PAHALA, Hawaii (AP) — Big Island police are investigating the theft of thousands of pounds of coffee cherries from trees in the Kau district.
Police say that sometime between Dec. 9 and Dec. 11, trees on property off an old sugar cane haul road above Pahala were stripped of about 2,000 to 4,000 pounds of coffee cherries.
Damage is estimated at between $3,300 and $6,000.
Discerning coffee aficionados pay a premium for pure Hawaii-grown coffee. Hawaii is the only place in the United States where coffee is grown. Beans grown in the Kau district have been gaining popularity like world-famous coffee grown in the neighboring Kona district.
