Where Do Hawaiian Coffee Beans Grow? The Noble Typica Variety of Hawaiian Coffee

FrontStreet Coffee - Hawaiian Coffee Introduction

Hawaiian Kona coffee beans are high-quality Arabica beans, and they have become one of the most popular and expensive coffees on the market.

In 1813 a Spaniard first planted coffee in Manoa Valley on Oahu, the site of what is now the main campus of the University of Hawaii. In 1825 a British agriculturist named John Wilkinson transplanted coffee from Brazil to Oahu, into Chief Boki's coffee garden. Three years after that, an American missionary named Samuel Reverend Ruggles carried branches from Chief Boki's garden to Kona. That coffee descends from the earliest Arabica trees to grow on the Ethiopian plateau, and Kona coffee still continues that noble, ancient lineage today.

Kona's excellent quality owes much to its location and climate. The trees grow on volcanic slopes at altitudes of 2,100–3,600 meters. The favorable slope lets Kona coffee draw enough moisture from the soil without taking up so much that it dulls the flavor.

Kona Island also has Hawaii's fertile tropical volcanic soil: a rich volcanic black mud with moderate acidity, abundant minerals, and the right level of moisture. The dark volcanic ash soil supplies the minerals the coffee needs. Although Hawaii is often struck by storms, the climate is in fact very well suited to coffee cultivation, with plentiful rain and sunshine and no risk of frost damage.

Kona coffee is grown without planted shade, since Hawaii's island climate supplies what the trees need. Morning sunlight filters gently through the moisture-laden air, and the warm tropical sun plays an important role in the trees' growth. Hawaii delivers exactly the morning light Kona needs, while at noon rising clouds screen the trees from harsh, direct sun.

By afternoon the mountains grow more humid and hazy. Every afternoon a bank of cloud drifts over Kona Island, and the shifting white clouds block the sunlight, protecting the fragile young trees and creating natural shade. Night, meanwhile, turns clear and cool. The cool nighttime air slows the ripening of the fruit, producing beans with a rich appearance, full moisture, and excellent flavor.

In Brief

FrontStreet Coffee is a specialty coffee research hall that loves to share coffee knowledge with everyone. We share everything without reservation simply to let more friends fall in love with coffee, and every month there are three low-discount coffee events. The reason is that FrontStreet Coffee wants more friends to drink the best coffee at the lowest price—a mission it has held for the past six years.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Hawaiian coffee is prized for balance and softness, and Brazilian coffee offers a similarly gentle, low-acid profile at a far more accessible price. FrontStreet Coffee's Brazil Cerrado Red Bourbon is one of the most classic Brazilian single origins: Cerrado is a well-known producing region for high-quality beans, and the Red Bourbon variety is common across South America. Roasted to medium, it shows rich aromas of creamy peanut, toasted bread, caramel, and hazelnut, with a rounded body, low acidity, and a light bitter edge. It works as a pour-over as well as in a moka pot, an espresso SOE, a siphon, or a French press.

FrontStreet Coffee's Brazil Queen Estate takes a rarer route: it comes from Mogiana, close to South Minas, where fertile red volcanic soil feeds the fruit and concentrates its aroma. The variety is the uncommon Yellow Bourbon, a natural mutation of Red Bourbon with a cleaner fruit character. Whether brewed as pour-over, moka pot, or on a home espresso machine, it shows a sugarcane freshness other regions rarely offer, along with fruit and chocolate notes.

Its low acidity, balance, and moderate price also make Brazilian coffee a staple of espresso recipes. The Brazilian component in FrontStreet Coffee's espresso blends—the rich, oily Classic Blend; the nutty Specialty Blend; the balanced Black Cocoa Blend recommended by many baristas; and FrontStreet Coffee's Commercial Blend made for cafés—adds chocolate and cream aromas along with a soft sweet-sour-bitter balance. That balance also makes extraction more stable, which matters as much as flavor when you are dialing in a shot.