Kona Coffee FAQ: 100% Kona Coffee, Farm Tours, Shipping & Brewing

Exclusively grown in the Kona coffee belt on the Big Island of Hawaii, the smooth flavor of Kona coffee is formed by the mineral-rich volcanic soil, gentle rainfall, and consistent microclimate. Our 100% Kona coffee is grown by our crew and partners in Holualoa then hand-picked, processed, and dried before roasting. Known for its complexity, silky body, and low acidity and bitterness, Kona coffee is one of the most unique flavor profiles in the world.

Yes, all of our coffee is sourced from our farms and shipped directly from our ohana-based operation overlooking the Kona coast. Every bag of Heavenly Hawaiian's 100% Kona coffee is traceable from tree-to-cup. We also partner with a local roaster and coffee expert to ensure our coffee beans are roasted to perfection before being packaged and shipped. Local partnerships like these ensure that our coffee maintains its consistent quality and supports the Kona community.

100% Kona coffee" is a state certification that says that our beans are sourced entirely from Kona, and we meet the sizing and quality requirements set by the state of Hawaii. We use only the highest quality beans sourced from our farms in Kona and do not blend our coffee with beans from other regions.

Many store-bought coffees labeled “Kona Blend” or just “Kona Coffee” contain only 10% Kona Coffee mixed with lower-quality beans. Heavenly Hawaiian never blends.

Our 100% Kona Coffees, such as Kona Silk, Kona Joy, and Kona Ember meet all of the strict grading standards for the Kona region. We also produce Hawaiian Grade coffees, such as Kona Makai and Kona Mauka, grown on our same farm but not meeting the 100% Kona specifications. These beans offer the same low-acidity and low-bitterness characteristics as our flagship coffees but at a more affordable price, making them an excellent everyday option for Kona coffee lovers.

Heavenly Hawaiian offers a variety of roast profiles to suit the preferences of every coffee lover. Each roast is designed to highlight the natural sweetness and unique flavor profile of our Kona beans.
- Kona Silk (Medium Roast): Smooth and silky with milk chocolate, jasmine, and sweet spice notes.
- Kona Ember (Dark Roast): Bold flavor with chocolate undertones.
- Kona Joy (Medium Roast, Extra Fancy Grade): Complex and balanced with milk chocolate, jasmine, and citrus.
- Kona Bright (Light Roast): Full-bodied and bright with apple, brown sugar, and cinnamon notes.
- Kold Bold (Medium Roast): Full and rounded body with dark chocolate and citrus tones — perfect for cold brew.
- Kona Makai (Full City Roast) & Kona Mauka (Medium Roast, Hawaiian Grade): Smooth, full-bodied roasts with notes of candied orange, apricot jam, and roasted nuts, grown on our farm, offering great value without sacrificing the signature Kona flavor.

We recommend storing your coffee in an airtight container, away from light, heat and moisture. Whole coffee beans will stay fresh for up to 2 months after roasting when stored properly. All of our coffees are packaged in airtight containers with a ziplock and one way valve that allows for naturally occurring gasses to escape, but keeps air from entering. Our coffees are also roasted freshly and shipped to order, so you always receive the freshest coffee possible -- from our farm to your cup.

Your coffee flavor will depend on the brewing method. While you can adjust the grind size to fit your preferences, this is what we recommend:
- Drip coffee maker/machine: Medium Grind (size of white sugar)
- French Press: Course Grind (size of Kosher salt)
- Cold Brew: Coursest Grind (size of rock salt)
- Pour Over/Hario V60: Medium Grind (size of white sugar)
- Chemex: Medium-Course grind (size of raw sugar)
Coffee will taste the best when ground directly before brewing, but we also offer free grinding as an option at checkout.

