We decided to give Hawaiian coffees a completely separate pedestal because they are on a whole other level. With them, you can have new and unique experiences that you wouldn’t be able to have with any other kind of coffee. Therefore, you need to know about our top picks this year. Brace yourselves, it’s about to get pretty intense.
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1. CartaCoffee – Captain’s Roast
We put this coffee so high on the list because it’s our personal favorite. It’s basically a blend of everything and still manages to come out perfect.
So, what is it a blend of exactly? Good question. The answer would be a bit too long, so let’s just say that the coffee comes from the manufacturer’s farm and a few other local Kona farms. The interesting part is that they are all from different altitudes, therefore they don’t taste the same, plus they are dried differently. Some go through a natural drying process, others go through the traditional one. Then all of these beans are taken to CartaCoffee, where they are deep roasted.
The final product is the Captain’s Roast. The names derives from the founder, Scott Burr, who was the first to use this signature roasting technique.
This coffee has a unique taste profile. It has a rich and full body with a smooth finish. But nothing else can be pinpointed exactly, which is the result of the different beans. The blend itself has a few major traits that will stand out to you. Like the taste of smoke and the dark chocolate which emphasizes the high citrus notes.
100% Kona coffee from Carta Coffee mechants is both dynamic and delicious.
– Travel by ENTREE
Carta Coffee offers the very finest expressions of single origin, handcrafted, 100% Kona coffee available.
– Jetsetting Fashionista
If your hosts are coffee aficionados they will love sipping on Carta Coffee merchants 100% Kona coffee.
– Sonoma Magazine
Check out Carta Coffee on their website, here!
2. Lion – Gold French Roast
This coffee is for those who love a good dark roast cup of Joe that will calm down your brain in seconds. It tastes amazing, is full of flavor and has just the right amount of caffeine in it. Surely the coffee for busy people who want to enjoy the simple pleasure of a hot and smooth drink. It’s a great way to wind down at the end of the day when all you want to do is relax and sleep.
The best coffee you can brew with these beans is espresso. The end result will be be short drink that has a medium amount of caffeine in it, but it will still be relaxing.
The taste profile is pretty simple, but great nonetheless. It starts off with a smooth dark chocolate taste which will spread around your mouth. It will slowly start turning bitter, but the chocolate will still linger on your taste buds. The finish is very satisfying and ends the drink in a way so you will be wanting more and more. It’s addictive, be prepared for that.
Having a cup of this right now on a Beautiful Sunday Morning… thousands of miles away from Hawai’i. Didn’t bring enough home from our last trip to the Big Island and Kaua’i but easy enough to order and well worth the price. Simply the best coffee in the world, my opinion! Aloha and Mahalo.
– Robert Harris
I am a fan of dark roast coffee and I have found a truly great ONE. This coffee is a master blend and it has distinctive characteristics that make you enjoy this coffee to the last drop.
– Tim Rankin
The combination of 100% Kona and Rich Dark Roast flavor all rolled into one great coffee!! On the top of my list of favorites!!
– Gary
Grab a bag of this dark roast, here!
Royal Kona Coffee – Estate Medium Roast
This coffee is special because its’ over the top uniqueness. You can’t find the coffee beans this coffee is made from anywhere, except on one single farm in Hawaii. But that wasn’t enough for the manufacturers, because even the roasting is different from what you are used to. They describe it as “slightly lighter than normal”, but in reality, it’s a signature of the roasters and it’s somewhere between dark and medium. It’s pretty similar to French roasting.
So, what does all this fanciness result in? A fancy coffee. Of course.
The taste profile will seem weird to you if you haven’t tried Kona coffee before. It’s certainly very unique and will surprise even the veterans of the coffee world. The first sip will be a bit earthy and will remind you of the smell of moss within a thick forest. It could also be described as mystique. But these tastes will quickly disappear and will leave you with a rich and strong cup of coffee. With no bitterness at all.
We highly recommend this coffee to anyone that prefers sweet drinks or puts a ton of sugar in the cup of Joe normally. This one will satisfy you coffee needs and won’t leave your blood sugar high.
We love this coffee. Full of flavor and no bitter taste like we are used to with grocery store brands. So glad we found this in Hawaii. Already placed my first order when we got home from vacation. I actually look forward to enjoying my coffee in the morning, this is the perfect coffee!!!
– Karen Maune
I ordered this and the Private whole bean. and OMG I’m hooked. This coffee is very smooth with no bitterness. The only way I like my coffee. I’ve tried many other coffee brands trying to figure out which one is the best for me and I’ve finally found it.
– Debbie Rutherford
A tasty, yet smooth coffee, with hints of the forest. Kind of mystique taste, perhaps, it is not easy to describe after the first taste. My experience is that the coffee is “well done” medium roasted, and I liked that. The coffee leaves a long lasting aftertaste who expands the pleasure.
– Johansen
Does this coffee sound tasty to you? Give it whirl, from their site here!
Kona Coffee and Tea – Malia Ohana
The name sounds pretty Hawaiian so we rightfully expect something traditional and original. Which is what this manufacturer perfectly delivers.
The beans are from a single estate, but that’s not the unique part of it. Neither is the roasting technique that’s used, because it’s nothing we’ve never heard of. Simple medium-dark roast. It’s what most of us drink every day, so what’s the big deal about this coffee?
