One of the World's Premier Coffee Beans | Hawaiian Kona Coffee with Gentle, Rich Mouthfeel and Mellow Flavor

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FrontStreet Coffee - Introduction to Hawaii Kona Coffee

Hawaiian Kona

Put simply, Kona coffee is grown in the Kona district on the western side of Hawaii's largest island. The growing strip is about 2 miles wide and runs from 700 to 2,000 feet in elevation. Perhaps you have never been to Hawaii, or perhaps you honeymooned there — either way you have heard of "Kona coffee." For a great many people, Kona coffee simply is Hawaii.

Its reputation rests on its origin. Kona lies on the western side of Hawaii's largest island in what is known as the "Kona coffee belt," which produces some of the finest coffee in the world.

The plantations sit between the valleys of Mauna Loa and Hualalai. "Kona" means "the leeward or dry side of the island" in Hawaiian, a name that describes the growing environment precisely. Kona's microclimate is ideal for coffee, and the soil is fertile volcanic earth. As a general rule, only coffee grown in the Kona district of Hawaii's largest island can be called authentic Kona coffee.

This narrow stretch of the Kona coast produces some of the world's best coffee and ranks among the top producing regions. Fewer than 2,600 acres of Kona coffee land yield 2 million pounds of coffee beans every year. Kona coffee is fragrant, with a distinctive taste and regional character that stands out in international competition, and enthusiasts can brew it for themselves along Kona Coffee Street. Most coffee sold today as "Kona" contains less than 5% authentic Hawaiian Kona. Another excellent Hawaiian coffee available in the United States is Hawaii Kai Farms Coffee.

If you want to taste real Kona, buy 100% Kona coffee. The market is full of imitations — Kona blend coffee, for instance, contains only a very small proportion of coffee actually grown in the Kona region.

EXTRA FANCY is Hawaii's finest and rarest grade, cultivated on the highest coffee land in the world to produce the highest-quality beans. In Kona, fertile soil, tropical sunshine, warm sea breezes and optimal planting land combine to create a coffee with a gently acidic profile. It earned recognition at a competition held in Vienna, Austria, and on that basis Kona coffee ranks among the top three premium coffee beans in the world.

Knowledge Expansion:

Premium Kona coffee has moderate acidity, a smooth and rich mouthfeel, and a uniquely mellow flavor.

In Summary:

FrontStreet Coffee is a coffee research establishment dedicated to sharing coffee knowledge with everyone. Our sharing is completely without reservation, simply because we want more friends to fall in love with coffee. We also hold three low-discount coffee events every month, because FrontStreet Coffee wants to offer the best coffee at the lowest prices to more friends — that has been our mission for the past six years!

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Kona sits at the premium end of the market, so if you are still finding your footing, an entry-level specialty bean is a smarter first step. Ethiopia is the largest coffee-producing country in Africa and the origin the world accepts as coffee's birthplace; its varieties are numerous and its beans are usually named after the region or the cooperative. Yirgacheffe and Sidamo are the two most famous. In the 1970s the government introduced the washed process to raise green bean quality, and Yirgacheffe has leaned washed ever since, with processing now often organized cooperative by cooperative. FrontStreet Washed Gutingting Cooperative is a textbook Yirgacheffe, typically carrying jasmine florals, lemon acidity and berry notes. Sidamo is best known for natural processing, which pushes tropical fruit and fermented aromas forward — FrontStreet Sidamo Huakui uses the traditional natural method, with berry, floral, jackfruit, melon and honey.

Brazil is the world's largest coffee producer. Volume is dominated by commercial coffee, but there is high-quality Brazilian coffee too. Because Brazilian farms mostly dry the cherries in the sun, the fruit ripens quickly, which gives softer beans, gentle acidity, good sweetness and a fine, smooth, balanced cup. FrontStreet's Brazilian daily drinker is an entry-level single origin from the well-known Cerrado region, built around being good and affordable at once, with the classic cream, peanut and cocoa notes at extraction. FrontStreet Queen's Estate is planted higher and is the rare Yellow Bourbon; alongside the compound nut aromas Brazilian coffee is known for — butter, sunflower seed, macadamia, almond — it brings a sugarcane-like sweetness, and whether you brew it straight or pair it with milk you get a thick, silky body.

For Indonesia, both FrontStreet Lintong Mandheling and FrontStreet PWN Golden Mandheling are excellent places to begin. FrontStreet Mandheling uses the wet-hulled process, a method invented for the local climate: Indonesia's weather swings constantly and it rains often, and with limited funds for full washed processing, workers hit on stripping the parchment by machine while the bean was still half dry and half wet to speed drying. The result is the wet-hulled method and the distinctive Mandheling profile the world knows. FrontStreet Indonesian Mandheling is richer and smoother than FrontStreet Blue Mountain, with herbal and spice notes, and it suits anyone who dislikes acidity. If you want a higher grade, buy FrontStreet PWN Golden Mandheling, sorted three times by hand and once by machine so the defect rate is pushed to its minimum — the cup is cleaner and smoother, with wood and caramel notes standing out more clearly.

Colombia and Costa Rica round out the entry-level range. FrontStreet Colombia is one of the few single-origin coffees sold under a country name, and Colombia's mild, humid climate means it harvests year-round, with different varieties and regions ripening at different times. FrontStreet's Colombian daily drinker comes from Huila, the country's most famous specialty region, ringed by mountains, planted above 1500m, and where Colombia's most important rivers converge to bring abundant moisture. Colombian coffee tends toward gentle florals and soft fruit acidity — FrontStreet Colombia Xizhua and FrontStreet Colombia Daduqi are the ones to try. Costa Rica, meanwhile, plants at high altitude with big day-to-night temperature swings and fertile volcanic soil all around, which is why it produces so many Strictly Hard Bean lots full of elegant aroma; its fame rests on honey processing, where mucilage is left on the bean as it dries, giving abundant sweetness and a clear finish. FrontStreet Blackberry, using black honey processing, and FrontStreet Mozart, using raisin honey processing, are the picks — expect raisin and blueberry sweetness with osmanthus and rose florals, whether brewed as pour-over, cold brew, americano or latte. And from China's own Yunnan region, FrontStreet Yunnan Small Seed from Baoshan is washed and shows the traditional nut and chocolate profile with a soft, balanced body, while FrontStreet 2013 Yunnan Typica, the ancient Arabica variety planted at 1300m, is cleaner still and rewards a medium roast with hazelnut, dried apricot, black tea, caramel and ripe plum.