Finding the right coffee for your taste

Aloha family. One question we get quite often is how to find the best Kona coffee for your taste. For some, searching for the right coffee can be a fun and enjoyable process. But for others, it can seem confusing, overwhelming and pretentious. Let us demystify a few things here.

At Kona Coffee & Tea we are a seed to cup operation for 100% Kona coffee. This means that we oversee operations of every single part of the complex coffee process. From planting, tending, growing and harvesting, to wet milling, dry milling, and roasting…all the way to grinding, brewing, blending and serving your beverage at our cafe (or packaging and shipping each day from our roasting facility). This strict oversight allows us to have multiple varying flavor profiles, all of which come from our one farm. So if you’re looking to find the right coffee for your taste, here are a few tips that can help you get started:

Determining your preferred flavor profile:

Kona coffee, in general, is famous for its smooth, mellow nutty flavor. People seek the terroir for its consistent, smooth approachability. Kona coffee is a daily drinker.

At Kona Coffee & Tea, our Single-Estate 100% Kona coffee has won countless awards for its smooth, balanced flavor, low acidity and big body. Our offerings of coffee can have a wide range of flavor notes, from fruity to nutty to chocolatey. Think about the flavors you enjoy in other foods and beverages and try to find coffee beans that have similar flavor profiles. The alchemy of the roasting process can change alot.

Considering the roast level:

At Kona Coffee & Tea, after we harvest our green coffee from the farm, it is carefully separated by size, quality, and density. It is then roasted to different levels that will bring out certain flavors and qualities. In general, lighter roasts will tend to be brighter, more intense coffees. Darker roasts can be bold, but are generally smooth, and tend to have a bigger body.

The Kona Coffee & Tea Private Reserve Medium Roast is our best selling roast, and it’s no surprise why. At this roast level with the profiles that our Master Roaster has developed, the unique terroir of our 100% Kona coffee is showcased. While our darker roast has a stronger, more robust, chocolate, roasty flavor and muted acidity. Consider which roast level you prefer and look for our offerings that match that profile.

Trying different brewing methods:

The way you brew your Kona coffee can also impact its flavor. Experiment with different brewing methods, such as pour-over, French press, or espresso, to find the one that brings out the best flavor in your beans. In general, filtered brews will give you a cleaner, more refined, tea-like cup. In contrast, fully immersed brews, like a french press, will result in a bold, grittier, more bodied cup of coffee.

Considering the freshness of the beans:

Coffee is at its best within 30 days of being roasted. Many companies only roast once a week or so, but at Kona Coffee & Tea we are roasting (and shipping) almost every single weekday. The difference? We are constantly shipping coffee that has just left the cooling tray in the roaster. Fresh-roasted coffee is one of our top priorities. Purchasing coffee from a farm is one of the best ways you can experience coffee, since our freshly harvested crop goes straight to our roaster…FRESH is always what you’re getting. Each time coffee changes hands or countries there is precious time, quality, and freshness that is lost.

Remember, finding the right coffee for your taste is a personal journey, and it may take some trial and error to find the perfect cup. We at Kona Coffee & Tea are here to assist you along your way.