🏆 1st Place — Hawaii Coffee Association Cupping Competition 2024
Competing against 100+ entries from across the state of Hawai'i. Our Kona Geisha Champagne natural coffees countinue to win awards
2026 Harvest · Lot 1 · Limited Availability — Once this lot sells out, the next Kona Geisha Champagne Natural release won't be available until late 2026 or early 2027.
Kona Geisha Champagne Natural delivers notes of strawberry, passionfruit, rose, and perfume — a vibrant, complex cup with a creamy mouthfeel and hints of strawberry jam, dried berries, and orange candy. Milk chocolate in the finish. Exceptional as pour-over or cold brew.
"Phenomenal aromas and flavors. Fruit punch juice with a coffee aftertaste. I wish this was available more often."
"Never paid this much for coffee in my life — but I'm glad I did. This tastes like no other coffee I've had in my 65 years."
| Country | United States |
| Region | Hōlualoa, North Kona, Hawai'i Island |
| Farm | Kona Hills |
| Processing | Champagne Natural (yeast-fermented) |
| Altitude | 850 masl (2,800 ft) |
| Roast | Light |
| Best for | Pour-over, cold brew |
| Harvest | March 30, 2026 — Lot 1 |
Featured at the 2025 US Barista Championship
Barista Circle Chan of The Coffee Movement selected Lot 1 of this Kona Geisha Champagne Natural as her competition coffee, placing 5th in the nation. The US Barista Championship is the most prestigious individual coffee competition in the country — competitors hand-select a single coffee to represent the full range of their skill. Being chosen for USBC is one of the highest endorsements a coffee can receive.
Geisha (also spelled Gesha) became the world's most sought-after coffee variety after Hacienda La Esmeralda won the Best of Panama competition in 2004. Today it commands premium prices globally — but Kona Geisha is in a category of its own.
In March 2015, farm owner Doug McKenna imported Geisha seeds directly from Finca La Milagrosa in Boquete, Panama. In February 2018, he planted 2,000 trees on slopes overlooking Kealakekua Bay in North Kona at 850 masl. The 2020 harvest was the first commercial-scale lot, and we began working with Doug immediately on yeast fermentation trials using a dozen different wine yeast strains.
We found that some wine yeast strains pair beautifully with Geisha's inherent tropical aromatics, amplifying fruity and floral ester production and elevating the cup beyond what natural process alone achieves. The result: a Kona Geisha coffee with the floral transparency of Panama Geisha, the terroir of Kona's volcanic soils, and a layer of fermentation complexity you won't find anywhere else.
Harvest: March 30, 2026. This lot used our single-inoculant champagne yeast protocol with low-temperature dehumidified drying — citrus and passionfruit-forward, delicate and precise. Very different in character from the more intensely fruited multi-inoculant Lot 2 we produced in 2025.
Yeast-fermented natural coffee introduces a specific wine yeast strain to the coffee cherries during fermentation before drying — analogous to the méthode champenoise in sparkling wine production. This controlled process produces greater consistency and distinct flavor profiles, enhancing complexity while highlighting the coffee's natural terroir. The "champagne" designation reflects both the yeast type and the light, effervescent quality it brings to the cup.
What makes Geisha coffee different from other varieties?
Coffea arabica var. Geisha is a distinct genetic variety, not a processing style. It's known for an unusually transparent, jasmine-floral aromatic profile and vibrant tropical fruit acidity that other arabica varieties can't replicate. It's also significantly lower-yielding per tree — a key reason it commands premium pricing.
Why is Kona Geisha so rare?
Geisha was only introduced to Hawai'i in 2015, with the first commercial harvest in 2020. There are currently fewer than a handful of farms in the state growing true Geisha. Combined with Kona's limited growing area and the variety's inherently low yield, total annual production is extremely small — typically a few hundred pounds per farm.
How is this different from other geisha coffees?
Most Geisha is washed or standard natural process. Our champagne natural adds controlled yeast fermentation that heightens ester production while retaining the variety's floral transparency. The Kona terroir — volcanic soils, afternoon cloud cover, slow cherry maturation at 850 masl — adds a mineral richness you won't find in Panama or Ethiopian Geisha.
What's the best brewing method?
Pour-over and cold brew both excel. For pour-over, use water at 93–95°C, medium-fine grind, 1:15 ratio. The floral and fruit notes peak at slightly lower temperatures. For cold brew, use a 1:8 ratio steeped 14–16 hours refrigerated.
Is this 100% Kona coffee?
Yes. Every cherry is grown on the Kona Hills farm in North Kona, processed on-site, and roasted by us in Hilo, Hawai'i. Single-farm, single-lot. No blending, no off-island green coffee.
We roast in small batches on a Diedrich IR12 and ship Monday, Wednesday, and Friday so your coffee arrives as fresh as possible. If you have any difficulty appreciating one of our coffees, contact us within 5 days and we'll help you dial in the brew or issue a credit — that's our satisfaction guarantee.
Overall rating: 5.0 / 5 from 7 reviews.
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"Best Coffee I've had. This coffee has stood out for me, in & out of the cupping table. A delightful array of fruity & floral flavors. Excellent mouthfeel. Ah, just the perfect drink for slow days."
"Loved the flavor! Very well balanced and smooth! A perfect cup of coffee with nothing negative to say about it. Really good coffee makes me feel so relaxed after drinking it. Maybe because I feel so happy."
"This coffee is worth every penny!"
"Phenomenal aromas and flavors. Fruit punch juice with a coffee aftertaste. I wish this was available more often."
"This coffee has been grown perfectly. I love the smoothness of the sip, followed by an orchestra of sensation in the mouth, and finally a crisp swallow with no bitterness. I would recommend keeping it on hand when you need that special cup to make your day better than the day before."
