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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The Essence of Hawai‘i in Every Cup
Hawai‘i Island Blend — Balanced, Smooth, Distinctly Hawaii
Crafted for espresso, our Hawai‘i Island Blend unites Kona and Ka‘ū coffees from the Big Island of Hawai‘i into a smooth, balanced cup with notes of caramel, hazelnut, and tropical fruit. Roasted fresh on the island by Paradise Coffee Roasters, this medium-roast espresso blend captures the warmth, clarity, and harmony that define Hawai‘i’s finest coffees — cultivated for your daily ritual.
Estates & Origin: Kona and Ka‘ū, Hawai‘i
Our Hawaii espresso blend is grown across the neighboring districts of Kona and Ka‘ū, this blend unites the diverse terroirs of the Big Island into one harmonious expression.
Kona’s volcanic slopes bring depth and sweetness, while Ka‘ū’s high elevations lend clarity and balance. Together, they create an espresso that embodies the warmth and generosity of Hawai‘i — approachable, yet refined.
Hand-harvested and medium-dark roasted, the Hawai‘i Island Blend captures the soul of the islands: bright mornings, gentle trade winds, and the cultivated calm of paradise.
Character & Style: Silken, Harmonious, and Nuanced
A big island roasted coffee that slots in between the roast levels of our Espresso Classico and Espresso Nuevo blends, this blend reveals notes of dried fruit, hazelnut, and dark chocolate, framed by a hint of citrus that brightens the finish.
With milk, the flavor deepens toward caramel and cocoa, maintaining an elegant balance and creamy mouthfeel.
As espresso, it’s precise yet forgiving — smooth and velvety, with a lingering sweetness that invites daily ritual.
Acclaim
94 Points — Coffee Review
Among their highest-rated espresso blends ever.
“Balanced, chocolaty, and richly fruit-forward. Dried pineapple, dark chocolate, hazelnut brittle, magnolia, and tangerine zest in aroma and cup. Creamy mouthfeel; crisply chocolaty finish with tropical fruit undertones. In milk, dark chocolate predominates, lifted by tangerine zest and pineapple.”
— Coffee Review
The Expression of Hawai‘i-grown Espresso
A thoughtful composition of Hawai‘i-grown coffees crafted for espresso use.
Positioned between our Espresso Classico and Espresso Nuevo, it finds perfect balance — rich enough for milk drinks, yet refined enough for a stand-alone shot.
Versatile and polished, it’s the foundation of an island ritual — the daily espresso that speaks softly of place, craft, and care.
A Moment of Paradise: How to Enjoy
Best prepared as espresso — 20g ground coffee / 40–45mL yield / 92°C / 26–28 seconds — and savored either pure or with milk.
Also makes an exceptional cold brew, revealing chocolate-toned sweetness and balance.
Explore More from Hawaiʻi Island
-Discover the coffees that shape the character of the Big Island
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Kona Classic Medium — elegant, sweet, and balanced
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Kona Tropical Punch (Light) — vibrant, fruit-forward Hawaiian coffee.
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Ka‘ū Dark Roast — 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.
