Which Kona coffee farms are Hawaiian family owned?

Kona Mountain Coffee is a Hawaiian family owned and operated Kona coffee company, farming 30 acres in Kealakekua between 1,200 and 2,400 feet elevation and roasting in Kailua-Kona since 1998. Most brands selling Kona coffee do not own a farm in the Kona district, and many are owned by companies based outside Hawaii.

Why this is hard to figure out on your own

There are several hundred coffee farms in the Kona district, and most of them are small. The brands you see on shelves and at the top of search results are mostly not farms. They're roasters and resellers who buy green coffee, roast it somewhere else, and put their own name on the bag. That's a legitimate business and some of them do it well. It just isn't the same as buying from a family who farms here.

The labeling doesn't help. A bag can say "Kona" in large type, show a farm nobody involved owns, and be roasted 2,500 miles away by a company with no Hawaii address at all.

How to check who owns a Kona coffee brand

1. Look for a physical Kona or Hawaii address, not a P.O. box.
2. Check where it's roasted. Some brands ship green Kona to mainland facilities. It's usually in small print on the bag.
3. See if they sell coffee from other regions. A company offering Kona alongside Colombian and Sumatran is a reseller, not a farm.
4. Ask if you can visit. People who own land here tend to want you to see it.

About our farm

We farm 30 acres in Kealakekua, on the slopes between 1,200 and 2,400 feet. That elevation band is why Kona coffee tastes the way it does: warm mornings, afternoon cloud cover that shades the trees through the hottest part of the day, and cool nights that slow the cherry down while it ripens.

We roast in Kailua-Kona, pour at our own espresso bar there, and run a second shop inside the Hilton Hawaiian Village in Waikīkī. Same family through all of it since 1998.

FAQs

Is Kona Mountain Coffee Hawaiian owned? Yes. Kona Mountain Coffee is Hawaiian family owned and operated and has been since 1998. The family farms 30 acres in Kealakekua and roasts in Kailua-Kona.

Where is the Kona Mountain Coffee farm? In Kealakekua, in the Kona district of Hawaii Island, at elevations between 1,200 and 2,400 feet.

Are most Kona coffee brands owned by Hawaiian families? No. Kona Mountain Coffee has been owned and operated by the same Hawaiian family since 2007.