Brewing the perfect cup depends on 2 things, your palette and brewing method. However, here is our recipe for a drip machine:
- 75g (7.25 TBSP) of coffee beans medium grind
- 12 c. water (1 full pot/65 fl oz)
For a french press (8oz cup):
- 14g course ground coffee
- French Press
- 238 g (8 oz) filtered (not distilled) water at 200°F
Add coffee to the french press, then add enough water to wet the grounds. Allow 30 seconds to "bloom" the coffee. Add the remaining water then let rest for 4-5 minutes. Plunge slowly and enjoy!

Yes. Kona Coffee naturally has a lower acidity than most coffees from other regions. The combination of the unique growing conditions - volcanic soil, mild elevation, and gentle climate - and the care we put into our trees - hand picking and fertilizing - contribute to lower stress on the trees, which creates a cup that's smooth, balanced, and easy on the stomach with a lower bitterness or acidity.

Heavenly Hawaiian offers more than just premium coffee. Our product line includes:
- A variety of chocolate-covered macadamia nuts and Peaberry Bites
- Farm-grown green beans for home roasting
- Hawaiian-grown teas, including Māmaki, Cacao Tea, and our Geisha Cascara Tea
- Art from local artists and farm-branded t-shirts
- Local honey harvested in Kona
- Vanilla extract and vanilla beans produced right here in Kona
Every product is sourced from the island or made on our farm to reflect the flavors, hospitality, and spirit of the Big Island.

Absolutely. Our Kona Coffee Farm Tour is one of the most popular experiences on the island. We welcome guests to enjoy a guided walk through our fields, learn how coffee is grown and processed, and sample our freshly brewed coffee with breathtaking views of the Pacific Ocean.
We also offer unique experiences like the Paniolo Roasting Class where you can curate your own roast, and the Brew-Your-Best-Cup workshop to learn how to brew your best cup of coffee.
Reservations are recommended — bookings can be made directly through our website at www.heavenlyhawaiian.com or through this link: Book Now!.

Yes. We ship throughout the United States and internationally to most countries. U.S. orders over $60 qualify for free domestic shipping.
All coffee is packaged immediately after roasting to ensure you receive the freshest coffee possible!

At Heavenly Hawaiian, we grow, roast, and ship freshly roasted coffee straight from our farm in Kona to your door. With our Coffee Club, you can enjoy fresh coffee every month at a savings while becoming part of a community of coffee lovers, our Heavenly Hawaiian Ohana, and receiving exclusive perks along the way. You can sign up through our Coffee Club page by following this link Coffee Club - Sign Up.

A peaberry forms when a single bean develops inside the coffee cherry instead of the usual two. This natural mutation occurs in about 3-7% percent of all coffee cherries on each type of tree and creates a smaller, rounder bean with concentrated sweetness.
Our Peaberry roast showcases this unique bean’s smooth, rich body and sweet finish — one of Kona’s rarest treasures.

Yes. Heavenly Hawaiian works hard to create the most sustainable and ethical coffee possible. Our coffee is hand-picked and processed using environmentally friendly methods.
We compost our coffee pulp to enrich the soil and use certified organic fertilizers on our soils. Our farming practices and long-standing partnerships support fair employment and responsible stewardship of the Kona coffee region.

Coffee cherries ripen at different times on each branch. By hand-picking, we ensure only the ripe, red cherries are selected, improving flavor and quality.
Also, we do not use coffee picking machines because they add stress to the trees which can impact the flavor of the coffee for up to 2 years.

Coffee trees begin producing cherries around their third year and reach peak production at about seven years. Mature trees can continue producing quality coffee for over 50 years when properly cared for.
- Fun fact, the oldest trees in Kona are 200 years old, but they are only used for reproducing new trees, not for consumption.

Our mature trees thrive on natural rainfall due to Kona’s unique microclimate. Younger trees receive supplemental irrigation from a recycled system originally installed when the farm was founded.

Everything ON the trees is certified organic. We use herbicides as infrequently as possible to control weeds around the base of the coffee trees which can help to prevent the Coffee Leaf Rust (a fatal fungus to coffee trees).

On average, a mature Kona coffee tree yields 2–3 pounds of roasted coffee per year.

