15 Best Kona Coffee Farm Tours: Free Tastings + $40 Deep Dives

Most of the 15 Kona coffee farm tours covered here are free. The paid ones cap at $35 to $50, with one outlier: Buddha’s Cup’s $190 ATV traverse, which is a private four-wheeler tour of the farm rather than a guided walk. None of them rank as expensive by Hawaiʻi tour standards.

The farms concentrate along Highway 11 between Kailua-Kona and Captain Cook, where most sit within 20 to 30 minutes of each other. Easy to combine two or three in a morning, which is the right time to go. Trade winds push clouds up the slopes most afternoons, so plan for sunshine before noon and rain after 1pm.

A farm tour shows you the part of Kona coffee a cafe cannot: where the trees grow, usually within a few hundred meters of where you are standing. Most tours run 30 to 60 minutes, end in a free tasting, and require nothing more than driving up and walking in.

If you only do one: Greenwell Farms is the most reliable free tour and the easiest to fit into a morning loop. If you want depth: Buddha’s Cup’s $99 hour-long tour or Kuaiwi for coffee plus cacao. If you want something nobody else does: Buddha’s Cup’s $190 ATV traverse.

All 15 farms compared (map + table)

All tour farms on this page are pinned on the map below. The comparison table underneath gives a quick read on each one.  Full details are further down the page.

Kona coffee farm tours along Highway 11 (Kailua Kona side)

These are the Kona coffee farms with tours along Highway 11, from Kailua-Kona south to Captain Cook.

The heart of Hawaiian coffee country, with more than a dozen farms offering tours ranging from free self-guided walks to premium tastings. All of them sit along or just off Highway 11 between Kailua-Kona and Captain Cook, within 20 to 30 minutes of each other. Easy to combine two or three in a morning. Plan for mornings: trade winds push clouds up the slopes most afternoons, so expect sunshine before noon and rain after 1pm.

Greenwell Farms

Tours available on: 7 days/week.

The most recognized farm on the Highway 11 strip, Greenwell Farms has collected Hawaii’s Best Farm Tour award multiple years running (2021, 2023–2026) and is the most low-friction option if you want a proper guided experience. Free guided tours run daily from 9am to 3pm, last 45 to 60 minutes, and walk through the full seed-to-cup story: growing, processing, and roasting. No reservation needed; just show up 10 to 15 minutes before a tour. The terrain is unpaved with some mild slope, so wear closed shoes. Coffee sampling before and after.

If you want to go deeper, a Manual Brewing Class ($49.95, max 6 people) covers pour over, French press, AeroPress, and Moka pot, with a take-home brew guide. Minimum age 12. More information and booking on their website.

Visitors take a Kona Coffee Farm Tour at the Greenwell farm. Source: here by user horspowr1001 under a CC BY-NC 2.0 license

Mountain Thunder Kona Coffee

Tours available on: 7 days/week.

Mountain Thunder is the easiest farm on the list to slot into a morning: 20-minute free tours leave every hour between 9:30am and 3:30pm, seven days a week, no reservation needed. USDA certified organic and farming on the slopes of Hualalai since 1994, the tour walks you through the growing trees, the milling and drying process, and the roasting operation, and ends with a sampling of their roast profiles. Wheelchair accessible and easy walking. If you only have 30 minutes to spare and want to see a working farm, this is the one to pick.

More information on their website.

Rooster Farms

Tours available on: 7 days/week.

Getting here means driving up Bruner Road past more than 20 working farms, which gives you a good feel for how dense this coffee corridor actually is. Rooster Farms is the oldest certified organic Kona coffee farm, with certification going back over 30 years, and took the 2016 Kona Coffee Cultural Festival Cupping Contest. The tour is free, runs about 30 minutes, and is led personally by farmer Ed. He walks you through the operation and finishes with a fresh pour-over tasting of their 100% Kona coffee.

Reservation required. Book at their website.

Hala Tree Coffee

Tours available on: Monday through Friday.

A certified organic Kona coffee and tea farm on the upper slopes near Captain Cook, with views that reach down to the coast. Free one-hour tours run Monday through Friday and cover the orchard, harvesting and processing methods, and a roasting demonstration, ending with a tasting. Details at their tour page.

The paid workshops go further than the standard tour: a hands-on roasting class with a Master Roaster (book here, you take home the beans you roast), a brewing workshop covering pour over, French press, and espresso (book here), or a cupping session (book here) where you evaluate roast level, origin, and processing side by side. Private sessions available for all three. Pairing the free farm tour with one of the workshops makes for a complete morning.

Holualoa Kona Coffee Company

Tours available on: Monday through Thursday.

