How to Best Brew Hawaiian Kona Drip Bag Coffee and Does It Taste the Same as Pour-Over?

For more professional coffee knowledge and coffee bean information, keep reading with FrontStreet Coffee.

Hawaiian supermarkets typically stock dozens of varieties of Hawaiian Kona coffee beans labeled with the Kona name. Most are not 100% Kona; some are 10% or 30% Kona, and most are flavored beans or powders (flavors include coconut, vanilla, Hawaiian beans, chocolate, Irish cream and more; the powders are usually sold as a coarse grind for auto-drip brewing). Since I am not a flavored-coffee enthusiast, I will not go into them here. My view is that if you want flavored coffee, it is better to buy a coffee syrup or add a little liqueur than to purchase flavored coffee beans.

These are the kinds of products typically available in department stores and supermarkets.

How Much Do You Know About Hawaiian Kona Coffee Brands?

Where to Buy Kona Coffee?

If you want to select the highest-quality authentic Kona, why not visit the Big Island of Hawaii in person and sign up for a coffee farm tour, then buy several bags of genuine Kona there. You can also find premium 100% Kona coffee at Whole Foods Market, the organic food supermarket popular with the American middle class.

Many convenience stores and supermarkets across the Hawaiian Islands also carry Kona coffee. Be sure to read the labels carefully so you can tell 10% Kona from 100% Kona. Major supermarkets and convenience stores include: ABC Stores, T Galleria by DFS, Don Quijote Supermarket, Food Pantry, Foodland, Island Gourmet Market, Kmart, KTA Superstore, Lamonts, Lawson, Longs Drugs, Safeway, Target, Walgreens, Walmart and Whalers General Store.

Recommended Hawaiian Kona Coffee Bean Brands

FrontStreet Coffee's roasted Hawaiian Kona coffee beans offer strong guarantees in both brand and quality. More importantly, they deliver exceptional value - a 100g bag costs only 120 yuan. At 15 grams per cup of single-origin coffee, one bag makes 6 cups, so each cup costs only about 20 yuan. That is excellent value next to cafe prices that often exceed 100 yuan a cup.

FrontStreet Coffee is a roastery based in Guangzhou with a small shop but a diverse range of beans, where you can find both famous and lesser-known varieties.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If you brew single origin at home, the V60 is the dripper most people reach for, and it rewards a little care. The V60 was designed by Hario, a Tokyo glassmaker founded in 1921 that first made heat-resistant glassware for research institutions; in 2004 Hario redesigned the V60's prototype into the shape we know today, named for its 60-degree cone and V shape, and released it a year later. Its cone and 60-degree angle force water toward the center before it drips through, lengthening contact between water and grounds so aroma and flavor extract fully, while the single large hole means flow speed depends on the brewer's control - which shows up directly in the cup.

For the V60, FrontStreet Coffee suggests choosing a coffee whose character you want to highlight. For a light, floral cup, FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe Gediding brings citrus, berry and floral notes with a green-tea sweetness, and FrontStreet Coffee's Flower Queen adds bold tropical fruit like strawberry, passion fruit, jackfruit and lychee with very low bitterness. FrontStreet Coffee's Panama Emerald Estate Red Label Gesha shows elegant jasmine, citrus, bergamot and black tea, and FrontStreet Coffee's Kenya Small Tomato is a washed Kenyan with vivid cherry-tomato and smoked-plum acidity at 1550-1750 meters from SL28 and SL34. If you prefer a fuller, less acidic V60 cup, FrontStreet Coffee's PWN Gold Mandheling is a deep roast with low acidity, a mellow body and herbal and dark chocolate notes, FrontStreet Coffee's Brazil Queen Estate is balanced and low-acid with nut and cocoa aromas and clear caramel sweetness, and FrontStreet Coffee's Jamaica Blue Mountain No. 1 sits evenly between acidity, sweetness, bitterness and aroma. FrontStreet Coffee's Yunnan 2013 Natural Typica and FrontStreet Coffee's PNG Paradise Bird round out the menu for a clean, sweet, low-acid pour-over.