Kona Coffee FAQs-Roasting, Sourcing, and Shipping
Find answers to common questions about our 100% Kona coffees, roasting schedule, shipping times, and sourcing practices.
Roasts July 29 · Ships July 30
One of the rarest Geisha expressions in the world — grown in Taiwan's legendary Alishan Mountain tea district and processed using anaerobic natural fermentation. JinYunSin Tea Coffee Farm brings a distinctly East Asian terroir to the Geisha variety: high-altitude fog, volcanic mineral soils, and generations of agricultural precision. The result is a coffee of extraordinary delicacy and depth. Roasted to order in Hilo, Hawaii.
Origin: Alishan Mountains, Taiwan
Farm: JinYunSin Tea Coffee Farm
Elevation: 1,200–1,400 MASL
Variety: Geisha
Process: Anaerobic Natural
Roast: Light Roast
Harvest: 2025–2026
This anaerobic natural Taiwan Geisha reveals a distinctive profile shaped by high-altitude terroir and meticulous fermentation:
Lychee
Passionfruit
White jasmine
Oolong tea
Ripe apricot
Brown sugar sweetness
The cup offers a uniquely silky, tea-like texture — reminiscent of the high-mountain oolong teas grown on the same slopes — with tropical fruit intensity, vibrant floral aromatics, and a long, clean finish.
JinYunSin Tea Coffee Farm sits in Taiwan's Alishan Mountain region — a district world-renowned for producing some of Asia's most prized high-mountain oolongs. The farm is operated by a tea-farming family that turned their expertise in altitude cultivation and fermentation toward specialty coffee, applying tea-processing sensibility to every stage of production.
The Alishan Mountains rise above 1,200 MASL, draped in cool morning fog and blessed with volcanic mineral soils. These conditions — nearly identical to those that make Alishan oolong tea so sought-after — slow cherry maturation and concentrate aromatic compounds in the coffee bean. The result is a coffee with unusual clarity, restraint, and aromatic complexity.
Taiwan produces a remarkably small volume of specialty coffee each year, and lots of this quality rarely reach the international market. This is among the most distinctive origins we have ever sourced.
In anaerobic natural processing, whole coffee cherries are sealed in oxygen-free fermentation tanks before being dried on raised beds. Without oxygen, fermentation develops at a slower, more controlled rate — producing complex organic acids and aromatic compounds that amplify the coffee's natural fruit character while preserving varietal clarity.
JinYunSin applies their tea-processing expertise directly to fermentation management: monitoring temperature, pH, and fermentation time with the same precision used in high-mountain tea production. The result is a lot with exceptional consistency, vibrant fruit intensity, and the clean, tea-like finish that defines the farm's style.
This coffee rewards methods that highlight delicacy, aromatic lift, and tea-like texture:
Pour-over (V60, Origami)
Soft water recommended for clarity
AeroPress at lower temperature for sweetness and fruit
Brew at 195–200°F. Serve in a tulip-shaped cup or tea vessel to fully appreciate the aromatic complexity. This coffee also performs beautifully as a cold brew concentrate — the lychee and passionfruit notes intensify dramatically.
Explore our full Geisha Coffee Collection — including Panama, Guatemala, and Kona Geisha lots.
For another exceptional anaerobic fermentation lot, try our Panama Geisha Mama Cata Estate Anaerobic Natural.
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 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.
We roast and fulfill all of our coffee orders in Hilo, Hawai'i.
We roast in small batches using a Diedrich IR12 roasting machine.
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.
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.