The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1897-08-24
HIGH GRADES RANK WITH
LEADING WORLDS PRODUCT.
Everett n. Bee, an Expert, has En-
couraging Words for the Planters
of the Islands

Everett n. Bee of Otis, McAllister
d Co... prominent coffee commission
merchants of San Francisco, is at the
Hawaiian. He expects to spend a few
weeks vacation in the Islands, and
incidentally to visit the coffee belt and
/ look into the cultivation of coffee
there and the methods in vogue for
preparing it for the market. Mr.. Bee
is an expert on coffee and takes a
very great interest in the snbiect.
During the past few years he has
spent half his time in practical coffee
work in the districts of Central Ame-
rica, whose products are largely han
died by his firm.
Mr.. Bee will sail for Hawaii on the
next Kinau and will spend fortnight
among the plantations of Olaa and
kona. He may possibly go into Puma,
but at the present time considers it
scarcely worth his while, as the dis
trict is not yet far enough advanced
to show practical results. In discuss
ing Hawaiian coffee, which he has
handled to some extent, Mr.. Bee said
this morning:
about 1000 bags of Hawaiian cof-
fee were shipped into San Francisco
last year. BY far the larger portion
of it was uncultivated coffee. There
were a few lots of the cultivated or
washed product, as we call it, that
fell into our hands, and it Immediate
ly. established market, especially for
the washed coffee which brought a
premium of 3 cents per pound over
the uncultivated, ranking at once
with the highest grade of Central
American coffee.
"The cultivated or washed Hawaiian
coffee, when properly prepared, as to
washing, drying, separating, polish
| ing, etc, has value in flavor which pla-
ces it among the very best coffees in
the world
81 am unable to judge as yet as to
whether coffee crops will pay produc
ers here, not being familiar with the
conditions on the Islands, as to cheap
labor and the water supply necessary
to wash coffee and handle it econom-
ically, but if the planters can sur
mount these difficulties, | can assure
them that the demand for fine grades
will always be equal to the supply,
and the market will be found close by
in San Francisco, from which point
the product can be distributed all over
the United States. The markets Of
the Mississippi Valley are very large
consumers of fine washed coffees, and
we never have been able 20 import
enough of the fine grades from Cen
tral America to meet the demand.
about 100000 bags of Central Anne.
rican coffees are shipped into San
Francisco annually. We think we
can always take care of the product
of these Islands without obliging The
planters to ship to foreign markets,
and save heavy expense in time and
| freights.
I'm regard to the present outlook
for coffee, I may say that the markets
everywhere have been and are declin-
ing, owing to the unusual crop in
overstock in all coffee centers. The
difference TODAY between the strictly
| fine washed coffees and the Brazil pro-
duct is from to cents per pound in
favor of the washed coffee. While
this will be subject to varying condi-
tions, and may not always be so wide
ly maintained, the margin will doubt
less always insure "A profit to the
growers of fine cotfees."