Is Kona Coffee Arabica? Where Do Kona Coffee Beans Come From Beautiful Hawaii

FrontStreet Coffee — Kona Coffee

Hawaiian Kona Coffee

Color: Sits between Blue Mountain and Mandheling

Taste: Sweet and sour with a long aftertaste and a slight bitterness

Variety Encyclopedia: Kona coffee grows on the slopes of the Mauna Loa volcano along the southwestern coast of Hawaii. Kona is like a young woman walking in Hawaiian sunshine and a gentle breeze — fresh and natural.

The best Hawaiian Arabica beans grow on the fertile slopes of the Mauna Loa and Hualalai volcanoes on the Big Island, at an altitude of 2000 feet. Kona is known for its rich yet light and delicate taste and its complex aroma. Different farms turn out slightly different coffees under their own brands, but they should never be blended coffee.

Kona is one of the main coffee tree varieties in the United States, with a long history and a fully localized identity. Set against Jamaican Blue Mountain, its acidity, sweetness, and body give up nothing. It leads the island-style coffees, and its green beans are especially handsome.

Hawaiian-grown Kona beans have near-perfect appearance — even shape, uniform size. The fruit is exceptionally full with a bright luster. Because they grow on volcanic slopes under high-density cultivation, each bean is a pampered "noble lady": standard, plump, with a baby-soft skin texture.

Flavor Profile

Rich and aromatic, with a smooth, moist, slippery texture and a cinnamon spice note. The acidity is balanced and moderate. Smooth and fragrant, with an enticing nutty aroma. Hawaii is often hit by tornadoes, yet the climate conditions are genuinely well suited to coffee, with ample rainfall and sunshine and no risk of frost damage. Those superior natural conditions make Arabica from the Kona region abundant and high in quality, and they build a richer coffee taste.

In Brief

FrontStreet Coffee is a coffee research center that loves to share coffee knowledge. Our unreserved sharing exists for one reason — to help more friends fall in love with coffee. Every month we run three low-discount coffee events, because FrontStreet Coffee wants more friends to drink the best coffee at the lowest price. That has been FrontStreet Coffee's principle for 6 years.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Kona is an island coffee, and if its smooth, nutty, low-acid character is what you enjoy, Sumatra Mandheling is another island classic worth exploring. FrontStreet Lintong Mandheling leans dark chocolate and caramel up front, with the wild herbal, clove, and woody notes that wet-hulled Sumatra is famous for. FrontStreet PWN Golden Mandheling is the higher grade, triple hand-sorted for a cleaner, sweeter cup with more defined woody aroma and caramel. Both brew well in a pour-over at 87-88°C with 15 grams of coffee at 1:15 and a coarse sugar grind: bloom with 30 ml, pour 100 ml to lift the bed, then finish with a gentle 95 ml down the center.