What we very much appreciate is the fact that the farmers don’t use herbicides or pesticides, so their product remains free of chemicals. If you are trying to watch what you take into your system then this coffee will be your absolute favorite because of this. But that’s not why we highlighted it, this is just an awesome addition to an already great coffee.
The big deal is the taste profile. This coffee is from a slightly elevated area, so we all know that the flavors will be way more intense than regular coffee’s and that more eccentric ones will be present. So let’s talk about how this coffee tastes in reality.
When it first hits your tongue it will feel like melted milk chocolate. It has a medium, but smooth body so that drives home this feeling even more. Afterwards it will follow up with fruity tastes like sweet dried plum, hints of clove and raisins. These all mix together and create a flavor that just simply can’t be described. It’s truly a unique taste profile.
This is the best coffee I have ever tasted! I am going to have to order way more of this!
– Joan Hammett
Smooth and Delicious!
– K. Davies
I would call myself a “coffee snob” as well as coffee lover. I sometimes roast my own or purchase roasted from various parts of the world. In the end I seem to always go back to Kona Coffee. I have enjoyed many different types of Kona as well as various roast levels. All 100% Kona coffees are quite special. I even hesitate to write this review because supply is limited BUT… without a doubt this Malia Ohana is the best coffee I have ever had. There are not enough “OOs” in smooth to describe this coffee. Very low acid with bold full flavor and exceptionally delicious. So now that I wrote the review don’t try too much because I want it for myself. Thanks.
– Fred Manheck
Get yourself a bag of Malia Ohana, here!
Kona Mountain Coffee – Estate Medium Roast
This brand is one of the most known when it comes to Kona coffee. They have an eco-friendly method for farming and produce one of the highest quality beans that almost nobody has been able to match.
Kona Mountain Coffee only uses beans that were farmed on their own grounds and farms under their supervision. This guarantees that everything is done properly and the quality doesn’t deteriorate and stays at the same (high) level. But of course, you want to know about the taste. That’s the most important part after all.
This coffee is heavily acidic, so prepare for the slight sourness even when you’re just raising the cup to your mouth. It will be intense and citrus like. This sour taste will linger throughout the whole experience, which will be a bit weird because most of us don’t associate such a heavy body with citrus and fruit notes. It will all end in a smooth finish where you will wonder if you actually liked it or not.
But you will quickly know that yes, you did like it. Very much so.
We highly recommend this coffee as a drink to go with pastries and other desserts. It can highlight sweet tastes very well and if you eat lemon pie, for example, then it will work even better because the flavors will complement each other.
Coffee is amazing. We bought a ton of it to take back. Would recommend if you are a coffee lover. Our favorite was the medium roast, which turned out to be very flavorful (all depending on your coffee style). We also bought some chocolate and macadamia nut for our family. Will definitely stop by if i see it at the airport.
– Mauricio A.
I recommend the peaberry medium roast if you want to splurge on some coffee. It’s smooth and smells absolutely amazing.
– Emy M.
I’m glad I found them. Their 100% Kona coffee rocks. They have a medium and dark roast that they have brewed and ready in thermal carafes. I prefer the medium roast myself. I also liked their iced coffee, which is a blend of the two roasts. For sweetener, they offer a simple syrup and cream to mix in to your liking.
– Ron L.
Check out this delightful medium roast, here!
KonaRed – Kona Blend Coffee
This is the first Kona coffee we recommend that isn’t 100% Kona. But this one really needs to be on the list, even if it’s only 10% of the whole blend. Because honestly, sometimes a little more is needed to get the most out of these coffee beans. And that’s okay, this one is still really good.
The rest of the blend consists of Colombian beans, which means that it still remains high quality. But the ones from Hawaii are each hand-picked at their peak ripeness, then roasted in small batches to ensure an all-around dark color and intense taste. The farmers and the manufacturers both watch out for the coffee, as they think that it should be perfect.
The taste profile is very unique.
The first sip will feel like drinking milk. This coffee has a very light body so at first you likely won’t even be able to tell what you actually have in your mouth. But then the chocolaty taste will start spreading around your mouth intensely. It has slight floral notes towards the end and finishes smoothly.
A great cup of coffee from a Keurig. I’ve been following this company for some time, but have never tried their products. With products now available and fulfilled by Amazon, I thought this was worth a try. It is a Kona blend, not the pure stuff, but then again it would be a lot more expensive if it was pure Kona.
– “Kindle Customer”
I am happy to report that KonaRed produces a great medium roast coffee that is not weak/bitter. I like to put milk and sugar in my coffees and this brand also stands up well to adding those things. This was my first time trying any kind of Kona coffee and I am glad I did. In case the product description doesn’t specify, the other type of coffee bean used […] is Colombian. I enjoy most medium roast Colombian coffees, which was part of what attracted me to this particular coffee.
– Joe Cool
Great coffee flavor. I cannot compare it to other Kona coffees. However, it offers rich flavor with a dark color. It tastes like a dark coffee, when brewed correctly.
– G. Roddick
KonaRed is available on Amazon, here!
Conclusion
All of these coffees are must-tries for coffee lovers. All of them are the peak of Kona and deserve to be known by everyone. Especially those who say that they love eccentric and unique drinks. So choose (at least) one coffee from the ones mentioned above, brew away and bottoms up!
Have you ever drank Kona coffee before? How was the experience? Tell us down in the comments below!
