Brew-ha-ha: Kona name sparks coffee war
November 30, 1996
Web posted at: 8:00 a.m. ESTFrom Correspondent Rusty Dornin
SAN FRANCISCO (CNN) -- It's being called the great Kona coffee caper.
For nine years, millions of coffee lovers who believed they were enjoying the expensive Hawaiian brand might actually have been drinking cheaper Central American coffee.
But now Michael L. Norton, the man accused by federal officials of doing a bean switch and defrauding people out of drinking pure Kona coffee, is saying he didn't fool anybody.
"No one in my company, either myself or someone else in the company, knowingly broke any laws regarding the sale of Kona coffee," he said.
Norton, who is free on $1 million bail, has been charged with fraud and money laundering. Authorities have also seized or frozen more than $3.3 million in assets that belonged to Norton, owner of Berkeley-based Kona Kai Coffee.
Federal prosecutors claim Norton defrauded U.S. importers, including the giant chain Starbucks, and cheated coffee drinkers out of drinking in the rich, robust flavor of fresh- brewed Hawaiian Kona coffee beans.
Millions of pounds of coffee sold in burlap sacks labeled as Kona beans from Hawaii were actually beans from Panama and Costa Rica, officials contend. And Norton reportedly made millions from the scheme.
Fighting for name
Kona beans can sell wholesale for as much as $9.75 a pound while inferior-grade Panamanian beans fetch $1.80 a pound. Kona coffee is more expensive because of what some describe as its complex, nutty aroma and rich flavor, and the fact that it is hand-picked on tiny Hawaiian farms.
Now, Hawaiian coffee growers are pushing for laws to protect both the name and purity of Kona beans.
"We want to trademark the name 'Kona' and have it relate to 100 percent and keep it that way," said Douglas Duarte of the Hawaiian Farm Bureau.
Growers and some importers would like to see an end to blends made with a little Kona and a lot of other beans.
"When consumers see a package saying Kona blend, they think this is a blend of Kona coffees from the gently sloping hillsides of Hawaii. Nothing could be further from the truth and nothing more disparaging to coffee growers of Kona," said Mark Zuckerman of Pasqua Coffee.
But Norton's attorney says controversy over this brew is a only a lot of brew-ha-ha.
"Nobody who ever bought his coffee was ever fooled by anything," said attorney Penny Cooper. "They got a good of cup of coffee. There's no fraud here."
There is no unique Kona coffee plant. The flavor comes from the soil and climate where the beans grow. It is the only coffee grown in the United States, and growers say they want the label to reflect the region, similar to how wine is labeled.
"I think the problem you had in the Napa Wine Valley area was (because) it took a while for the wine growers and connoisseurs to get together on labeling," said Sotero Agoot of the Kona Coffee Cooperative.
Norton's case won't be back in court until sometime next year, when federal prosecutors hope to spill the beans on what they allege is the Kona caper.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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