"...but, I'm glad I did :) I probably can't afford to buy this a lot, but I will be buying more. This tastes like no other coffee I've had in my 65 years. Initially, I just wasn't sure. It didn't taste like any coffee I've had so it kinda took me off guard. By the end of the cup, I had to get another. The next day I used the rest of it up and as I was drinking it I was thinking, how could I justify buying a larger amount? Kinda scary actually, lol. I've never bought a coffee online, that had a roasting day on it, just 4 days before I retrieved it in the mail. I actually thought it was the expiration date and that I had gotten old, expired coffee. Until I looked at it more closely. No, that expiration date of 4 days ago...was actually the roasting date. I live in Texas and you got it to me 4 days after you roasted it from Hawaii?? Seriously? Yeah, I've never paid this much for coffee in my life. But, it looks like I'm gonna do it again. My wife is really gonna hate you, she doesn't drink coffee, so no way she is gonna understand. I gotta think about this...;)"
"There’s a reason why they call it Paradise…and it must be. Just when you think the team at PCR can’t possibly be this consistent with every exotic bean they get there hands on, think again. Every sip of this brew feels like a privileged cup. To have the experience brewing this coffee certainly feels like paradise."
100% Kona coffee refers to coffee grown exclusively in the Kona district of Hawai‘i Island — a small, volcanic region
along the western slopes of Hualālai and Mauna Loa. The combination of mineral-rich soil, afternoon cloud cover, and gentle trade winds produces one of the world’s most distinctive coffee terroirs.
To be labeled “100% Kona Coffee,” every bean must be grown within the Kona district and meet strict Hawai‘i grading quality standards. Kona coffee can be made from different arabica varieties, but Kona Typica — a heirloom lineage — remains the region’s most common and traditional cultivar.
If you’d like to explore more Kona coffees, you can browse the full collection here: Browse the Kona Coffee Collection .
Kona Coffee FAQs-Roasting, Sourcing, and Shipping
Find answers to common questions about our 100% Kona coffees, roasting schedule, shipping times, and sourcing practices.
Kona coffee grows on the volcanic slopes of Hawai‘i Island, where mineral-rich soil, afternoon cloud cover, and slow cherry maturation create a naturally sweet and balanced cup. Our Kona Classic Medium is sourced from high-elevation farms and hand-harvested for clarity, smoothness, and elegant sweetness.
Yes — this roast is Authentic Kona coffee made exclusively from North Kona district-grown coffees, never blended. Our Kona coffees comes from small farms at the highest altitudes in the region.
Medium roasts highlight Kona’s signature profile: gentle sweetness, soft citrus, toasted almond, and milk chocolate. The result is a balanced, approachable cup ideal for everyday brewing.
This coffee shines in pour-over, drip, and French press. Use filtered water just off the boil and a medium grind for maximum clarity and sweetness. If you are looking for a Hawaiian coffee for espresso use we recommend our Hawai‘i Island Blend
Kona is the highest labor cost coffee region in the world. Wages for farm workers here are 15-20x higher than almost all other coffee producing countries. Limited and expensive land, hand-picking, and high production costs create a naturally small supply each year — especially from high-elevation farms like those we partner with.
We roast and fulfill all of our coffee orders in Hilo, Hawai'i.
We roast in small batches using a Diedrich IR12 roasting machine.
We source an array of the top specialty coffees worldwide that appeal to an array of different palates.
If at any point you have difficulty brewing, or just appreciating one of our roasted coffees, no problem. Shoot us an email within 5 days of receiving your coffee and we'll help you find the correct brew settings for your coffee, or give you a credit (minus actual shipping costs) on your next purchase. Yep, we're a Satisfaction Guarantee coffee company!
Please note, our Satisfaction Guarantee only applies to U.S. orders of roasted coffees, and you must contact us within 5 days of receiving the coffees. Credits do not include actual shipping fees, which may be different from posted shipping fees.
We roast and ship on Monday/Wednesday/Friday.
Our commitment to you is to serve exceptional, fresh-roasted coffees. And part of being exceptional means roasting before the flavors inherent in the green bean begin to fade, which happens over time.
Like apples and pumpkins, coffee is a seasonal agricultural product and each country has a different harvesting cycle in which coffees are at their peak. If we were to insist on serving a single origin all year long, the flavors in that coffee would be noticeably better one half of the year over the other. So the reason you no longer see that coffee you loved is because the optimal season has passed. For more on seasonality in coffees, see this blog post here.
Hopefully so. If it was a popular product or we receive customer requests, we will make every attempt to bring it back. However, please note that coffees from a certain producer may not taste the same year after year.
If you loved a coffee and no longer see it listed, shoot us an email and ask us what is similar. We’d be happy to provide a personal recommendation.
We aim for balance and completeness along with differentiation and distinction. You shouldn't need to be a professional coffee taster to tell the coffees a part, so, when we’re selecting coffees, we want them to be distinct from each other.
We avoid ”one-trick pony” type coffees, such as Ethiopians with great aroma but no body or acidity, or coffees with good aroma and acidity but lacking sweetness. These elements, which are often reflections of the growing conditions, are harmonized through good roasting.
And, obviously, defects — even subtle defects — influence our selection. Since we live and work at origin, we’re sensitive to coffee defects like “past crop”, pulpy, and naturals that border on over-ferment. With naturals, we’ll only carry these when great examples are available.
Our perspective on roasting is similar: we seek balance and distinction. To expect that a coffee is “best” when roasted to some pre-determined degree (i.e. only light roasting or only dark roasting) is analogous to thinking that each person would look best in the same outfit, or each coffee should be grown in the same way. We believe it’s our job to discover the roast degree which best highlights outstanding qualities in each coffee.
