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
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Ka‘ū Classic — Light Roast
A bright, silky expression of Ka‘ū coffee, roasted light to highlight sweetness, clarity, and floral aromas.
Origin: Ka‘ū District, Hawai‘i Island
Roast: Light
Varieties: Hawaiian Typica, Red Catuai
Process: Fully washed
Flavor: Honeyed citrus, yellow plum, macadamia, milk chocolate
Body: Silky, light
Acidity: Bright, balanced
Overview
Ka‘ū Classic Light Roast showcases the lifted, elegant side of Ka‘ū coffee. Grown on the southern slopes of Hawai‘i Island and roasted with restraint, this coffee emphasizes clarity, gentle sweetness, and aromatic complexity.
Often overshadowed by Kona, Ka‘ū has emerged as one of Hawai‘i’s most compelling coffee regions—capable of remarkable balance and refinement when handled with care.
Origin
Sourced from high-elevation farms in the Ka‘ū district, these coffees are grown between approximately 1,600 and 2,500 feet above the coastline. Cool evenings, steady trade winds, and long, slow ripening contribute to Ka‘ū’s signature clarity and fruit-forward character.
Volcanic soils, cloud-forest mists, and ocean breezes combine to create one of the most distinctive growing environments in Hawai‘i.
Roast Style & Intent
This light roast is designed to preserve aromatics and origin character rather than roast-driven flavors.
Development is kept gentle to highlight natural sweetness, soft florals, and clean structure—resulting in a cup that feels luminous and refreshing without becoming sharp or thin.
Cup Profile
Expect a bright yet balanced cup with flavors of honeyed citrus, yellow plum, macadamia, and milk chocolate. Aromatics of white flower and sweet spice emerge as the cup cools.
Compared to Ka‘ū Classic Dark Roast, this version emphasizes fruit, florals, and highland freshness rather than cocoa and toasted sugars.
Brewing Recommendations
Best results with:
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Pour-over (V60, Kalita) — maximum clarity and florals
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Chemex — clean, tea-like sweetness
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Auto-drip — an easy, everyday expression of Ka‘ū
Use filtered water just off the boil and a slightly lower dose than darker roasts. Flavor complexity increases as the cup cools.
Who This Coffee Is For
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Drinkers who enjoy light roasts with balance and sweetness
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Those curious to explore Hawaiian coffee beyond Kona
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Fans of clean, fruit-forward profiles with gentle acidity
If you prefer heavier body or roast-driven chocolate notes, consider Ka‘ū Classic Dark Roast instead.
Why Ka‘ū Matters
Long overshadowed by Kona, Ka‘ū has quietly become one of Hawai‘i’s most exciting coffee regions. High elevations, consistent cloud cover, and mineral-rich volcanic soils create ideal conditions for slow maturation—yielding coffees with clarity, sweetness, and nuance.
By choosing Ka‘ū, you support independent farmers expanding the future of specialty coffee in Hawai‘i beyond its most famous district.
Why Our Hawai‘i Coffees
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Hawai‘i-Grown Coffees
Sourced directly from Kona and Ka‘ū farms on the Big Island. -
High-Elevation Growing
Selected from farms between approximately 1,500 and 2,500 feet. -
Freshly Roasted in Small Batches
Roasted to order on Hawai‘i Island. -
Carefully Sorted for Quality
Machine and hand sorting remove defects prior to roasting. -
Roasted for Expression
Profiles designed to highlight origin character, not generic roast flavors.
Explore More Hawai‘i Coffees
Looking to compare across the island?
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Kona Classic Medium Roast — smooth, sweet, and timeless
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Hawai‘i Island Blend — Kona + Ka‘ū coffees for a balanced espresso
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Ka‘ū Classic Dark Roast — deeper, cocoa-toned, and comforting
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.
