Say Aloha to Kona Hawaii Coffee - a Rare and Exquisite Delight

Kona Hawaii Coffee is a pleasingly smooth, full-bodied coffee with a moderate acidity, that carries the most exquisite flavours and a rich, heady aroma. This fabulous coffee is sourced from a family-run plantation in the small town of Captain Cook, situated high on the volcanic slopes of Mauna Loa. The area is ideal for growing coffee, having a microclimate of sun-drenched mornings, cloud-covered afternoons, mild nights and abundant rainfall. The region is known for producing some of the finest coffees in the world, with an emphasis on growing beans of superior and consistent quality.

The cultivation of coffee in Hawaii goes back to 1825, when it was first grown successfully in the Manoa Valley, from seedlings brought from Brazil by the governor of Oahu, Chief Boki. It wasn’t long before coffee was being produced across the islands, being introduced to Kona on the Big Island around 1827. An English merchant and landowner, Henry Nicholas Greenwell, opened a store in the Kona District in 1850, and eventually established Kona Coffee as a brand.

In the 1980s, there was an increase in coffee production in Hawaii when sugarcane became a less profitable crop, and coffee trees were planted in its place. Coffee is now grown in eleven main regions across the islands. Much of it is produced on independent farms run by families of migrant workers from Japan and China, who came to work on sugarcane plantations and coffee farms in the late 1800s. A number of them were offered parcels of land to lease after the 1899 world coffee market crash. Some farms are run by families of Filipinos who also came to Hawaii to work in the 1920s, and others run by Hawaiians, Europeans and Americans.

Kona Coffee is such a rare and sought-after coffee, and being a more expensive variety, in the past its great name has been exploited. There is now legislation on the island in respect of labelling laws, that states only coffee made with 100% Kona coffee beans is allowed to be called ‘Kona Coffee’ and bear the Kona trademark that confirms its authenticity. This ensures inferior blends with small percentages of Kona coffee are not passed off as the real thing.

Perfect for use in cafetiere and filter machines, Kona Coffee is just one of over 100 wonderful coffees from around the world, including other rare and exclusive varieties such as Kopi Luwak and Blue Mountain Jamaica, that Coffee-Direct can deliver directly to your door. We roast to order, so your coffee will always arrive in the freshest condition possible, and offer a range of grind options as well as whole beans.