Kona Coffee FAQs-Roasting, Sourcing, and Shipping
Find answers to common questions about our 100% Kona coffees, roasting schedule, shipping times, and sourcing practices.
Hawai‘i Island Blend Medium-Dark Roast (Kona+ Ka‘ū)
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Hawai‘i Island Blend — Medium-Dark Roast (Kona + Ka‘ū)
A smooth, balanced Hawai‘i-grown coffee crafted for espresso, combining Kona and Ka‘ū coffees into a refined, everyday blend.
Origin: Kona & Ka‘ū, Hawai‘i Island
Roast: Medium-Dark
Components: Kona coffee + Ka‘ū coffee
Flavor: Caramel, hazelnut, dark chocolate, tropical fruit
Body: Silken, creamy
Acidity: Balanced, gentle
Coffee Review Score: 94 Points
Overview
Hawai‘i Island Blend is our flagship Hawai‘i-grown espresso blend. Designed for daily use, it unites the depth and sweetness of Kona coffee with the clarity and structure of Ka‘ū coffee into a cup that is smooth, balanced, and versatile.
Positioned between our Espresso Classico and Espresso Nuevo, this blend offers richness without heaviness and refinement without sharp acidity—making it equally comfortable as straight espresso or in milk-based drinks.
Origin
This blend brings together coffees grown in two neighboring districts on the Big Island of Hawai‘i.
Kona coffees from volcanic slopes contribute body, sweetness, and roundness. Ka‘ū coffees, grown at higher elevations to the south, add clarity, balance, and gentle brightness. Together, they form a cohesive expression of Hawai‘i’s diverse terroirs—harmonious rather than contrasting.
All coffees are hand-harvested and sourced directly from Hawai‘i farms.
Roast Style & Intent
Roasted medium-dark, this profile is designed specifically for espresso performance.
Development is extended to enhance solubility, mouthfeel, and chocolate-toned sweetness while avoiding bitterness or roast dominance. The goal is a forgiving, polished espresso that performs consistently across different machines and brew styles.
Cup Profile
As espresso, expect a smooth, velvety shot with flavors of caramel, hazelnut, dried fruit, and dark chocolate, lifted by a subtle citrus note that keeps the finish clean.
With milk, the profile deepens toward cocoa and caramel while maintaining balance and sweetness. The mouthfeel remains creamy and structured, ideal for daily espresso rituals.
Acclaim
Coffee Review awarded Hawai‘i Island Blend 94 points, noting:
“Balanced, chocolaty, and richly fruit-forward… dried pineapple, dark chocolate, hazelnut brittle, magnolia, and tangerine zest… creamy mouthfeel; crisply chocolaty finish with tropical fruit undertones.”
Among their highest-rated espresso blends.
Brewing Recommendations
Best prepared as:
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Espresso (primary intent)
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Milk-based drinks
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Cold brew (reveals chocolate-toned sweetness and balance)
Espresso starting point:
20g in / 40–45g out / ~92°C / 26–28 seconds
Adjust to taste based on machine and preference.
Who This Coffee Is For
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Espresso drinkers seeking a smooth, balanced daily blend
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Those who enjoy richness without heavy bitterness
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Milk-drink lovers who still want origin character
If you prefer very bright or light-roasted espresso profiles, this may not be the right fit.
Why Our Hawai‘i Coffees
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Hawai‘i-Grown Coffees
Sourced exclusively from Kona and Ka‘ū farms on the Big Island. -
Freshly Roasted in Small Batches
Roasted on Hawai‘i Island to preserve sweetness and clarity. -
Carefully Sorted for Quality
Machine and hand sorting remove defects before roasting. -
Designed for Daily Use
Built for consistency, balance, and repeat enjoyment.
Explore More from Hawai‘i Island
Looking for a different Hawai‘i-grown coffee?
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Kona Classic Medium Roast— elegant, sweet, and balanced
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Kona Tropical Punch (Light Roast) — vibrant and fruit-forward
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Ka‘ū Dark Roast — bold, complex, and deeply satisfying
Explore More from Hawaiʻi Island
-Discover the coffees that shape the character of the Big Island
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— a bold, but complex expression of Ka‘ū coffee.
Roasted fresh on the Big Island. Cultivated for your daily ritual.
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.
