The Kona Coffee Guide is dedicated to bringing you information that will enhance your relationship with the products of this elite coffee growing region. Whether you are looking for a farm to visit while in Kona or looking for a reliable source for internet ordering of Kona Coffee hopefully our experiences shared here will help you on the way to a great coffee experience.
We sample and review the products from selected farms and let you know the good and the bad of our discoveries. Along the way we will highlight the process of growing, harvesting and processing that makes this coffee so unique.
All coffee comparisons in this guide are based on the medium, or lighter roast. For our personal taste the darker roasts mask all the subtle nuances of earth and fruit that Kona coffee brings to the cup and lessens the differences between coffees grown in different appellations. The lighter roasts let all those flavors come forward.
It must be noted that coffee, like wine, is a matter of personal taste and yours may differ greatly from ours. You may find darker roasts more satisfying and nothing in this guide should ever be taken as saying that is wrong or somehow invalid. Indeed, the darker roasts have a place to our palate when it comes to espresso or evening coffees, with their lower caffeine.
Kona Coffee is grown on the lower slopes of Hualalai and Mauna Loa volcanos in the North Kona and South Kona districts of the Big Island of Hawaii. This stretch of land, 22 miles long and 2 miles wide, has the volcanic soils and mild climate that produces the world’s best coffee. Kona is home to some seven hundred coffee farms, with an average farm size of less than 5 acres. The total Kona coffee acreage is about 2300 acres and green coffee production just over two million pounds. A number of these farms are open to visitors and it can be a great experience on the Big Island.
Mama’s Kona Coffee
We found Mama’s at the Wednesday Keauhou Market just like we did last year. Good bet they will be there if you go. This is really good coffee, well graded with a nice, even roast.
They have a whole thing going at the market with food and other stuff so it’s worth a trip to stop by.
The coffee is grown in Keauhou Mauka appellation. It has a very clean minerality that tastes of pahoehoe – slick and smooth.
Wild Ass Coffee
We found the Wild Ass Coffee at the Donkey Balls store in Kainaliu. Donkeys were used extensively in Kona Coffee farming before the advent of the coffee jeeps and there are still wild herds of donkeys running around the island. Hence the donkey and ass theme.
These beans are really thoroughly graded – uniform in size. Really nice medium roast that brings out some minerality There is nothing on the bag to indicate where this coffee comes from. I expect it is not an estate product and comes from a variety of farms from the South of Keauhou to Kealakekua, but the is just an educated guess.
Uniform, if small, beans and a really nice roast that isn’t going to step on the flavors of the coffee. We found this enjoyable. The one rip-off here is that they sell you 7 oz in a bag that you expect to be 1/2 lb. for $20. The bag does say 7 oz on the label but still this is taking some advantage through not-quite-dishonesty. If you are heading up to the Belt Road and passing through Kainaliu, the Donkey Ball Store has this coffee and several others.
On a side note, in the town of Kainaliu there is a music store with some beautiful Koa Wood Taylor Guitars. Just sayin’. Also a previously owned store with LOTS of men’s Hawaiian shirts.
Donkey Ball Store
79-7411 Mamalahoa Hwy
Kailaliu, HI 96750
808-322-1475
Ka’u Farms
Ka’u is the District just South of South Kona. The climate an terrain are noticeably different, as is the coffee.
We found the Ka’u Farms coffee at the Donkey Balls store in Kainaliu. We wanted to give this coffee a real try after the disaster at Daylight Mind.
This coffee was nicely graded and roasted. I could taste the brown sugar people told us about but it was overwhelmed by a sour, unpleasant finish.
With all the great coffees in Kona I wouldn’t go back south.
Princess Radha Farm
Found at the Kona Green Market in Captain Cook. The farm is 7 acres above Captain Cook.
These beautiful, well graded beans were roasted to a very dark, french roast which ruined the flavor for us. There was nothing on the bag indicating the roast and there was no choice of a lighter roast available at the market when we met them.
This is another coffee from Captain Cook but the dark roast masks the mineralogy we expect from this appellation.
