Kona Coffee FAQs-Roasting, Sourcing, and Shipping
Find answers to common questions about our 100% Kona coffees, roasting schedule, shipping times, and sourcing practices.
Colombia -Yirgacheffe variety
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Colombia Yirgacheffe Variety — Playon de Alajuela
A delicate and expressive washed Colombian coffee with floral aromatics, tea-like structure, and bright stone fruit acidity.
Origin: Santa Bárbara, Antioquia, Colombia
Farm: Playon de Alajuela
Producer: Juan Guillermo Luna Gomez
Roast: Light
Variety: Yirgacheffe Variety
Process: Washed
Flavor: Peach, chamomile, green tea
Body: Silky, tea-like
Acidity: Bright, refined
Altitude: 2,250 masl
Overview
Colombia Yirgacheffe Variety is a highly distinctive heirloom Ethiopian-derived coffee grown at extreme elevation in Santa Bárbara, Antioquia.
Unlike heavier fruit-driven modern profiles, this coffee is focused on elegance, transparency, and varietal expression, with delicate floral aromatics, tea-like texture, and layered notes of peach, chamomile, and green tea.
The result is a refined and expressive cup that feels deeply connected to traditional Ethiopian coffee character while shaped by the terroir of high-elevation Colombia.
Origin
Produced by Juan Guillermo Luna Gomez at Playon de Alajuela in Santa Bárbara, Antioquia, this coffee is grown at approximately 2,250 meters above sea level on a one-hectare plot containing around 2,500 trees.
The project began nearly eight years ago through a collaboration with Costa Rican partners focused on exploring uncommon coffee genetics in a region traditionally centered around more conventional Colombian varieties.
Over time, this planting evolved into one of the more unusual and expressive lots produced on the farm.
Variety
This coffee comes from an Ethiopian-derived variety imported through CATIE in Costa Rica from seed material originally collected in Ethiopia’s Gedeo Zone — the region where the famed Yirgacheffe coffee-growing area is located.
Early generations of the plants created some confusion, as they visually resembled Geisha-type material. But continued observation revealed a distinctly different heirloom lineage with its own unique structure and expression.
Compared to more modern cultivars, the variety expresses itself with a raw and highly transparent character, emphasizing florals, tea-like structure, and refined acidity over heavier sweetness or fermentation intensity.
Process
Processing for this coffee is intentionally restrained and clarity-focused.
Clean, controlled washed fermentations are used to preserve the inherent character of the variety and allow the coffee’s floral aromatics and delicate structure to remain fully transparent in the cup.
The goal is not to impose a processing profile, but to highlight the natural expression of the plant and terroir.
Roast Style & Intent
This light roast was developed to preserve floral aromatics, tea-like texture, and refined acidity.
We roast conservatively to maintain clarity and structure while allowing the coffee’s delicate stone fruit and herbal characteristics to remain fully expressive.
Cup Profile
Expect a delicate and layered cup with notes of peach, lemon, chamomile, and green tea.
The profile is floral and tea-like with bright acidity, silky texture, and a clean refined finish.
We have tasted several Ethiopian heirloom varieties cultivated in Colombia and across Central America, and this one comes closest to the delicate and complex flavors of coffees from Ethiopia's Yirgacheffe region of any.
Brewing Recommendations
Excellent for:
- Pour-over (maximum clarity and florals)
- AeroPress (enhanced sweetness and body)
Use filtered water and brew temperatures around 201-203°F for best results.
Who This Coffee Is For
- Fans of washed Ethiopian coffees
- Drinkers seeking floral and tea-like profiles
- Those interested in rare heirloom coffee genetics
- Coffee enthusiasts who value clarity and transparency over intensity
If you prefer more fruit-saturated or fermentation-driven coffees, consider one of our natural or anaerobic processed offerings instead.
Why This Coffee Stands Out
Rare Ethiopian-Derived Genetics
Originating from seed material connected to Ethiopia’s Gedeo Zone.
Extreme Elevation
Grown at approximately 2,250 meters above sea level.
Clarity-Focused Washed Processing
Designed to preserve transparency and varietal expression.
Distinctive Floral Structure
Tea-like and refined rather than heavily fruit-driven.
Roasted for Expression
Lightly roasted to preserve nuance, florals, and acidity.
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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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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
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We roast and fulfill all of our coffee orders in Hilo, Hawai'i.
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We roast in small batches using a Diedrich IR12 roasting machine.
Satisfaction Guaranteed
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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.
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We roast and ship on Monday/Wednesday/Friday.
Coffees
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
