by Lars H
If you’ve ever had a coffee on any of the Hawaiian islands, you have doubtless been made aware of the amazing Kona coffee growing region of Hawaii where the most famous Hawaiian coffee is grown.
If you get the chance, visit the little town of Kona, on the big island. You can fly over from Honolulu in less than an hour, directly to the Kona International Airport (KIA), which is only about 10 or 15 minutes by car, taxi or Lyft / Uber to Kailua-Kona, the full official name of the Kona.
I tried all of the various Kona coffee shops I could find in the Kailua-Kona Historic Village, and here are the ones I loved that you’ll probably love too.
Kona Coffee Cafe
After arriving from the central time zone in the mainland the night before, I woke up super early because of the four hour time difference. When I looked on my phone to see what was open, I noticed the nearby Kona Coffee Cafe. Although it was listed to open at 7 a.m., when I got there at around 6:30 a.m. it was already fully staffed and open.
I ordered a Kona Peaberry Americano, and a Kona Peaberry Cappuccino. (Actually, I just ordered an Americano and a cappuccino and they “upgraded” me to peaberry, which is $1 extra. Which was fine, because I was there for high quality coffee anyway and would not have noticed that option that you can see in small print on the big menu.
This shop has little signs all over the place about how “We Love Cash.” So I paid in cash, knowing that small businesses get hit pretty hard by credit card fees, particularly on low dollar transactions. I was happy making sure the business made the money and not just the credit card companies.
The guy behind the counter made my Americano and cappuccino on the spot and handed them to me in plain white paper cups. It was a little rainy outside and most of the chairs around the shop were wet, so I ended up walking down toward the bay and drinking my drinks there.
The Americano was delicious. It had a great Kona flavor profile that had nice chocolate notes and no sourness. Really nice body and perfect crema. Perfectly hot. No bitterness at all, drinking it black. A terrific Americano, no question about it.
The cappuccino was good, but not amazing. The temperature was correct, it had the right amount of foam. The flavor was good. I didn’t specify which milk, so I assume it was whole milk but am not certain. I feel like this cappuccino could have used a little more espresso flavor or boldness to it.
Overall I give this place top marks for selling 100 percent Kona coffees, opening early, good service, and a really good Americano.
If you love their coffee, you’ll have the chance to buy the beans that they use to make it. Lots of different roasts and coffee bean options, with whole beans and ground coffee and even some flavored coffee options.
Kona Coffee and Tea
This coffee shop is a little bit further away from the downtown historic area, about .3 miles uphill from the Courtyard Marriot. But it has an outdoor seating area where you can still see the ocean.
This shop has been around for more than 25 years, and I’ll say that’s for a good reason. It’s because this shop is terrific! The interior is clean and nice. They only sell 100 percent Kona coffees. You can buy the beans from them. The employees are friendly and helpful. And there’s nice outdoor seating on a covered porch area if you don’t want to sit inside. It is one of the earliest opening shops, and opens at 6:00 a.m. It’s worth the extra 30 minutes waiting past when Menehuna opens, because they serve a Kona blend and not 100 percent Kona. This shop only serves 100 percent Kona.
It is my top pick for shops near the downtown area. I ordered a drip coffee, an Americano, and a cappuccino. The Americano had lots of crema and was the perfect temperature, with an amazing Kona flavor profile. The cappuccino was also perfectly prepared, very hot with the correct amount of foam and an amazing milky, espresso flavor. With the drip coffee, they asked if I wanted room for cream and I said yes, not realizing they were going to add milk themselves. So the drip coffee was not as hot because they added more milk than I would have added myself.
Really, really good Americano and cappuccino. I might order beans from this place when I get back home.
Kau Coffee Mill
My next stop that same morning was the Kau Coffee Mill shop, also with a view of the bay and ocean. As soon as I walked in, the barista behind the counter warmly greeted me with a good morning.
This time I ordered a small Americano, and a double macchiato. The macchiato was the traditional Italian style, which is an espresso shot with just a dollop of milk. (It wasn’t the flavored big coffee drink type.)
At this cafe, the small Americano was quite a bit bigger than the Americano I had at the Kona Coffee Cafe. But it didn’t have the nice crema, and it wasn’t as flavorful. Still, it had the amazing Kona flavor profile that I love, with zero bitterness. The macchiato was perfectly prepared and was very good. No sourness to the espresso with these Kona beans, and the tiny dollop of milk was just right.
As with many of the Kona coffee shops, you can buy the same beans that you’re drinking. So if you find a coffee you love, you can buy more of it to bring back home with you. (Most of the shops also have web sites where you can order it online and have it shipped to you late.)