808-345-5589
Ahi Wai Farms
When we made our Costco run there was a woman up on the road selling pounds of coffee for $20. We stopped and took a look. It looked good so we bought a pound.
Looking around online for more information we found reviews on Amazon and a reference to her selling in the same location in 2005.
This coffee is from Captain Cook but we couldn’t find out much more than that. The beans are really nicely graded and a beautiful medium roast.
This was a pleasant brew and after purchasing it many times it is one of our go-to coffees in Kona. It has always been consistent and she sells it at a great price point. If we could get it by mail order we would.
It doesn’t look like you can still buy this coffee on Amazon but the bag we bought has a phone number and address:
808-339-1402
P.O. Box 679
Captain Cook, HI 96704
Cherry Hill Estate
Found at the Art Walk, second Sunday in Kailua. They have a storefront on Ali’i Drive, Belcastro’s Kona Coffee Outlet.
Cherry Hill Estates is located in Captain Cook, Hawaii at the 2400 foot elevation. The 30 acre farm is located in an area known for abundant rain and deep, rich soil.
This coffee is absolutely beautiful but it is roasted a little darker than we would like. There is a hint of sour fruit but any other nuance is masked by the burnt bean flavor.
To contact us please phone 808-345-2489 or mail us at
Cherry Hill Estate
PO Box 632
Captain Cook, HI 96704
3 Keiki Farms
We found this coffee at the Keauhou Wednesday Farmers Market. We had a nice chat with the grower about many things coffee and sampled his cold brew. This is another Keauhou Mauka Coffee.
The beans weren’t sorted as well as we’d like – and for some reason this coffee is not as rich tasting as other Keauhou coffee we have tried.
Find him at the Market and try for yourself.
www.3keikifarms.com
[email protected]
808-333-1421
Mama’s Kona Coffee
We found this one at the Keauhou Farmer’s Market – the Wednesday Market at the Southern end of Ali’i Drive. This coffee is grown in Keauhou Mauka appellation. Nice Roast, good looking beans,
Komo Estate Coffee
A friend recommended Komo Estate Coffee to us. This is available at Komo Store in the north of Holualoa on the Belt Road. I’m not sure of the store hours. When we were there everyone’s Auntie was minding the store.
The coffee looks and smells really good.
This is a really good coffee and very true to what we have come to expect from the Holualoa appellation, with a very pleasant minerality and very little fruit.
Kona Haven Coffee
Tucked in the back just south of Lava Java on Ali’i Drive is Kona Haven Coffee. It might look like you should just go on by but that could be a mistake for coffee adventurists. Inside they have a nice cold brew setup as well as a nitrogen charger.
We stopped in mid-day specifically for a Nitro Cloud. It was delicious – creamy and cold. What a treat.
We also went home with a bag of their Kona de Pele coffee. There is a big sign in the store that says “12.5 miles from our farm.” So of course, I asked where the farm is. The well-meaning and helpful girl said “Captain Cook.” When I asked whereabouts in Captain Cook she said, “Above there, up in the mountains.” Geography aside, this is really nice coffee.
The roast is perfect for our taste and the beans are nicely uniform for the most part. The flavor is quite representative of the minerality of the Captain Cook appellation.
This is a nice stop when you are in kailua. The cold options are great for a hot summer day. Their website says they do Farm Tours, looks like you have to call to arrange that.
http://konahaven.com/
Toll Free 1-866-328-8829
Island Lava Java Revisited – New Digs
We had the opportunity to visit the new Lava Java. Great place! Friendly and open at 6:30 am this is the place to go for your morning brew in Kailua town.
They are able to offer a great menu of edibles as well in the new location. We had a fairly traditional Eggs Benedict – it was n a croissant – and one with the fresh catch of the day, Ono. The coffee was a 16 ounce mug of well roasted deliciousness. They refilled it for no extra charge as well.
Lava Java offers Espresso drinks as well and the coffee for those is a blend – really there’s no point roasting pure Kona Coffee dark enough to make espresso. And of course, the view. Free Wi-Fi and this is my office this morning.
