Kailua Kona lies smack in the middle of coffee country on the Big Island. This is the home of Kona coffee: a scenic, tropical and narrow region on the slopes of the Hualalai and Mauna Loa volcanoes in the north and south Kona district.
Kona Coffee is world-renowned and consistently rated among the very best gourmet coffees in the world. If you are a coffee enthusiast you shouldn’t visit the Big Island without a trying out a good cup of Kona Coffee. You can do this as easily as with a well-placed order in a roadside coffee shack, a cafe, or restaurant, but you can also go on a farm tour.
On this page we discuss the following ways of getting to know Kona Coffee:
Table of contents
- BIG LIST of coffee plantations and farms on the Big Island (with map)
- What happens on a Kona coffee tour?
- To the farm! Plan your own Kona Coffee tour
- Kona Coffee FAQ (When is the best time to go, what is Kona Snow, etc.)
Table of Contents
- BIG LIST of coffee plantations and farms on the Big Island (with map)
- What happens on a Kona coffee tour?
- To the farm! Plan your own Kona Coffee tour
- Kona Coffee FAQ (When is the best time to go, what is Kona Snow, etc.)
Coffee farms that organize tours on the Big Island
We list some of the coffee farms that organize tours on their property below. The farms are split between farms in Kona, farms in Kaʻu, and coffee farms close to Hilo.
- Kona coffee Living History farm
- Rooster farms
- Kuaiwi farm
- Sunshower farms
- Heavenly Hawaiian
- Mountain Thunder
- Buddha’s Cup
- Hala Tree Coffee
- Ueshima coffee (UCC)
- Holualoa Kona Coffee plantation
- Hula Daddy
- Greenwell farm
- Uluwehi Coffee Farm
- Kaʻu coffee mill (in Kaʻu)
- Hilo coffee mill (in Hilo)
- Hog Heaven Coffee (on the Hamakua coast)
We have also added all the tours listed below to a map, which you can see further down.
Kona coffee tours (near Kona)
- Kona Coffee Living History Farm: is the only living history coffee farm in the nation. Their farm is open for you to explore but an admission fee is charged. More information on their website.
- Greenwell Farms: organizes free guided farm tours throughout the day. More information on their website.
- Rooster Farms: has been a certified organic Kona Coffee farm for 30+ years making it the oldest certified organic farm. They also won the 2016 Kona Coffee Cultural Festival Cupping Contest. Quite impressive! Farm tours are free but require a reservation, last about 30 minutes and include tasting their 100% Kona Coffee. Go to their website to make a reservation.
- Kuaiwi Farm: Grows coffee and cacao and offers a wonderful farm tour. Plan on a two-hour visit, tours cost $15/adult. Tours need to be scheduled, more information on the website.
- Sunshower Coffee Farm: offers private coffee tours with a in-depth cupping (specialty tasting) included, as well as roasting lesson where guests can roast their own coffee to take home. Tours are available 7 days / week but need to be scheduled in advance. $25/tasting. More information on their website.
- Heavenly Hawaiian coffee farms: Organizes hourly tours from Monday to Saturday between 9am and 4pm. The tours start at $15 (see here) and are concluded with a tasting on the lanai. More information on their website.
- Mountain Thunder Kona Coffee: Organizes both free and VIP tours. No reservation needed, tours start every hour, 7 days/week. More details at their website.
- Buddha’s Cup: Winners of the 2010 Kona Coffee cupping competition, 3rd place in 2014. Complimentary Kona coffee is available at their farm, and coffee tastings and tours are available for a fee. The farm is open to visitors from Monday through Friday from 10 am to 4 pm, see their website for more information.
- Hala Tree Coffee: Organizes free 1-hour tours Monday through Friday of their certified organic Kona coffee and tea farm overlooking the beautiful south Kona coast. They also offer (paid) coffee-roasting tours – see their website for details.
- Ueshima coffee (UCC): Organizes 30-minute tours on their estate, reservations are needed and can be made on their website.
- Holualoa Kona Coffee Company: Self guided tours Monday through Thursday from 8 am to 3 pm at their Kona Leʻa plantation. More information on their website.
- Uluwehi Coffee Farm: 1h to 1.5h tour of their plantation that covers all the steps from, growing coffee trees, to tree care, harvesting, processing (all methods), drying, dry milling, grading/sorting, storage, and roasting. Also includes free tasting of their home-grown coffee. More information on their website.
- Hula Daddy Kona Coffee: Is open Monday through Friday from 10 am to 4 pm. 1-hour tours of the orchard and the roasting room are $35/person. More information on their website.
Visitors take a Kona Coffee Farm Tour at the Greenwell farm. Source: here by user horspowr1001 under a CC BY-NC 2.0 license
Coffee tours in Kaʻu
- The Kaʻu coffee mill: organizes free ~20 minute tours of their orchards twice a day. Find out more on their website.
