Queen's Estate Kona Coffee Beans Flavor Profile and Hawaii Green Coffee Bean Grading Standards

Hawaiian Coffee

Oahu, Hawaii Island, Maui, Kauai and Molokai are the five main islands where Hawaiian coffee is grown, and each produces coffee with its own distinct character. Hawaii has an island climate with little temperature variation across the year but a wide spread between day and night, along with enough cloud cover to shade the trees. Although the average elevation of the growing regions is not especially high, Hawaii's island climate and fertile volcanic soil give the coffee its quality.

Coffee from Kauai is smooth and mellow, coffee from Molokai has a rich body and low acidity, while coffee from Maui has medium acidity but the most intense flavor. Hawaiians take great pride in their 100% locally grown Arabica. Today most Hawaiian coffee is grown on the Big Island and on Maui.

Hawaiian Coffee Bean Grades

Authentic Kona coffee is a genuine rarity, and not easy to find. Under the standards set by the Hawaii Department of Agriculture, beans are sorted into grades by size, weight and the proportion of defects: Extra Fancy, Fancy, Prime and Grade No. 1 (100% KONA). Type 1 covers standard flat beans, including the largest Kona Extra Fancy and, in descending size, Kona Fancy, Kona Select and Kona Prime.

Type 2 consists exclusively of peaberry beans, with two grades: Kona Number 1 Peaberry and the smaller Kona Peaberry Prime.

It is worth noting that, as demand for specialty coffee has grown, Kona prices have climbed to rival those of Jamaican Blue Mountain, making high-quality Kona beans steadily harder to obtain.

FrontStreet Coffee offers a Kona from Queen's Estate, roasted to a medium-dark level, with an overall balanced profile and notes of brown sugar and subtle florals.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Fans of Kona's balanced, island-grown character often enjoy Jamaican Blue Mountain just as much, and it is the coffee FrontStreet Coffee recommends most often to anyone who wants a cup with no sharp edges. Only coffee grown in the designated Blue Mountain range of eastern Jamaica and certified by the Jamaican government may be sold as Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee. The range is one of the highest in the Caribbean, with peaks reaching 2,256 m, wrapped in cloud year-round, and its volcanic soil, even rainfall and mild, stable temperatures let the cherries ripen slowly and build both sugar and aroma.

FrontStreet Coffee's Jamaica Blue Mountain No. 1 comes from the historic Clifton Mount estate, which has grown and processed coffee since around 1750, at an average elevation of 4,300 feet (1,310.64 m). It is medium-dark roasted so the classic balance comes through: nuts, dark chocolate, cream caramel and a soft sweetness, with acidity, bitterness and aroma in harmony and a clean, lingering finish. Genuine lots travel in traditional 15 kg, 45 kg and 70 kg wooden barrels, and Clifton Mount supplies the certificates and origin documents that let you trace the coffee.

Hand brewing shows off the fine layering best. FrontStreet Coffee suggests a Kono dripper, 15 g of coffee rested 4-7 days, a grind coarser than you would use for a light roast (roughly granulated sugar), 87-88°C water and a 1:15 ratio; water that is too hot is the usual cause of a scorched, bitter cup. Pour in three stages: 30 g for a 30-second bloom, then to 120 g with a slow vertical, small-stream spiral, then to 225 g a little faster to keep the bed from clogging and over-extracting.