The new Lava Java is great. We’ll be back, even if we have to wait for them to open.
Kona Mountain Coffee
We found Kona Mountain Coffee online and ordered some. The online purchase experience was excellent and our coffee arrived tightly vacuum packed in a resealable bag – all good points. The medium roast is light enough to let the coffee sing with a unique minerality of the Kainaliu Mauka appellation.
Kainaliu is between Holualoa and Captain Cook, where the land masses of Hualalai and Mauna Loa merge and this coffee has a distinct taste of terrior – a sleek minerality with none of the fruit of coffee grown farther south. Kona Mountain Coffee is a very enjoyable brew.
The 90 acre Kona Mountain farm is one of the largest estate coffee farms in Kona. It lies at elevations from 1600 feet to 2400 feet above sea level, and is remarkably level for land in Kona.
A great coffee at a price point of $40 to $45 per pound, this is highly recommended.
http://www.konamountaincoffee.com/
TOLL FREE
1 888-432-3276
In HAWAII
1 808-329-5005
73-4038 Hulikoa Dr Suite 5
Kailua Kona, HI 96740
E-mail
[email protected]
Koa Coffee
We ordered the Koa Coffee online and had a good experience with the process and delivery. The coffee was roasted darker than we would prefer for a medium roast and the result was a somewhat bitter brew that masked the minerakity we have come to expect from coffees grown in the Captain Cook appellation.
The beans were of decent quality and evenly roasted. We felt that a lighter roast would have allowed this coffee tom shine a bit more. Pricing at $36 to $43 per pound, this is a reasonable buy – and it’s a plus that the online ordering experience is so good. They also have a 5 pound bag option of all their coffees with a bit of savings off the single pound price.
http://www.koacoffee.com/
Call toll-free: 1-866-562-5282
Open Mon.- Fri., 6 am – 3 pm Hawaii time.
Kona/Ka’u Koffee Komparison
Last time we were at Daylight Mind – and had a good food experience – they had Kona, Ka’u, Maui and Oahu coffees on their menu so we wanted to go again and do a side by side taste comparison. They did have Ka’u, Maui and Oahu coffees in addition to a selection of Kona so we forged ahead. Oh so sorry we are out of the Maui and Oahu. All we have are Big Island coffees.
Our taste comparison wound up being between the Ka’u Coffee and the Kona Llanes Farms coffee.
For those who don’t know, Ka’u is the District of the Big Island that is just south of Kona. It has a somewhat different climate and soil composition while still being on the Western slope of Mauna Loa. We were interested to see how that would play out in the coffee.
To begin, both cups of coffee were rather unpleasant. The beans were roasted too dark and the brew in both cases was bitter with a sour fruit taste. The Ka’u coffee was nearly undrinkable, it was so bitter and sour flavored. The Kona coffee had much less of the sour fruit but it was uncharacteristically bitter. The brewing method was pour-over, which should not contribute to the bad taste so we felt as if it was mostly just poorly roasted and possibly ground too far ahead.
Even with the disappointing flavors we found quite a bit of difference between the two coffees with the Kona much more to our liking. Hopefully we can find a better place than Daylight Mind to try this experiment in the future.
Black Rooster Farm
We found Black Rooster Farm at the Ali’i Marketplace. This is an interesting coffee, roasted just a slight bit darker than most of the medium roasts we have run into. We really enjoyed the flavor of this coffee, forward minerality with a fuller body and a bit of chocolate. We can’t find much information online about this farm but from the taste we are guessing it is grown on Hualalai Mauka somewhere.
These are nice looking beans. You can see the roast is a bit uneven, with some beans darker than medium. The end result is a very pleasant cup of coffee.
Another nice feature of the Black Rooster Farm coffee is the packaging. This came in a vacuum sealed, resealable bag. This is a good thing when you are on vacation and don’t have any way to store your beans from day to day.
We found this coffee at the Ali’i Marketplace, south of Kailua-Kona n Ali’i Drive. We don’t know if that is a regular or ongoing thing so you might check in with them first. Their emil address is on the bag!
