North America
🇺🇸United States (Hawaii) Coffee
Hawaiʻi is one of the only U.S. states with significant commercial coffee production, alongside California. Kona Typica, grown on the slopes of Hualālai and Mauna Loa at roughly 700 to 2,000 feet, anchors the famous Kona district, while Kaʻu, Hāmākua, Maui, Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, and Molokaʻi also produce coffee.
Key Takeaways
- Hawaiʻi and California are the only U.S. states with significant commercial coffee industries.
- Kona Typica, a Typica selection, is the traditional variety documented by CTAHR.
- Hawaiʻi grows coffee at lower elevations than equatorial origins because its latitude provides mild temperatures.
- Coffee is grown beyond Kona, in Kaʻu, Hāmākua, Maui, Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, and Molokaʻi.
- USDA NASS forecasts Hawaiʻi production at 17.8 million pounds (cherry basis) for the 2025–26 season.
Hawaiʻi is one of the only U.S. states with significant commercial coffee production, alongside California. Kona Typica, grown on the slopes of Hualālai and Mauna Loa at roughly 700 to 2,000 feet, anchors the famous Kona district, while Kaʻu, Hāmākua, Maui, Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, and Molokaʻi also produce coffee.
Hawaiʻi is one of the only U.S. states with a significant commercial coffee industry, alongside California. Unlike equatorial origins, Hawaiʻi grows coffee at comparatively low elevations, where its latitude and island microclimates produce the mild conditions coffee needs. The Kona district on Hawaiʻi Island is the most famous growing region, but coffee is also grown in Kaʻu and Hāmākua on the same island and on Maui, Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, and Molokaʻi.
Elevation
Approximately 700–2,000 ft for successful production in Kona (CTAHR); Kaʻu plantings extend to higher elevations.
Climate
Kona's growing belt is known for sunny mornings followed by cloudy, often rainy afternoons, which shade the trees and slow cherry maturation. The Hāmākua coast is cooler and wetter. Across the islands, the combination of trade winds, volcanic soil, and moderated ocean temperatures keeps conditions mild year round.
Harvest
Roughly August through January in Kona, with an extended flowering cycle producing multiple pickings.
Processing
Washed
Rainfall
Afternoon showers in the Kona belt during the growing season; higher and more consistent rainfall along the Hāmākua coast.
Soil
Volcanic soils; the Hāmākua region is known for its deep red soils.
Annual Production
17.8 million pounds (cherry basis) forecast for the 2025–26 season, down 20 percent from the prior season (USDA NASS).
Geography
Kona coffee grows on the western slopes of the Hualālai and ...
History of Coffee Cultivation
Coffee arrived in Hawaiʻi in 1825, when trees brought by Chief Boki, governor of Oʻahu, aboard HMS Blonde were planted in Mānoa Valley. In 1828 the missionary Samuel Ruggles carried cuttings from Mānoa to the Kona district on Hawaiʻi Island, where the crop took hold on the slopes of Hualālai and Mauna Loa. Henry Nicholas Greenwell later built Kona's early commercial export trade. According to the University of Hawaiʻi CTAHR, Kona's largest harvest came in 1957, around 18.5 million pounds of parchment coffee. Coffee growing has since spread to other districts and islands, including the high-elevation Kaʻu region and parts of Maui, Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, and Molokaʻi.
Timeline of Coffee Production
Geography and Climate
Kona coffee grows on the western slopes of the Hualālai and Mauna Loa volcanoes, in a band roughly twenty miles long and two miles wide. CTAHR extension literature places successful Hawaiʻi coffee production largely between roughly 700 and 2,000 feet of elevation, far lower than most equatorial origins, because Hawaiʻi's latitude already provides the mild temperatures coffee requires. Other regions, such as Kaʻu and the Hāmākua coast, add their own elevation ranges and soils.
Climate: Kona's growing belt is known for sunny mornings followed by cloudy, often rainy afternoons, which shade the trees and slow cherry maturation. The Hāmākua coast is cooler and wetter. Across the islands, the combination of trade winds, volcanic soil, and moderated ocean temperatures keeps conditions mild year round.
Rainfall: Afternoon showers in the Kona belt during the growing season; higher and more consistent rainfall along the Hāmākua coast.
Soil: Volcanic soils; the Hāmākua region is known for its deep red soils.
Major Producing Regions
Harvest and Processing
Harvest Season: Roughly August through January in Kona, with an extended flowering cycle producing multiple pickings.
Processing Methods
Coffee Varieties Grown
Arabica Varieties
Cup Profile and Tasting Notes
Hawaiian coffees, and Kona in particular, are often described as mild, balanced, and clean, with gentle brightness and sweet, subtle aromatics. Treat these as tendencies rather than guarantees: region, elevation, and processing all shape the final cup.
Typical Tasting Notes
Production and Economic Importance
Annual Production: 17.8 million pounds (cherry basis) forecast for the 2025–26 season, down 20 percent from the prior season (USDA NASS).
Frequently Asked Questions
Sources
- •CTAHR and Coffee in Hawaiʻi (FN-61). University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources. https://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/oc/freepubs/pdf/FN-61.pdf
- •Growing Coffee in Hawaii. University of Hawaiʻi CTAHR cooperative extension.
- •Pacific Region – Hawaii Coffee: Final Season Estimates. USDA NASS, May 2024. https://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/Hawaii/Publications/Fruits_and_Nuts/Coffee-05-07-2024_HI.pdf
- •Coffee, January 2026. USDA NASS Hawaiʻi field office, utilized production forecast.
- •Coffee Acreage, Yield, Production, Price, and Value. State of Hawaiʻi Department of Agriculture.
- •Coffee. Images of Old Hawaiʻi, historical account of coffee's arrival in the islands.
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Keith E. Lyons
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Keith E. Lyons is the author of The Complete World of Coffee and the publisher behind Lyons Den Publishing. A licensed trauma therapist turned specialty coffee writer, Keith blends scientific rigor with genuine passion for the craft of coffee.
Last Reviewed
September 7, 2026
Sources & References
(6)Claims are cited to verifiable sources. Peer-reviewed research is marked.
- 1CTAHR and Coffee in Hawaiʻi (FN-61). University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources. https://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/oc/freepubs/pdf/FN-61.pdf
- 2Growing Coffee in Hawaii. University of Hawaiʻi CTAHR cooperative extension.
- 3Pacific Region – Hawaii Coffee: Final Season Estimates. USDA NASS, May 2024. https://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/Hawaii/Publications/Fruits_and_Nuts/Coffee-05-07-2024_HI.pdf
- 4Coffee, January 2026. USDA NASS Hawaiʻi field office, utilized production forecast.
- 5Coffee Acreage, Yield, Production, Price, and Value. State of Hawaiʻi Department of Agriculture.
- 6Coffee. Images of Old Hawaiʻi, historical account of coffee's arrival in the islands.
Authoritative References
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- • Fact-checked against peer-reviewed coffee science research and industry standards.
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