Matthew Cook

Daylight Mind Update May, 2017 – We gave Daylight Mind another opportunity to impress on our way to the airport.  The experience was much better than our previous attempt. They were pretty busy and, since we didn’t have a reservation…

Hula Daddy Kona Coffee With a prime location just after you turn from Palani Road onto the Mamalahoa Highway heading toward Holualoa, Hula Daddy preys on tourists with high prices and substandard coffee. We experienced a very sour fruit flavor…

Lava Java Coffee Located in the heart of Kailua town, Lava Java is one of the few coffee houses serving 100% Kona Coffee. We were directed here by several local farmers as a company that makes their own coffee using…

Kona Living History Coffee Farm A worthwhile stop in South Kona is the Living History Coffee Farm. This farm has been restored to recreate the life of a coffee farmer from the era of 1920 to around 1945. The old…

Greenwell Farms Greenwell Farms is located between Kealakekua and Captain Cook on the Mamalahoa Highway, Hawaii’s Belt Road. This farm was started in 1850 by Henry Greenwell and has been kept up by the family ever since. The Greenwell Farm…

  Ueshima Coffee Company Ueshima Coffee Company was founded in 1935 and is one of the leading Japanese coffee companies. Their Kona farm was founded in 1989 near Holualoa on the Hawaii Belt Road. Their coffee is a great example…

Fire Island Coffee We spent some time with Sharon at Fire Island Coffee in the Honaunau Mauka appellation. Located high on Bruner Road, this is some of our favorite Kona coffee, expressing a round fruit and mild earthiness typical of…

Kona Blue Sky Coffee in the Holualoa Mauka appellation When we first land in Kona and need to get coffee for the first morning we stop at Kona Blue Sky at the top of Holualoa Raod, just before it intersects…

Langenstein Farms Estate Grown Coffee from the Honaunau appellation. Our search for Kona Coffee authenticity took us to the farm of John Langenstein. Located at around the 1000 foot level in Honaunau, his coffee comes from several farms he owns…

Some of the fattest coffee beans we’ve seen in Kona come from the Holualoa Mauka appellation. The Kona Lea Plantation is a fine example of this. Pictured here is their dark roast product, but they also have a very nice…