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Black-Rooster-Organic-Coffee-Farm/538274296361731
Hawaii Kona Farms/Kona Pacific Farmers Cooperative
Before the advent of boutique coffee farms the big mills bought almost all the coffee cherry and processed it under a blanket name. Hawaii Kona Farms is a relic of those days with tours of the big mill and coffee from multiple farms. This is a nice product that aggregates many of the flavors of South Kona coffee.
Hawaii Kona Farms is owned and operated by the 32 members of the Kona Pacific Farmers Cooperative, the oldest Kona coffee co-op. They have been producing coffee since 1910.
The minerality is smooth and reminds us somewhat of Szechuan Peppercorns. We didn’t experience a lot of fruit in this cup.
It’s a good roast with a few chips and chunks in the bag but overall a good experience. Hawaii Kona farms is located on the Napoopoo Road, just a bit above Kealakekua Bay.
http://www.kpfc.com/
9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday
Dr. Paolo’s Kona Coffee
We found Dr Paola at the South Kona Green Market in Captain Cook.Without a doubt this is the best Farmer’s Market on the Kona side. We try to plan Sunday near the beginning of our trip so we can stock up on fruit from the market.
This coffee is proudly non-GMO. Dr Paolo does a coffee and Mac Nut business that is non-GMO just above the town of Captain Cook. This medium roast has characteristics of coffee grown on Mauna Loa, with less mineralogy and a hint of sour fruit. There were some chips and chunks in the bag but the the coffee was tasty.
Did I mention this is non-GMO coffee? Apparently this is a big issue for Dr Paolo as it is all over his website. The only place we have seen GMO Coffee is Kauai, but whatever. Dr Paolo still makes a good cup of coffee and goes on our recommended list.
http://drpauloskonacoffee.com/
(800) 873-6693
Email Us at: [email protected]
Ferrari Kona Coffee Company
We found Ferrari Coffee at Ali’i Gardens Marketplace about a mile south of Kailua on Ali’i Drive. Apparently they used to have a mobile coffee stand across from Hoggo’s in Kailua and recently moved to a more permanent location. We didn’t really see a choice in roast at the store and bought some to try at home.
This is a darker roast than we normally drink but it was enjoyable. This coffee has the minerality of Holualoa Mauka coffees and indeed that is where it is grown. The darker roast brings that out in an interesting way, making it more robust with no burnt flavor.
Visitors to the Big Island can easily find the Ali’i Gardens Marketplace. Just go south from Kailua town on Ali’i Drive and there it is. I expect Ferrari Coffee will be open any time the Marketplace is.
On a side note, in 1980 or so the Marketplace was a true flea market with local folks selling whatever they had. Now it is a shopping mall with kiosks that all look the same selling souvenirs, ‘art’ and t-shirts – the kind of scene we usually try to avoid. We didn’t see any fresh produce when we were there but there are many online reviews talking about the great experience and the shave ice.
Doutor Coffee/Mauka Meadows
Doutor Coffee/Mauka Meadows. Holualoa Mauka appellation
Maura Meadows is without a doubt the most beautiful coffee farm we have visited. Doctor Coffee is a Japanese company with coffee shops throughout Eastern Asia. The Mauka Meadows farm provides their Kona beans. They have created a beautiful tropical garden for visitors to experience.
For a $5 per person suggested fee, using the honor system, you can walk down through a beautiful estate featuring rolling meadows, tropical plants and flowers, fruit and coffee trees, to a gazebo with an infinity pool that appears to flow off the edge of the earth.
The walk begins in this beautiful sweeping meadow bordered by tropical foliage. It continues through many wonders as you descend. This is an easy walk but it is a constant descent and parts of it are steep.
The grounds are very well kept up. One of the highlights was this vine tunnel.
As you near the bottom you get spectacular Kona views from the steep vantage point.
And finally there is coffee tasting with the cooling breeze coming off the infinity pool. The hostess will give you a ride back up to the parking area whenever you are ready.
