Kona Coffee FAQs-Roasting, Sourcing, and Shipping
Find answers to common questions about our 100% Kona coffees, roasting schedule, shipping times, and sourcing practices.
Ka‘ū Classic Light Roast
Item is in stockHurry! Low inventoryItem is out of stock
Item is unavailable
Taste
A bright, silky expression of Kaʻū coffee with notes of honeyed citrus, yellow plum, macadamia, and milk chocolate. Aromatics of white flower and sweet spice unfold as the cup cools — a lighter roast that still feels generous and comforting.
About This Coffee
Grown on the southern slopes of Hawaiʻi Island, our Kaʻū Classic Light Roast comes from high-elevation farms on the Big Island, part of the broader tradition of exceptional Hawaiian coffee. Cool evenings, steady trade winds, and long, slow ripening give Kaʻū its signature clarity and fruit-forward profile. Volcanic soils, cloud-forest mists, and ocean breezes combine to create one of the most distinctive growing environments in Hawaiʻi.
We work directly with Kaʻū farmers and mills to secure small, high-quality lots — coffees often overlooked in a market dominated by Kona, yet capable of equal (and sometimes greater) elegance, nuance, and aromatic complexity.
Character & Style
This is Kaʻū through a lighter-roast lens — lifted, luminous, and layered:
-
Profile: Bright yet balanced, with gentle sweetness and clean structure
-
Flavor: Honeyed citrus, yellow plum, macadamia, oolong tea, soft florals
-
Texture: Silky and light on the palate, with a long, refreshing finish
Where our Kaʻū Classic Dark Roast leans toward cocoa and toasted sugar, the Light Roast highlights fruit, florals, and the highland freshness of this corner of Hawaiʻi.
Origin & Farms
- Region: Ka‘ū district, Hawai‘i Island
- Elevation: High-altitude slopes at 1600-2500ft above the coastline
- Varieties: Hawaiian Typica and Red Catuai
- Processing: Fully washed
Hand-harvested and meticulously processed, these Ka‘ū coffee beans deliver clarity and complexity across brewing methods.
Why Kaʻū Matters
Long overshadowed by Kona in conversations about Hawaiian coffee, Kaʻū has quietly emerged as one of the most compelling regions on the Big Island. High elevations, consistent cloud cover, and mineral-rich volcanic soils create ideal conditions for slow, even maturation — the same qualities prized in world-class wine regions.
By choosing Kaʻū, you support independent farmers who are expanding the future of specialty coffee in Hawaiʻi beyond its most famous district.
Craft & Roast
Cherries are handpicked at peak ripeness, carefully processed, and rested before roasting. Each batch is roasted to order on Hawaiʻi Island using light-roast profiles that:
-
Preserve delicate aromatics and origin character
-
Emphasize natural sweetness over roastiness
-
Maintain clarity and structure in the cup
Think of this as a village-level bottling from a great wine region — honest, transparent, and expressive of place.
A Moment of Paradise: How to Enjoy
We recommend Kaʻū Classic Light Roast for:
-
Pour-over / V60 / Kalita: Maximum clarity, florals, and citrus
-
Chemex: Clean, tea-like cup with gentle sweetness
-
Auto-drip: An easy, everyday taste of the Big Island
Use filtered water just off the boil and a slightly lower dose than darker roasts. Savor slowly as the cup cools — this is where Kaʻū’s fruit and floral layers truly open up.
Explore More Hawaiʻi Coffees
- Kona Classic Medium Roast – Our flagship 100% Kona coffee, smooth and timeless
- Hawaiʻi Island Blend – Kaʻū + Kona coffees for a balanced Big Island cup
- Kaʻū Classic Dark Roast – Deeper roast profile with cocoa and toasted sugar
For those exploring beyond Kona, Kaʻū Classic Light Roast is a modern introduction to the next great chapter of Hawaiʻi coffee.
What Is 100% Kona Coffee?
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 .
About Kona Coffee
-
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.
Company & Facility
-
We roast and fulfill all of our coffee orders in Hilo, Hawai'i.
-
We roast in small batches using a Diedrich IR12 roasting machine.
Satisfaction Guaranteed
-
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.
Coffees
-
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.
