The Kona Coffee Shortage According to Gourmet Coffee Experts at J. Martinez Fine Coffees

    ATLANTA, GA, June 23, 2014 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Coffee lovers have noticed a shortage in the availability of Kona coffee from Hawaii. While J. Martinez & Company Coffee Merchants has been able to maintain a supply of the world-renowned coffee, it has been difficult for smaller roasters to obtain the beans for some time now.

Since September 2010, the coffee plantations of Hawaii have been under siege from an infestation of coffee berry borer beetles. Swarms of these insects have been destroying Hawaii's coffee crop by doing what comes naturally: boring into the coffee cherries to lay their eggs. This would be enough by itself to destroy the crop, but when the eggs hatch, the larvae eat what is left of the bean, mature, mate and fly off to new coffee cherries to start the cycle all over again by laying more eggs.

Coffee berry borers mature quickly and have a short lifespan, meaning an entire season's coffee crop can easily be destroyed by just a few beetles and their descendants. The beetle is a common problem in most coffee-growing regions of the world, and some methods have worked to lessen the beetle's devastation in those areas.

"The Hawaiian government is doing what it can to control the infestation using these methods, but they take time to take affect, and the coffee trees will need additional time to grow new crops once the beetles are gone," says John Martinez, Owner of J. Martinez & Company.

It is believed that as many as 90 percent of the plants on some Kona plantations have been damaged at some point by coffee berry borers. Within the region, over half of all of the coffee trees have been damaged.

To learn more about the Kona shortage and other gourmet coffees you may enjoy, please visit http://www.martinezfinecoffees.com.

About J. Martinez & Company:

Established in 1988, J. Martinez & Company is an Atlanta-based purveyor of fine coffees and other gourmet items. J. Martinez & Company originated the concept of single estate coffees more than twenty years ago and still carries only the finest premium coffee beans from estates around the world, including Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee and Kona coffee from Hawaii.

For more information, please visit http://www.martinezfinecoffees.com.

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