Highly recommended for those who can navigate an easy hike. No reservations necessary.
Daylight Mind
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 we had a short wait for a table. We let our waitress know we were short on time and she accommodated us really well. The food was delicious and we had a cup of the Arianna coffee which was good. The roast was a little darker than we prefer but all in all a good cup and a nice experience.
This is one of the only places we have seen an opportunity to contrast Kona, Ka’u and Maui coffees. Given more time that would be interesting.
Single servings all ready to go:
For the adventurous, they offer a variety of single farm coffees to take home.
This visit was enjoyable and we would recommend this spot with the caveat that the experience can vary greatly from day to day.
PREVIOUSLY:
Update – while we had a less than stellar experience here, they have an interesting menu and get very mixed reviews on Yelp and Trip Advisor. The bad reviews are mostly about service and the kind of issues we had. The good reviews are mostly about food and location. We would like to hear how your experience was and we will come back next time we’re in Kona and give it another chance.
This was a surreal visit to this spot located in some prime real estate in Kailua Town. Once upon a time there was a humble eating and drinking place known as the Spindrifter where we played with several bands. Now there is a hulking three story mall, much of it occupied by Daylight Mind. No one greeted us at the door and we wandered upstairs looking for a bar. The upstairs was empty. There was a beer bar but nobody attending it. Back downstairs and still no idea of what the place was. Some baked goods in a display case – and then I noticed a coffee roaster in the corner with a lot of bags of coffee from other countries.
https://www.daylightmind.com/
(808)339-7824
[email protected]
Hula Daddy Kona Coffee
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 with the medium roast and never got a satisfactory answer as to why. We were told the trees below the tasting room were Guatemalan Coffee trees, that they have three different processes for processing their coffees, and that the coffee we tasted was grown elsewhere and we were probably tasting minerals from that soil. None of these answers quite explained the sour flavor of their coffee.
At $55 per pound for the medium roast we recommend you skip this stop and head further down the road to one of the other farms reviewed on this blog.
If for any reason you want to visit here, maybe you want to test how much to trust our judgment or something, here is the contact information:
74-4944 Mamalahoa Highway
Holualoa, Hawaii 96725
(808) 327-9744
Island Lava Java
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 sustainable methods. We were delighted to see live Hawaiian music at this coffeehouse on a Tuesday morning.
They have bags of coffee available at both their Kailua and Waikoloa stores as well as mail order.
We were quite pleased to notice a new shop on the way for Island Lava Java just a few doors down from their current location. This looks as if it will be a great space.
http://www.islandlavajava.com/
Kona
Phone: (808) 327-2161
Fax: (808) 329-4668
Address: 75-5799 Ali`i Dr.
Kailua-Kona, HI 96740
Waikoloa
Phone: (808) 769-5202
Address: 68-1845 Waikoloa Rd.
Waikoloa, HI 96738
Email: [email protected]
Kona Living History Coffee Farm
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 mill, drying shed, home and gardens are available for you to explore and it’s quite fascinating.
The original drying sheds had a rolling roof that could be rolled away to expose the drying coffee to the sun, and then rolled back to cover it when it rained.
Of course there is coffee to taste in addition to the tour. This farm doesn’t really produce enough coffee these days so they do buy cherry from other farms to make a nice, rounded coffee.
Kona Historical Society
PO Box 398 Captain Cook, HI. 96704
Phone: 808-323-3222 ~ FAX: 808-323-2398
Email: [email protected]
Greenwell Farms
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 itself has trees stretching from the lower elevations to over 3000 feet. They are also one of the larger purchasers of Kona Coffee Cherry, buying from some 200 farms. As a result this coffee is a great middle of the road Kona Coffee with the minerality and rocky soil characteristics of various farms all blended together.
Their tasting room has a wide variety of roasts for you to try out with lots of information about each. We enjoyed the medium roast as a really good representation of Kona Coffee characteristics without the individualization that comes from single farm coffees.
