Production of 'Koona' coffee in Hawaii is declining. In the United States, consumption is approximately 16 pounds per head per annum. We import annually about 1.5 million tons. Coffee trees may grow to a height of 20 to 30 feet if unpruned, but in cultivation they are pruned to about 6 feet to facilitate harvesting of the berries. Much of the coffee in Brazil is grown in the full sun although it prospers in the shade of taller trees.
Considerable care is required to keep the trees in proper productive condition.
The plant is susceptible to frost, intense heat, drought, and diseases. It is individually picked at the proper stage of ripeness. About 5 pounds of fruit yield 1 pound of clean coffee. One cherry, usually bearing two seeds, develops from a blossom. The fruit is dried or processed in water to remove the skin, cleaned, and bagged for shipment and use.