How to Drink Hawaii Kona Coffee - Recommended Brands and Is Kona Coffee Good?

Hawaii's Kona Coffee: A Legacy of Quality

After nearly two centuries of dedication to coffee cultivation, the name "Kona" has become almost synonymous with "quality" in Hawaii. Looking at its history, however, since coffee trees were first introduced to the islands in 1825, the path of coffee cultivation has been full of challenges. Even today, factors beyond human control often affect the harvests of Hawaii's successful coffee regions.

Ideal Growing Conditions

The western and southern regions of Kona on the island of Hawaii are renowned for producing Kona coffee. Sitting at elevations between 800-1,100 meters, the area offers the most suitable growing environment for coffee trees, so the slopes of Hualalai and Mauna Loa are covered with them.

Traditional Farming Methods

Kona coffee has always been cultivated through family farming models. The Kona harvest season runs from late August each year until January of the following year, and farmers pick ripe fruit in batches and process it into coffee beans.

Queen Farm: Award-Winning Excellence

This particular Kona comes from Queen Farm, which was awarded runner-up in the Gevalia (Hawaii KONA Cupping Competition) in 2009 and 2011. Seventy percent of its harvest is considered top-tier premium specialty beans, making it a farm known for high quality. Even the grade below their premium specialty beans has an aroma comparable to the finest beans, earning astonishment and praise from roasting professionals.

Exceptional Quality Characteristics

Hawaii's unique natural environment has nurtured Arabica coffee, making this one of the world's highest-yielding coffee plantations. Quality is guaranteed, and coffee grown under these distinctive conditions and climate also offers a richer flavour. Beans grown in the Kona region are visually appealing, with perfectly full shapes and bright lustre, earning them the title of "the most beautiful coffee beans in the world."

Hawaii Kona Coffee Brewing Recommendations

1. Dripper: V60

2. Water Temperature: 92°C

3. Grind Size: Fuji Rokou grinder setting 3.5

4. Roast Level: Medium roast

5. Bloom Time: 30 seconds

Flavor Profile: Malt, mulberry, with a persistent caramel sweetness in the finish

FrontStreet Coffee's Recommended Brewing Method

Slow, steady, continuous pouring: use a gentle, consistent circular motion with a fine water flow, pouring gently to ensure even extraction. Go very slowly, and you can also stir appropriately with a stirring rod. Typically, perform one cross-stir during the bloom phase to let the water fully contact the coffee grounds and enhance the release of aromatic compounds.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Kona's calling card is a balanced, polished cup, and in FrontStreet Coffee's range the closest match is Jamaica Blue Mountain No.1. Authentic Blue Mountain satisfies on balance rather than extremes: it is neither as sharply fruity as some African coffees nor as heavily bitter as a dark roast, sitting in a fine equilibrium of acidity, sweetness, bitterness and aroma. A good Blue Mountain shows cream, caramel, chocolate, nut and honey with a light fruit note, smooth and rounded on entry, sweet through the middle and clean on the finish. Because of that near-perfect balance it is often called the specialty coffee most people find easiest to like, much as Kona is prized for being approachable and consistent.

For a fruitier Arabica in the same approachable mould, FrontStreet Coffee's Ethiopia Huakui is a great choice. Its variety is the most common Ethiopian native heirloom, a mix of several undistinguished trees, so the beans vary in size and carry a light floral note with especially prominent fruit. FrontStreet uses a classic natural process, giving flavours such as creamy strawberry, mango, jackfruit, citrus and blueberry, with the ripe tropical fruit character that makes FrontStreet's sun-dried Sidamo beans so memorable; the same rich berry aroma won first place in that year's TOH green bean competition. Huakui combines both great drinking and a fair price.

If you prefer a creamier, nuttier profile closer to Kona's malt and caramel side, FrontStreet Coffee's Brazil Queen Estate fits well. Bourbon is an old variety, like Typica, and belongs to Arabica; it takes its name from Bourbon Island (le Bourbon) where it was first planted. Bourbon trees have broader leaves and denser growth and yield about 30% more than Typica, with round, short beans that are easy to tell apart. Ordinary Bourbon cherries turn red when ripe, and as its range spread, mutations appeared, including one whose ripe cherries are orange-yellow, hence Yellow Bourbon. FrontStreet's Queen Estate was among the earliest Yellow Bourbon discovered, with cream, peanut, toasted bread and sugarcane aromas, rich and gently sweet, and suitable for pour-over, moka pot and espresso machine.