State lawmakers are once again attempting to set limits on who can claim to sell Hawaii-grown coffee products.
To widely popular support, several bills in the state Legislature would prohibit coffee distributors from advertising their products using Hawaiian place names if an insufficient percentage of those products actually originated from those places.
House Bill 259 prohibits the use of any geographic origin to label a coffee product unless that product contains 20% or more coffee from that specific origin. That threshold would increase to 30% in 2024 and finally to 51% in 2025.
The bill also prohibits any coffee product from being marketed with the term “All Hawaiian” unless the product is made entirely from green coffee beans grown and processed in the state.
A similar bill, Senate Bill 746, would expand the state’s existing coffee labeling requirements to require coffee blend manufacturers to disclose on their labels the composition of each blend, reporting the origins and percentages of each coffee varietal in the blend.
“I haven’t tasted all the different coffee types myself, but everyone has their favorite, whether that’s Hamakua coffee, or Kona coffee, or Ka‘u coffee,” said Hilo and Hamakua Rep. Mark Nakashima, who co-introduced HB 259. “That geographic distinction is important, and that’s what we want to protect.”
Nakashima noted that Hawaiian-grown coffee carries a certain amount of prestige, which itself allows manufacturers to charge a premium for products that claim to be from the islands. But while the state already regulates the use of Hawaiian geographic names to sell coffee, those regulations only require that a minimum of 10% of a product to actually originate from the place named on the label.
Those blended coffees dilute the branding potential of the Hawaii coffee industry, argue state coffee advocates.
“Blended coffees do not provide the consumer with the proper taste profile and mislead the consumer about the region’s flavor qualities,” wrote Jeffrey Clark, Chief Operating Officer for the Edmund C. Olson Trust, which operates the Ka‘u Coffee Mill, during a March committee hearing. “As a grower, processor, roaster and retailer of 100% Ka‘u Coffee, I can see the devastating result of blended coffees on the Hawaii-grown coffee industry … Hawaiian farmers have built a reputation for growing high quality, specialty coffees that command premium prices. Blenders have taken advantage of this reputation by minimally blending Hawaii-grown coffee with lesser cost and quality coffees grown elsewhere.”
The state Legislature introduced a similar bill last year, but the text of that bill was ultimately replaced entirely, creating a measure requiring the Department of Agriculture to conduct an independent study assessing the economic impact that such labeling requirements could have. While that bill was signed into law last year, the study is not required to be completed until 2024.
In any event, the DOA also approves of HB 259, but has requested an appropriation of roughly $100,000 to hire an inspector to enforce the labeling requirements.
The Senate Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection will discuss HB 259 today at 10 a.m. The equivalent House committee will discuss SB 746 on Thursday at 2 p.m.
Email Michael Brestovansky at mbrestovansky@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
