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 Tropical Punch — 100% Kona Coffee (Light Roast)
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Kona Tropical Punch — Light Roast
A vibrant, fruit-forward expression of 100% Kona coffee, roasted light to highlight citrus and tropical fruit notes.
Origin: North Kona, Hawai‘i
Roast: Light
Varieties: Typica, SL34, Geisha
Process: Washed with yeast fermentation
Flavor: Lilikoi (passionfruit), orange zest, strawberry papaya, pineapple
Body: Silky, wine-like
Acidity: Bright, juicy
Coffee Review Score: 95 Points
Overview
Kona Tropical Punch is our most expressive and fruit-forward Kona coffee. Produced from small seasonal lots and roasted light, it showcases how modern fermentation and careful variety selection can unlock a vivid, tropical side of Kona’s volcanic terroir.
This coffee departs intentionally from traditional Kona profiles, offering a brighter, more dynamic cup for those who enjoy acidity-driven, aromatic coffees.
Origin
Sourced from select farms in Hōlualoa, North Kona, this coffee is grown between approximately 1,600 and 2,500 feet on the western slopes of Hualālai. The combination of elevation, mineral-rich volcanic soil, and cooling trade winds slows cherry maturation, supporting higher sugar development and layered acidity.
This lot brings together three varieties—Typica, SL34, and Geisha—chosen for their complementary structure, sweetness, and aromatic potential.
Process & Roast Style
This coffee undergoes a yeast-fermented washed process, where selected yeast strains guide fermentation after pulping, enhancing fruit expression while maintaining the cleanliness of a washed coffee.
Roasted light, the profile is designed to preserve acidity, aromatics, and transparency. Development is intentionally restrained to allow fermentation-derived fruit notes to remain vivid without becoming heavy or winey.
Cup Profile
Expect a lively, aromatic cup with flavors of passionfruit, orange zest, strawberry papaya, and pineapple. Acidity is bright and refreshing, balanced by a silky, wine-like mouthfeel and a long, resonant finish.
Compared to our Kona Classic Medium, this coffee is brighter, fruitier, and more adventurous in style.
Acclaim
In February 2025, Coffee Review awarded Kona Tropical Punch 95 points, describing it as:
“Tropical, richly aromatic, sweetly tart… guava, pineapple, passionfruit, cocoa nib, Thai basil… balanced, juicy-bright acidity; silky mouthfeel; resonant, satisfying finish.”
Brewing Recommendations
Best results with:
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Pour-over (highly recommended for clarity and aromatics)
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Auto-drip (clean, balanced cup)
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AeroPress (rounder body with retained fruit)
Use filtered water and brew at approximately 201–203°F.
Who This Coffee Is For
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Drinkers who enjoy bright, fruit-forward coffees
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Fans of modern fermentation and expressive profiles
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Those looking to experience a non-traditional side of Kona
If you prefer a smoother, low-acid, classic Kona profile, this may not be the right choice.
Why Our Kona Coffees
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100% Kona Coffee
Sourced exclusively from Kona farms on Hawai‘i’s Big Island—never blended. -
High-Elevation Growing
Coffees selected from farms between approximately 1,500 and 2,500 feet. -
Freshly Roasted in Small Batches
Roasted to preserve aromatics, sweetness, and structure. -
Carefully Sorted for Quality
Machine and hand sorting remove defects prior to roasting. -
Intentional Processing & Roasting
Each Kona coffee is designed to express a specific style, not a generic profile.
Explore Our Kona Coffees
Looking for a different expression of Kona coffee?
View all Kona coffees → in our Kona Coffee Collection.
Prefer a smoother, more traditional cup?
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Kona Classic Medium Roast — balanced, sweet, and refined
Looking for deeper richness and low acidity?
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Kona Classic Dark Roast — bold, smooth, and full-bodied
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.
