Coffee lovers visiting Hawaii’s Big Island, this one’s for you! You might find yourself feeling overwhelmed by the sheer number of coffee shops and farms in the area to choose from. The problem is that without some guidance, you might miss out on the tastiest specialty coffee and espresso drinks the area has to offer. In this post, I’ll cover where to find the best coffee shops and coffee plantations in Kona!
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Best coffee in Kona map
How to use this map: Click “View larger map” in the top right corner. From there, you can view each location and save your favorites to your own Google Maps lists!
Best coffee in Kona: Cafes
Cafes and coffee shops are the perfect place to sample the different types of coffee produced in the region. Besides good coffee, you can often find friendly staff, delicious food, and bags of Kona coffee beans to take home.
HiCo Hawaiian Coffee
HiCo is one of my personal favorite Kona coffee shops!
Inside their adorable cafe, they serve delicious and unique coffee drinks, cocktails, and breakfast foods. Try an iced ube latte with macadamia nut milk — it’s unreal.
HiCo is open Monday to Sunday, 6:30 am to 7 pm.
After your caffeine fix, make sure to head over to the neighboring Umekes Fish Market for some of the most incredible poke and Hawaiian food known to man.
Address: 74-5599 Pawai Pl #B3
Kona Wave Cafe
Kona Wave is an airy, modern cafe opposite Kailua Bay. There isn’t much indoor seating or street parking, but it’s easy enough to get your order takeaway and sit by the beach!
Their amazing Kona coffee comes hot, iced, or in the form of a fun espresso drink. Besides a high quality cup of coffee, you can also get tasty açaí bowls with fresh fruit, shave ice, and boba tea.
Kona Wave Cafe is open every day from 8 am to 5 pm.
Address: 75-5669 Ali‘i Dr #1109
Kona Coffee Cafe
Located in the heart of downtown, Kona Coffee Cafe is the place to sample all of the different Kona coffee blends.
They offer free coffee tasting as well as full-sized hot and cold drinks to purchase. You can choose from tons of unique flavors, like chocolate macadamia nut, Irish cream, and egg nog.
Kona Coffee Cafe also sells bags of Kona beans to take home (both in store and online!). They ship anywhere within the continental USA within 7-12 days.
Kona Coffee Cafe is open every day from 7 am to 7 pm.
Address: 75-5744 Ali‘i Dr #123
Green Flash Coffee
As a tiny seaside shack, Green Flash Coffee might be one of the cutest coffee houses on the Big Island of Hawaii!
Despite its unassuming outward appearance, Green Flash is serious about its coffee. (Their specialty Earthquake drink comes with four shots of espresso!) Besides heart-stopping quantities of caffeine, they also sell breakfast sandwiches, paninis, and pastries.
Green Flash Coffee is open on weekdays from 7 am to 11:30 am.
Address: 75-6000 Ali‘i Dr
Kona Coffee & Tea
Kona Coffee & Tea is one of the top picks for finding the best coffee in Kona. The cafe makes drinks from beans grown on their family farm, an estate on the nearby slopes of Hualalai.
Their pure Kona coffee is about as artisanal and local as you can get. It’s grown in small batches and comes in every type of roast imaginable — medium roast is their most popular because of its richer flavor.
The Kona Coffee & Tea cafe is open every day from 6 am to 6 pm. They also offer farm tours which need to be booked in advance.
Address: 74-5588 Palani Rd
Best coffee in Kona: Plantations
Coffee farms and plantations are the best places in the Kona region to experience the often unseen side of coffee production. You’ll get to learn about the rich history of Kona coffee, get a free tasting, and gain a new appreciation for the final product.
Mountain Thunder Coffee Plantation
Mountain Thunder is a must-visit for any coffee connoisseur.
The plantation offers free tours of their coffee processing facilities, which are actually way more interesting than they sound. It’s really interesting to get a behind-the-scenes look at how coffee moves from bean to cup!
After your tour, you can sample a few varieties of drip coffee and peruse their gift shop that sells bags of beans and coffee-themed memorabilia.
Mountain Thunder Coffee Plantation offers tours every half hour from 9:30 am to 3:30 pm. The plantation is located within the Kona Cloud Forest Sanctuary and is very close to the Makuala O’oma Trail, one of the best free things to do in Kona!
Address: 73-1942 Ha’o St
Heavenly Hawaiian Kona Coffee Farm
Located a quick 15-minute drive south of Kona, Heavenly Hawaiian Kona Coffee Farm is a great place to learn about the region’s history of coffee farming.
Aside from standard farm tours, Heavenly Hawaiian also has more interactive classes where you can roast your own beans, learn how to brew the perfect cup of Kona joe, or paint n’ sip with a mountain view at sunrise.
Of course, they also offer an on-site coffee bar and gift shop where you can bring the best Hawaiian coffee home with you.
Heavenly Hawaiian is open from Monday through Saturday, 9 am to 5 pm.
Address: 78-1136 Bishop Rd, Holualoa
Hōlualoa Kona Coffee Co
Hōlualoa is an organic coffee plantation with free coffee roasting tours, coffee tastings, and a well-stocked gift shop.
Their Kona coffee tours include an explanation of the coffee production process and a self-guided walk through both the orchard and the mill.
Once you’re done with your tour, I’d recommend opting for the $1 coffee tasting. You get a coffee flight with 3 different roasts, as well as a few sweet treats to cleanse your palate!