Coffee tours close to Hilo
- Hilo Coffee Mill: Tours of the farm and mill that need to be scheduled. See their website for details.
Coffee Tours on the Hamakua Coast
- Hog Heaven Coffee: Won first prize for their district at the 2022 & 2023 Hawaii Coffee Association cupping competition. They organize tours of their farm that run between 45 minutes to an hour and include an overview of their farm, an explanation on how they run their operation and how we process coffee. More information on their website.
Other places to buy / try good coffee close to Hilo
- Paradise Roasters is a micro-roaster that specializes in high quality and unique espressos and single origin coffee – a great place to talk story and buy wonderful local roasts. Located in Hilo at 250 Keawe St, more information on their website.
- Halfway between Hilo and Volcano Village, Koana is a cozy coffee shop run by a coffee-loving husband and wife team. More on their website.
Map of our favorite coffee farms that organize tours
We summarize all coffee farms listed on this page and that organize tours on their property, on the map below. Also included are a few tea plantations that organize tours and tastings at their farms (green symbols).
What to expect on a Kona Coffee tour
There are now more than 650 coffee farms of all sizes clustered along the ±20 miles of scenic roads on the Hualalai and Mauna Loa slopes. Many of these farms offer tours to the public.
During these tours you are typically shown around the plantation to see the growing coffee in the field. Then you are taken through the processes that are needed to go from a growing coffee bean to a cup of coffee (drying, processing, and roasting). Many tours end with a (free) tasting of the coffee, very close to a showroom or visitor center where you can buy the local coffee.
Coffee Tours last on average about 30 minutes and are often walking tours (but with only a little bit of walking). Details though vary on a farm-by-farm basis. Most tours start on the farm, which means you have to drive there yourself. Some tours need to be scheduled ahead of time to make sure there are people to show you around, and many tours are free of charge.
Coffee for sale on highway 11 in the Kaʻu district, between Naʻalehu and Volcano
To the farm! Planning your own Kona Coffee tour
Visiting one (or a couple of) coffee farms during the day to learn about Kona coffee, to buy some coffee and of course for free tastings, is a great way to spend your day!
In our experience it is convenient to plan the visit to a coffee farm in combination with for example a trip to the Puʻuhonua O Honaunau national park or with a snorkeling expedition to one of our favorite snorkeling spots: Kealakekua bay or Honaunau bay (two step).
All the Kona coffee farms are located on or near the 20 miles of scenic country roads. Add to that the presence of a few shops, cafes, and the colorfully painted church, and you have the perfect excuse for a self-drive coffee tour. Plan about one to two hours for a visit, and make sure to check ahead of time whether you need to schedule a tour at your farm of choice.
Kona Coffee FAQ
When is the best time to go on a Kona coffee tour? And what months should you go if you could choose? See our answers to these frequently asked questions below:
Coffee trees love both sunshine and frequent rains, so expect both when visiting. As a rule of thumb however, the mornings on the south Kona coast are sunny, and the clouds and rain appear after about 1PM (read more about the typical weather in Kona).
So, if you like sunshine and staying dry, the best time to plan your Kona coffee tour is before noon.
Coffee farms on the Big Island are open for tours and tastings the whole your round, and the coffee they serve for the free tasting is always fresh. This means that there really is not a ‘bad’ time to visit.
However! Coffee in Hawaii has a yearly growing cycle and depending on when you visit you will see other things in the coffee fields. Our favorite stages of the coffee cycle are those between the blossoming (February + March) and the harvesting of the ripe, red, fruits (August), making February through August our favorite months to go on a Kona Coffee tour.
When coffee plants bloom in the months February and March they carry lots of beautiful, small and fragrant flowers. These flowers are especially impressive when you see whole fields of coffee covered with them. It almost looks like the coffee plants are covered in snow, and this is why the flowering fields of coffee are also known as “Kona snow”.
Flowers of Kona coffee (“Kona snow”), South Kona, in early March 2012. By Frank Schulenburg – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link
After coffee flowers are pollinated they fall off and a small green berry starts growing at its base. These berries typically start appearing on the plants in April, and they stay green until they are red, ripe, and ready to be harvested. The berries turn so red that they are called “cherries” for their resemblance to a cherry.
Each tree needs to be hand-picked several times between August and ~January, but August, September, and October, are our favorite months to see the red cherries on the coffee plants.
Ripe coffee berries ready for harvesting. By Jonathan Wilkins – own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link.
(Even) More interesting things to know about Kona Coffee
If you would like to find our more about Kona coffee you should have a look at our in-depth Kona Coffee guide. This guide will tell you about:
- The 200 year history of Kona Coffee on the Big Island
- Why Kona Coffee is so special
- What to pay attention to when buying Kona Coffee in a shop or online
- The other very tasty Big Island coffees that are not “Kona” (but that are as tasty and more affordable ).
The Kona Coffee Guide
