Location of Moki's Farm

Moki’s Farm is located in the town of Captain Cook on the west coast of the island of Hawaii. Captain Cook is in the heart of the Kona coffee belt. Moki’s Farm, at 2000 ft, is a “mauka farm”, located on the upper or mountain side of the highway that transects the Kona coffee belt. The elevation at Moki’s assures the ideal amount of rain to water the coffee and sun to ripen and later dry the coffee; while the rich volcanic soils nurtures the coffee trees.

History of the farm

Moki’s farm comprises 2.1 acres. It has been a small privately owned family operated coffee farm for over 100 years. Its pervious owners first farmed it as lessees and later were able to buy the farm. Unfortunately the widow of the coffee farmer was not able to maintain the farm and during the late 1980s and the 1990s the farm suffered from neglect and became overgrown and many of the coffee trees became diseased.S3 Purchased by Vivian and Roger
In January of 2000, Vivian and Roger Rittenhouse purchased the farm realizing their dream to own property in Hawaii and become part of its diverse culture and economy. Vivian grew up in Hawaii, on the island of Oahu. Roger is a biologists who grew up in a farming family in southern California. Vivian and Roger share a love for Hawaii and for horticulture.

Moki’s Farm Today

Because of the condition of the farm and trees at the time of purchase, the Rittenhouses made the difficult decision to remove most of the existing trees and replant. They were however, able to save approximately 50 trees that are a 100 years older and older. They refer to these trees as “Madorie’s Grove, in honor of the pervious owner. At sometime in the future the Rittenhouses plan to offer Madorie’s coffee as a special product.

In 2001 the Rittenhoues planted 900 new trees. The trees are planted in the “new style” enabling weed control by mowing and easier harvesting for the pickers. Today both new and old trees are thriving and producing exceptional coffee. In it first entry in the annual Kona Coffee Cupping Competition, Moki’s farm received honorable mention.

Who is Moki?

The name Moki’s Farm comes from a song that Vivian learned as a child in Hawaii in 1959. 1959 was the year Hawaii became a state. The song was about Moki and how he would bring Hawaii’s aloha to the rest of the country.
The “Moki song” became a fixture in the Rittenhouse family, sung on long car trips, camping trips and to the children. When the farm was purchased the name Moki’s Farm seemed natural.

Hear the song now!

Estate Coffee

Moki’s Farm sells Estate Coffee. Estate Coffee is the product of one farm, unmixed with coffee from other farms. Estate coffee is grown, processed and roasted under the control of the estate farm. Estate coffee is unique to an individual farm. Estate coffee is comparable to estate wines, which are also the unique product of one farm.

The Kona Coffee Council manages the Kona coffee Estate farm Program. For more information go to the Councils web site.

You can find this and more information at Moki's Farm web site