffee Council farm and mill tour, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Also on Nov. 13. Reservations required at kona-coffee-council.com.

Nov. 11

» Cupping competition preliminaries, Keauhou Shopping Center, 9 a.m.-2 p.m.

Nov. 12

» Cupping competition finals, Keauhou Shopping Center, 9 a.m.- 2 p.m.
» Kona Coffee Marketplace, Keauhou Shopping Center, 9:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Also on Nov. 13, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
» Cultural demonstrations and workshops, Keauhou Shopping Center, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
» Kona Coffee Council dinner, H.N. Greenwell Store Museum, 6-10 p.m. Reservations required at kona-coffee-council.com.
» Walter Dods III discusses his documentary, "The Long Journey Home," Donkey Mill Art Center, 6-8 p.m.