The tasting room is open 8:00am to 5:00pm and they do tours until 4:00. No appointment necessary. This is a good stop in South Kona and we recommend this coffee for those who aren’t interested in the single farm characteristics.
Greenwell Farms, Inc.
81-6581 Mamalahoa Highway
Kealakekua, Hawaii 96750
Store Hours: 8am – 5pm Hawaii Time
Farm Tours: 8am – 4:00pm
Tour Info: 808-323-2295
Every day, no cost, no reservations necessary
Ueshima Coffee Company
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 of coffees from the Holualoa Mauka appellation with a sharp minerality reminiscent of the rocky, volcanic soils.
They have a tasting room on the Belt Road that is open from 9:00 to 4:30 every day. No appointment necessary. The view is beautiful. It appears to be an extended family running the tasting room – friendly and informative. The display below shows several stages of the processing.
Ueshima Coffee Company is a good farm to visit when in the Holualoa area. No appointment necessary.
UCC Hawaii Corporation
75-5568 Mamalahoa Highway
Holualoa, HI 96725
Tel: (808)322-3789
Toll-free: (888)822-5662 or (888)UCC-KONA
Fax: (808)324-1528
Email: [email protected]
Store hours: 9:00am – 4:30pm
7 days a week except Thanksgiving & Christmas
Fire Island Coffee
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 coffees from this appellation. Some of this is due to a pocket of soil that blesses Honaunau, which is five feet deep at this farm. It is this soil that makes this area unique and informs the terroir of the brew. Walking through the farm we saw some very large fruit for the end of April, and lots of it. Hopefully this portends a good year for the 2017 Honaunau coffee.
When Sharon and Jeff bought this farm it had been untended for several years. It was quite a feat to dig these trees out from the morning glory jungle and make a productive farm of it.
With coffee, as with wine, fruit from old growth trees has some very desirable qualities and expresses the sense of place or terroir just that much more. These old growth trees have been marked here with pink ribbon and the fruit is hand picked and kept separate. This old growth coffee is sold as their Heritage product.
We visited the drying shed at the farm. They have an interesting Pulping machine that allows them to skip the fermenting step. We were surprised to discover that this fruit forward coffee had not been fermented.
Here’s a picture of a rake used to stir the beans while drying.
We have talked with Jeff several times over the last couple years at the local Farmers Markets and found him to be very enthusiastic about all things coffee. It was great to get a chance to tour their farm. It is a challenging drive up a one lane road to get there but a very good experience.
We have ordered this coffee from their website with good experiences every time. They take care of their customers and the coffee arrives in a timely manner.
Call 1-808-328-9893 to schedule a visit
http://www.fireislandcoffee.net/
P.O. Box 634 Honaunau HI 96726 US
Kona Blue Sky Coffee
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 the Belt Road. We first found this farm after spending the day stopping at all the tourist trap coffee outlets on the Belt Road between Palani Road and Kainaliu. It was refreshing to find an honest bean at a reasonable price. The medium roast here has the great earthy characteristics of Holualoa coffees without being the least bit pretentious.
These are high elevation coffees, grown between 1400 and 3200 feet on Hualalai. Old vines – many of the vines are 100 years old – and sun dried.
The Estate Grade is $37.00 and the Ohana is $32.00 per pound. Vey reasonable for the quality presented. As you can see from the photos these are not big showy beans but they definitely deliver with flavor.
See their website for tour and tasting information.
http://www.konablueskycoffee.com/home.html
Langenstein Farms Coffee
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 in Honaunau, going all the way up to the top at 2000 feet plus. John was a warrior in the early days of winning back the 100% Kona Brand and making it meaningful. In his 40 years of Kona Coffee farming he has seen – and been responsible for – many changes in the way coffee is grown, roasted and sold. One of those is the hot-air style of roasting which he demonstrated for us. The close control of the final temperature the beans reach allows for an even and consistent roast.
Langenstein Farms has a couple products that we highly recommend. The Medium Roast is wonderfully tasty with a medium fruit and light earthiness that comes from the Honaunau terroir. The Kona Naturals is our favorite with a bigger, rounder fruit component.
