Free U.S. shipping on orders over $75 • Roasted to order, shipped fresh from the Big Island
Grown on the volcanic slopes of Mauna Loa · Handpicked with care · Roasted in small batches · Shipped directly to your door
10 steps from seed to cup
The Big Island of Hawaiʻi is home to the award winning Kaʻū coffee region. Enjoy the rich flavor of coffee from Kaʻū Roastery, grown in the fertile volcanic soil on the slopes of Mauna Loa.
A coffee bean is actually a seed. If the seed isn’t processed, it can be planted to grow into a coffee tree. The seedlings require daily care and watering until they are hardy enough to be permanently planted in the volcanic soil where the trees will eventually blossom and yield coffee cherries.
Depending on the variety, it will take approximately two to three years for the newly planted coffee trees to bear fruit. The fruit, called the coffee cherry, turns a bright, deep red when it is ripe and ready to be harvested.
We selectively pick by hand only cherries which are at the peak of ripeness. Pickers rotate among the trees every eight to ten days. This kind of harvest is labor intensive and more costly.
Once the cherry has been picked and sorted, processing must begin as quickly as possible to prevent fruit spoilage. First, the freshly harvested cherries pass through a pulping machine to separate the skin and pulp from the bean. Then the beans are separated by weight as they pass through water channels. The lighter beans float to the top, while the heavier ripe beans sink to the bottom.
After separation, the beans rest in a water-filled fermentation tank. While resting, naturally occurring enzymes cause the slick layer of mucilage (called the parenchyma) that is still attached to the parchment to dissolve. The beans are rinsed by going through additional water channels, and are ready for drying.
The pulped and fermented beans must now be dried to approximately 11% moisture to properly prepare them for storage. These beans, still inside the parchment envelope (the endocarp), are sun-dried by spreading them on drying floors. The dried beans are known as parchment coffee, and are carefully stored in a humidity controlled environment.
Hulling dry processed coffee refers to removing the entire dried husk by machinery, leaving the green bean.
Grading is done by size and weight. Beans are also reviewed for color flaws or other imperfections. Finally, defective beans are removed by hand, ensuring that only the finest quality coffee beans are sold.
Roasting transforms green coffee into aromatic brown beans as caffeol, a fragrant oil locked inside the beans, begins to emerge. This process, called pyrolysis, is at the heart of roasting. It produces the flavor and aroma of the coffee we drink. Roasting is a combination of artistic skill and scientific understanding.
After roasting, the beans are cooled and packaged in resealable coffee bags with a one-way degassing valve that allows CO2 to exit while restricting oxygen from entering. The longer the contact of water with the coffee grounds, the shorter the resting period needed.
The objective of a proper grind is to get the most flavor in a cup of coffee. How coarse or fine the coffee is ground depends on the brewing method. Generally, the finer the grind, the more quickly the coffee should be prepared. That’s why coffee ground for an espresso machine is much finer than coffee brewed in a drip system. Grind your coffee right before use for the best freshness.
Because coffee is mostly water, water quality has a major impact on every cup. If your tap water has a noticeable taste or odor, such as chlorine, use fresh filtered or bottled water instead. When brewing with tap water, let it run for a few seconds before filling your brewer, and always begin with cold water. Avoid distilled or softened water, which can leave coffee tasting flat or unbalanced.
For optimal extraction, brew with water between 195°F and 205°F (90°C–96°C). Water that is too cool can produce weak, under-extracted coffee, while excessively hot water may create harsh or unpleasant flavors. Cold brew is the exception: no heat required.
Every step, done by hand on the Big Island. Now it’s your turn.