The Big Island has 10 of the world’s 14 climate zones, making Kona’s coffee-growing region incredibly diverse and ideal for coffee cultivation.

The chlorophyll ferments and increases acidity in the leaves which is translated to the beans

Coffee begins fermenting within hours of harvest. We process every night to maintain balance and sweetness.

Washed coffee removes fruit before drying, creating a clean and consistent flavor. Natural process coffee dries with the fruit remaining intact on the beans and creates a fruiter, sweeter, and brighter flavor profile.Natural coffee dries with the fruit intact for a fruitier profile.

Extra Fancy beans are the largest (19 millimeter) with fewer than 1% defects. Estate is a true representation of what our farm produces, but includes slightly smaller beans which are still high quality and traceable to our farm.

Geisha is a rare varietal prized for floral, tea-like aroma and complex flavor. Geisha is one of the most expensive and sought-after coffees in the world, and the high price comes from a mix of flavor profiles, growing conditions, processing methods, rarity, and demand. This coffee currently holds the World Record for the most expensive coffee in the world with the price of Panamanian Geisha selling at auction for $30,204 per kilogram.

While most coffee shops use a 1:16 or 1:15 ratio of water to coffee, we prefer a 1:17 ration for Heavenly Hawaiian's coffees to create a smooth and balanced flavor. When brewing, we use 1g of coffee for 17g of water at around 200F.

Measuring your coffee in weight instead of volume allows for a more accurate and consistent outcome for every brew. This is helpful, as beans will vary in size and density based on varietal and roast.

Blooming coffee when brewing is an important step as the roasting process releases natural gasses like carbon dioxide from the coffee beans. When you first brew, the coffee will "bloom" or grow showing a release of these gasses. Coffee brewed without a proper bloom (about 30 seconds) could result in a more bitter coffee due to extraction rates.

When you receive your bag of Heavenly Hawaiian coffee, we recommend that you keep the coffee that you will be able to use within 2 months in your airtight container in a dark space. If you have additional coffee, the freezer is a great way to keep your coffee fresher for longer.
To reduce adding condensation or liquid into the coffee when using it out of the freezer, only pull out the coffee that you need to grind for that day and keep the remaining bag in the freezer in an airtight container.
We do not recommend putting your coffee in the fridge, as it can pick up other odors from the refrigerator and is quickly introduced to condensation which will degrade the taste of the coffee.

Contrary to common belief, lighter roasts tend to have a slightly higher concentration of caffeine than darker roasts, but the difference is nominal.
Caffeine concentrations actually tend to differ based on varietal, species, and terroir or region more than roast profile.

Terroir is a French term often used to describe wine which means "taste of the land" and references the minerality and soil content in different regions of the world.
The terroir of Kona's volcanic soil contributes to the smooth and complex taste of our coffees.

The act of roasting is developing or manipulating the flavor of the green coffee beans to create a complex and balanced flavor in the coffee. During the roasting process, the naturally occurring sugars found in the coffee are carmelizing. Lighter roasts (less carmelization) tend to highlight the taste of the beans or terroir with flavor notes being fruitier, more floral, and a brighter acidity. Medium roasts tend to balance the flavor of the beans with the flavor of the roast and tend to be more mellow and balanced. Darker roasts highlight the taste of the roast and tend to have more carmelized, chocolatey, and nutty notes with a slightly higher bitterness.

Yes. Our pickers are paid by the pound, often earning $100–$400 per day — among the highest farm wages in Hawai‘i.

Coffee is self-pollinating, but our on-site beehives boost yield by up to 30%.

Yes, we compost all organic matter like coffee pulp, parchment, used grounds, and even wood chips from pruning to enrich our soil and use for our vegetable garden.

While the certification process is costly, we use all certified organic products on the coffee trees. However, due to a new coffee disease and the rate at which weeds grow in Hawaii, we do use a small amount of herbicides on the weeds around the farm to keep our trees as healthy as possible. We use it as infrequently as possible and the smallest dosage to be effective.