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Coffee has been grown on Atiu for as long as people remember. Missionaries established coffee growing commercially in the early 19th century. By 1865 annual exports of coffee from the Cook Islands amounted to 30,000 pounds. The islands' Ariki (high chiefs) controlled the land used for planting and received most of the returns. The commoners often saw little if any reward for their labour.
In the late 1890s, Rarotongan coffee production suffered due to a blight that affected the plants. Coffee production then declined. In the 1950s the co-operative movement in the Cook Islands resulted in the re-establishment of coffee as a cash crop.
On Atiu, under the supervision of New Zealand Resident Agent Ron Thorby and the Cook Islands Agriculture Department, new coffee plantations were established. The raw coffee was destined for export to New Zealand where it was processed and marketed. In 1983, again the coffee industry had collapsed.
In 1984 Juergen Manske-Eimke, commenced the Atiu Coffee Factory, now a tourist attraction, where visitors can go to learn about growing, harvesting and packing coffee.
You will also get the chance to taste the coffee! |
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