Technically, this is not Kona coffee, because Kona coffee only comes from a very small, specific area of the Big Island of Hawaii. This is actually known as Kau (Kaʻu) coffee, which comes from an area further south on the Big Island. You can even go to the coffee plantation there and take a free tour! It’s probably about 1 1/2 hours by car from downtown Kona. They do a couple of tours per day that last about 20 minutes.
While waiting for my coffees, I enjoyed reading this little short history of how the famous typica arabica beans arrived in Kona in 1892 from Guatemala. (Arabica beans are typically used in specialty coffee, where robusta beans are more often used in cheaper coffees.)
Evidently no one really appreciated that Kona coffee was a high quality specialty coffee worth paying attention to until the 1980s! Before that, it was mostly sold strictly at commodity prices. And even then, it didn’t really start winning cupping competitions until the early 2000s.
Cafe Kona Wave
The Cafe Kona Wave is within sight of the Kua Coffee Mill, and also extremely close to the ocean bay.
This place doesn’t open until 8 a.m., so it’s not for early birds. What’s special about this shop is that they don’t just serve Kona coffee, but also acai bowls. If you don’t know what an acai bowl is, it’s basically a purple smoothie with fresh fruit and granola on top. I ordered their “Wave Acai Bowl” and it was delicious, as well as Instagram worthy. They made it so beautifully that you hesitate to take the first bite. Once you have though, you stop caring about how it looks anymore because it’s so tasty.
I tried to order a Kona drip coffee, but as I had arrived minutes after 8 a.m., they were still just making it and had none available yet. So instead I ordered an Americano to go with my acai bowl.
The Americano was perfectly prepared and very delicious. The crema on top was just right. Zero bitterness, and amazing Kona coffee flavor profile. I highly recommend the coffees from this little cafe.
Unfortunately it was drizzling when I ordered and so all the tables and chairs outside the cafe were wet. So I stood under the eaves near a trash can to enjoy my breakfast acai bowl and coffee. Both items were so good that even standing next to a trash can couldn’t ruin the experience.
I didn’t see any beans for sale at this shop, nor any specifics about the coffee itself. But I did notice they had a really nice Italian professional espresso machine from Rocket.
Menehuna Coffee Shop
Did you wake up super early because of the time change? If so, this might be the coffee shop for you. It opens at 5:30 a.m.
The Menehuna coffee shop in Kona is located in the Courtyard Marriot, just a few steps from the beach.
You can buy 100 percent Kona beans at this shop, but what they actually serve to you is the Kona blend, which is 30 percent Kona and 70 percent Guatemalan coffee beans. But hey, most blends are only 10 percent Kona so it’s better than most places serving blends.
I ordered an Americano, a drip coffee and a breve (which is a shot of espresso and steamed half and half). All three were very well made, a good temperature and tasty. The Americano had a little bit of crema on top, and a good Kona type of flavor (Guatemalan beans are similar to Kona) without any bitterness. The drip coffee was a little bit bolder than the Americano, but that might have been because the small Americano only has one shot of espresso in it, and the larger one has two shots. The breve was creamy and delicious, with a nice espresso taste behind it.
Kai Eats and Drinks
This restaurant sits right on the ocean’s edge, and has a little to-go area right near the main entrance where you can order takeaway food, and takeaway coffee drinks, hot or cold. They open at 7 a.m.
I ordered an Americano, which was extremely hot and also very good. They made it at the commercial espresso machine as I waited and handed it right to me. I also ate a ham and cheese croissant for breakfast, which came out of the food case and was tasty and good.
HiCO Hawaiian Coffee Shop
If you’re into high end specialty coffee and also insist on 100 percent Hawaiian, then this is your coffee shop. This shop is a little further out from downtown, but still walkable if you’re willing to walk about a mile to get there, which takes around 25 minutes with all the road crossings.
When I arrived on a Sunday morning around 11 a.m. there was a big line of people out the back door! I thought that was a good sign. I ordered an Americano and a cold brew. The cold brew was very strong and bold, and felt almost like it needed to be watered down. And indeed, as some of the ice melted I liked it better. The Americano was also had a very bold flavor, with lots of body and really great crema. The temperature was great, and they served it in a nice mug.
This place seemed more like a local speciality coffee shop rather than a shop meant for tourists based on the people inside the shop, although the service was very friendly and I felt welcome there.
This shop also serves alcoholic drinks, and has a small selection of food like avocado toast, some sandwich options and even the Hawaiian Loaded Spam Musabi. They also sell beans if you like their coffee.