Are Hawaiian Coffee Varieties Arabica? A Step-by-Step Guide to Brewing Kona Coffee

FrontStreet Coffee — Hawaii Kona Coffee

Hawaii-grown Kona beans have the most perfect appearance of any coffee: exceptionally plump fruit and a bright, glossy surface. The cup is rich and aromatic, with cinnamon spice notes and well-balanced acidity. Hawaii is the only one of the 50 United States to produce a premium coffee, and the US mainland is naturally its largest market.

Kona is cultivated on the slopes of Mauna Loa volcano on the southwestern coast of Hawaii Island. In flavor terms it sits closer to Central American coffee than to Indonesian. Its average quality is very high and it is processed with great care: medium body, pleasant acidity and very rich flavor. Fresh Kona is remarkably aromatic.

If you find your usual coffee too heavy, African coffee too acidic, or Central and South American coffee too bold, Kona may be exactly right. It is like someone stepping out of Hawaiian sunshine and a gentle breeze — fresh and natural.

Kona beans are uniform and neat, with strong acidity and sweetness and a smooth, mellow mouthfeel. Because they grow on volcanic soil under high-density cultivation, each bean is a pampered "noble lady": beautiful, plump, with a baby-soft texture.

Hawaii is often brushed by tornadoes, yet the climate is genuinely well suited to coffee. Rainfall and sunshine are abundant, frost damage is not a concern, and there is a peculiar natural phenomenon known locally as "free shade."

On most days, around 2 PM, clouds gather in the sky and provide the coffee trees with necessary shade. These superior natural conditions are what allow Arabica yields in the Kona region to exceed any other plantation in the world while maintaining consistently high quality. The unique growing and climate environment creates a more intense coffee flavor.

Flavor Profile

Smooth and richly aromatic, with an enticing nutty fragrance.

Pour-Over Parameters

Kono dripper, grind size BG-6W, water temperature 87°C, three-stage extraction.

First, bloom 30g of coffee grounds for 30 seconds, starting the timer when the pour begins. Then make the second pour to 125g and stop. Wait for the water level to fall until the coffee bed is about to be exposed, then make the third pour to 225g and stop. Wait once more until the bed is about to be exposed, then remove the dripper. Extraction time: 1 minute 50 seconds.

In Brief

FrontStreet Coffee is a coffee research hall dedicated to sharing coffee knowledge. It shares without reservation for one reason: to help more people fall in love with coffee. Every month there are three promotion events with significant discounts, so that more drinkers can enjoy the best coffee at the lowest possible price — a mission FrontStreet Coffee has kept for the past 6 years.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Kona belongs to the family of balanced, gently sweet island coffees. Drinkers who appreciate that style often enjoy exploring Indonesia's classic single origins as well.

FrontStreet Indonesia Wet-Hulled Mandheling — the natural place to begin with Indonesian coffee, and it starts on Sumatra. Mandheling denotes Arabica from Sumatra, processed mainly by the local wet-hulled method. Because the beans are shelled while still semi-dry and semi-wet, the green beans are fully exposed to the air during drying, which gives the coffee its typical herbal and spice notes. FrontStreet's Mandheling comes from the Toba Lake area of the Lintong region. To present the classic profile it is roasted medium-dark, giving a low-acid, full-bodied cup with caramel, dark chocolate and toasted bread aromas and a long, sweet finish.

FrontStreet PWN Golden Mandheling — for top-tier Indonesian coffee, this is the first choice. PWN is a trading company that buys up the best local Mandheling lots, producing only specialty grade. Golden Mandheling is its flagship. Production follows strict defect-screening standards covering bean density, size, shape and color, and the finished lots are sorted once by machine and once by hand to ensure complete, uniform, large and translucent beans and to reduce the earthy, grassy notes typical of Mandheling. Legend has it the beans glint gold in the sun, which is how the name arose. Freshly roasted, FrontStreet PWN Golden Mandheling shows sandalwood, herbs, spices, roasted hazelnut, caramel and dark chocolate, with a clean character, a sweet, rich body and a deeply layered aroma — good for everyday drinking and equally suited to gifting.