Tours at Hōlualoa Kona Coffee Co run Monday through Thursday, 8 am to 3 pm.
Address: 77-6261 Mamalahoa Hwy, Holualoa
Kona coffee FAQ
Why is Kona coffee so special?
Kona coffee is special and highly revered because of its unique farming area and production process.
To be considered Kona coffee, the beans need to be grown in one specific area of Hawaii called the Kona Coffee Belt (just like champagne from France!). This area is approximately 26 miles (42 km) wide and stretches from Hualalai to Mauna Loa.
The rich volcanic soil around the Kona Coffee Belt and the vast amount of daily sunlight give the coffee plants important nutrients and minerals that they need to grow.
During coffee harvest season from August to December, farmers hand-pick the coffee beans before washing, fermenting, and air drying them. They’re then milled, polished, and roasted before packaging.
Kona coffee is even protected under Hawaiian law — if you’re selling it, it needs to meet certain labeling and weight requirements!
What’s the difference between Kona coffee and Kona blend?
Because of Kona coffee’s reputation as the best thing since sliced bread, many coffee producers will try to cut costs by mixing it with cheaper, imported beans.
Kona coffee is 100% made from beans grown in the Kona Coffee Belt. Kona blends, on the other hand, only need to include 10% Kona coffee.
This means that with a blend, you’re only really tasting the other 90% of the mix. These cheaper beans usually come from places like Colombia or Brazil and are lower quality than single-origin Kona coffee.
Why is Kona coffee so expensive?
Kona coffee is expensive because of the labor costs involved in its harvesting and production.
The area that the beans are grown in is mountainous and makes mechanical harvesting impossible. Because of the rocky terrain, all of the coffee cherries need to be hand-picked.
Besides the labor-intensive picking process, coffee farmers in Hawaii are also paid at least minimum wage. When you compare that to what coffee farmers earn in places like Indonesia or Kenya, it’s no wonder that Kona coffee will be more expensive.
Other things to do on Big Island
Snorkel with manta rays
This is one of my favorite activities that I’ve booked on any trip, ever!
Tours start after the sun sets from Keauhou Bay. After taking a quick 10-minute boat ride out onto open water, the tour guides give you a snorkel and a pool noodle to hold under your feet. You lay in the water on your stomach and hold on to a plastic raft with special lights to attract plankton.
The manta rays swim up to the raft to eat the tasty plankton and you get a front row ticket to the action!
They swim incredibly close to you, sometimes even brushing up against your body. They’re massive and very gentle — it’s really an unbelievable experience to see them up close.
This activity is also one that you can only do on the Big Island, making it super special!
Mauna Kea stargazing
This Mauna Kea stargazing tour has it all — fun information about stars and planets, incredible views and photo ops, and free snacks!
Your tour guides will take you up to the summit of Mauna Kea, the highest point in the Pacific. At the top, you get to enjoy a gorgeous sunset while learning some Big Island history.
Once the sun goes down, you can do a little bit of stargazing through one of the research telescopes. Plus, at the end of your tour, your guides will send you some DSLR night photos!
Go whale watching
If you’re visiting the Big Island between the months of December and March, going on a whale watching cruise is a must-do activity.
These scenic cruises sail out from Honokohau Harbor and give you the chance to see the majestic humpback whale in the wild. Once you spot one, you can listen to its whale song with an underwater hydrophone!
And while the tour company obviously can’t guarantee that you’ll see whales on your tour, they do offer you another cruise for free if you don’t.
Fun fact: Hawaii is the only state in the USA where you can see humpback whales mate, calve, and nurse their young, making it an absolute bucket list destination!
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is one of the greatest places in the world to see hot lava, steam vents, and ancient rock carvings. The state of Hawaii is filled with volcanic activity, and some craters in the park are currently erupting as we speak!
Some of the best things to do in the park include seeing the Thurston Lava Tube, hiking Kīlauea Iki Crater, and driving Chain of Craters Road. Volcanoes National Park also makes an awesome stop on any Big Island road trip itinerary.
To get to Volcanoes National Park from Kona, it’s easiest to rent a car. There are two routes you can take: the northern inland route past Hilo, or the southern coastal route. Both take about 2 hours to drive.
I’d recommend the southern route to stop at Punalu’u Black Sand Beach — it’s gorgeous! On your way, make sure to stop at Punalu’u Bake Shop for a classic Hawaiian malasada.
Where to stay in Kona
Budget:
Mid-range:
- Courtyard by Marriott King Kamehameha’s Kona Beach Hotel
- Royal Kona Resort
- Banyan Tree Sanctuary Guest House
Bougie:
How to get to Kona
From mainland United States
Kona International Airport (KOA) connects the Big Island’s western shore to several cities in the US, such as San Francisco, Anchorage, and Denver. These long-haul nonstop flights are generally a bit more expensive than flying into Honolulu (HNL).
If you’re coming from Los Angeles, there is also a nonstop flight into Hilo International Airport (ITO) on the Big Island’s eastern shore. From there, it’s a 1.5-hour drive across the island to get to Kona. This could be a good option for those wanting to visit Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park first!
From other Hawaiian islands
If you want to extend your Hawaiian vacation, you can reach the Big Island via nonstop flights from the islands of Oahu, Maui, and Kauai.
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Thanks for reading about where to find the best coffee in Kona, Hawaii!
xoxo Niki
