According to the Associated Press, the Kilauea volcano in Hawaii has been spewing a record volume of fumes over the last twelve months, levels not seen since data was first collected in 1979. The volcanic smog (or “vog”) has had a large detrimental effect on almost all agriculture in the area. In a strange twist, however, farmers have realized that while most crops grow poorly surrounded by the vog, coffee plants seem almost unaffected. Many flower and fruit farmers have begun switching at least a portion of their crop over to coffee.
Perhaps as these coffee trees mature over the next 3 to 5 years we will see new varieties of lower cost Hawaiian coffee on the market. At Manhattan Roasts we are more than a little intriged about what the vog will do to the flavor.