The Kona Naturals is fermented with the skins on which leaves more fruit flavor in the bean, and probably more caffeine as well. The cherry also contains most of coffee’s antioxidants and leaving them on longer allows more of the healthy attributes to leach into the bean.
With a price point of $32.50 for the Estate Medium Roast and $30.00 for the Kona Naturals, Langenstein Farms is providing the finest of Kona Coffees at a very reasonable price.
https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=langenstein%20farms%20inc..
We found it very easy to schedule an informative tour with John and purchase freshly roasted Kona Naturals right from the farm, located on the Mauka side of the Belt Road just north of the junction with Keale O Keane Road. Since we can’t be in Kona all the time we have ordered online many times with excellent experiences.
Holualoa Coffee Company
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 medium. These are premium beans, big and uniform. The dark roast is a bit too dark for our taste, though we recognize that others prefer it. We find the burned flavor masks any fruit that was available and the real taste of the terroir.
The medium roast carries the characteristics of Holualoa coffee very well with an understated fruit and a strong earth that represents a sense of place with the rocky lack of soil.
A rather unique feature when ordering coffee from this company, in addition to selecting the roast you can select whether it is air roasted or drum roasted.
At a price point of $47.00 per pound this seems steep – but they do throw in shipping so not all that bad.
Their tasting room is open to the public so no need to call ahead. See their website for hours.
http://www.konalea.com/
Kona Joe Coffee
Something that really bothers us about the Kona coffee scene are the businesses that are preying on unknowledgeable tourists and giving them a less than satisfactory experience while charging way too much for it. Kona Joe is a perfect example. Located very visibly just north of Kainaliu on the Belt Road, this place draws lots of coffee tourists and delivers a less than satisfactory experience. As you can see, a lot of the beans are broken up chips and chunks. Just not a quality experience.
Both the Medium and Dark are roasted well, and at $33.95 per pound the price point is okay but the quality is lacking.
The real issue we have with Kona Joe is their Trellis Grown Coffee at $75.00 per pound. This is a sucker bet for anyone that falls for it. Coffee is not meant to be grown on trellises and the sun exposure with this method produces a sadly inferior crop. You won’t find this available in their tasting room as it doesn’t stand up to scrutiny. It’s very disappointing to know that this is the Kona Coffee experience some people receive and they never know how good it really can be.
We highly recommend skipping a visit here and spending your time at one of the other farms recommended in this guide.
Rooster Farms
Rooster Farms is dear to our heart and is the foundation for our love of Kona coffee. Started by Mike Craig in the 70’s, the Rooster has been active with growing, branding and marketing methods for Kona farmers. This farm is located in the Honaunau Mauka appellation and the medium roast has the characteristic bold fruit forward flavor.
Mike sold Rooster Farms in 2015. The new owners are keeping the farm alive, though they have dispensed with the colorful label. We have not had an opportunity to meet the new owners and will update this page when that opportunity presents itself. They won the Kona Cupping Contest in 2016. While they are offering their extra fancy grade for $90 per pound, they also offer an unsorted “Hawaiian” grade for $20 per pound. This is a good product with all the qualities of Honaunau Mauka coffee at an accessible price.
Rooster Farms does offer tours by appointment. It is an arduous drive up a one-lane road to get there but well worth the effort.
http://www.roosterfarms.com/
P.O. Box 370, Captain Cook, HI 96704
+1 808 315 5224
Mountain Thunder Coffee
A trip to Mountain Thunder was very interesting. They are located very far up Hualalai at 3200 feet in the Kaloko Cloud Forest which is a radically different elevation and climate than most of the Kona growing region. The climate and careful growing methods produce one of the largest coffee cherries in the region.
Prices here range from the reasonable $31.00 per pound to $70.00 for their Cloud Forest premium product. We will leave it up to the reader to decide whether it’s worth the price.
Since we wrote this Mountain Thunder has closed. Questionable business practices, failing to pay local farmers for coffee cherry they purchased and general asshattery makes it seem the farming community is glad they are gone.