Visit Ka‘anapali Coffee Farms, where the harvest is in full swing. Photo by Kathleen Giambalvo.

Just as the holiday season greets us with a whirlwind of activities and festive celebrations, so too does the harvest season at Ka’anapali Coffee Farms.

Take a self-guided tour of this true agricultural community soon and you’re in for a treat. Rows of coffee plants laden with bright red and yellow cherries lay ripe for the picking. Dozens of workers busily gather the fruits of their labor — some of the finest coffee in the world marketed under the MauiGrown Coffee brand. Owners and local farmers alike share in the excitement of the harvest with each year’s yield anticipated to exceed the last.

Harvest season begins in September and typically ends in February. During this time, the crop is harvested on over 380 acres in Kaanapali. The coffee cherries will make their way to the processing plant in Lahaina, where they are cleaned, sorted and dried to produce outstanding coffee. The green coffee will be sold in 100-pound bags to roasters nationwide under the MauiGrown Coffee brand. Smaller bags of both green and roasted beans are sold in Lahaina at the MauiGrown Coffee Company Store or online at www.MauiGrownCoffee.com.

For owners at Kaanapali Coffee Farms, it’s a unique opportunity to see the harvest operation up-close on their very own coffee orchard. But don’t expect to be grinding away during harvest season — veteran local farmers will do the work for you while you sip a cup of Maui Mokka and enjoy a relaxed lifestyle like no other.

For more information on Ka’anapali Coffee Farms, call (808) 662-0000, stop by our Information Center located behind the Sugar Cane Train station on Pu’ukoli’i Road or visit www.KaanapaliCoffeeFarms.com. Our model home, the Rainbow House, is available for showings by appointment only. For information on MauiGrown Coffee, visit www.MauiGrownCoffee.com or stop by the store to taste their world-famous coffees next to the historic Pioneer Mill smokestack on Lahainaluna Road in Lahaina.