Located in historic Holualoa, about 10 minutes from Kailua-Kona, the Kona Leʻa plantation operates as both an estate and a processing mill for more than 200 neighboring Kona farms, which means the scale of what you see here is larger than a single-farm operation. Free roasting tours run Monday through Thursday, 8am to 3pm, in small groups. The tour covers the roasting mill and ends at the packing room and gift shop with a tasting of fresh-roasted organic Kona coffee. USDA certified organic; all coffee cherry skins and parchment are composted back into the orchards.

More information on their website.

Heavenly Hawaiian Coffee Farms

Tours available on: Monday through Saturday.

Founded in 1994 by Dave and Trudy Bateman in Holualoa, Heavenly Hawaiian grows, processes, and roasts entirely on the farm. Guided tours run Monday through Saturday from 9am to 4pm on the hour, cost $30 per person, and end with a tasting on the lanai. The on-site Konalani Coffee Bar is worth knowing if you want a cup without the tour. The farm also offers a hands-on roasting class and a brewing instruction session as separate bookings. Book the farm tour here.

Kona Coffee Living History Farm

Tours available on: Tuesday and Saturday.

This is the only living history coffee farm in the United States. Operated by the Kona Historical Society, the farm represents a working Kona coffee operation from the 1920s. Costumed interpreters demonstrate the period tasks: cooking in the original farmhouse, processing coffee through the historic kuriba mill, drying beans on the hoshidana racks. Open Tuesday and Saturday, 10am to 2pm. Admission: $20. Self-guided.

The character of this visit is different from every other farm on this list. You are not being walked through a modern production operation. You are seeing the domestic and agricultural life of early 20th-century Kona coffee farmers reconstructed on the original site. More information on their website.

Ueshima Coffee (UCC)

Tours available on: Monday through Friday.

UCC (Ueshima Coffee Company) is one of Japan’s largest coffee roasters, and this 35-acre Kona estate north of Holualoa Village is where they source their Hawaiian beans. The guided tour ($25 per person, 30 minutes, Monday through Friday, minimum 2 participants, reservation required) walks through the coffee fields with views over Kailua-Kona and the bay. Depending on the season, you see flowering trees or cherries in various stages. Tasting and retail shopping at the on-site store after the tour. Reserve at their booking page.

Uluwehi Coffee Farm

Tours available on: Tuesday and Friday.

A small specialty operation in Holualoa’s Kona Uplands that covers more ground per dollar than most farms on this list. The 1 to 1.5 hour tour ($28) works through every production stage: tree care, harvesting, processing (both natural and anaerobic washed methods), drying, dry milling, grading, storage, and roasting. Their SL34 variety placed 3rd at the 2024 Hawaii Coffee Association Cupping Competition, and Coffee Review has rated their coffees at 94 to 95 points. Free tasting at the end. If the technical side of specialty coffee production interests you, this tour earns its price. Book at their booking page.

Hula Daddy Kona Coffee

Tours available on: Monday through Friday.

Hula Daddy calls itself the most awarded Kona coffee farm on the Big Island, and the competition record backs the claim. The 45-minute tour ($35, Monday through Friday) covers both the orchard and the roasting room, so you see the growing and production sides of the operation together. Ends with a tasting of their competition-grade coffees at the visitor center. A good choice if you want a paid tour that is substantive but not a major time commitment. Book at their booking page.

Kuaiwi Farm

Tours available on: Wednesday and Sunday.

Kuaiwi grows coffee and cacao on five certified organic acres, which makes the farm walk more varied than a single-crop tour. The two-hour visit ($50 per adult, Sundays and Wednesdays 10am to 12pm, advance reservation required) covers both: how coffee and cacao grow alongside each other, the cacao from blossom to bean, and the full coffee production process. The tasting on the lanai afterward includes coffee, chocolate, macadamia nuts, and seasonal fruit from the property. The farm also grows avocados, bananas, tea, and citrus, so you are walking through a genuinely diversified operation rather than rows of a single plant. A brief indoor portion requires masks. More information and reservations at their website.

Buddha’s Cup

Tours available on: Monday through Friday.

Buddha’s Cup farms at 2,400 feet, toward the top of the Kona belt elevation range, which is part of what produces the smoothness and sweetness they are known for. Women-owned and operated for more than 20 years, the farm has collected over 60 awards since 2004, including 12 first-place finishes and multiple medals at the World Coffee Challenge in Spain.

Three tour options: a 30-minute farm and roasting walk ($60), a 60-minute deeper version of the same ($99), or the ATV tour ($190) where the owner drives you through the 80-acre property on a four-wheeler. The ATV version makes the scale and terrain of the operation land differently than a walking tour does. Best suited to visitors who already drink good coffee and want to understand what goes into producing it at this level.

Kaʻū coffee farm tours (better prices, less recognition)

Kaʻū coffee has been outscoring Kona in cupping competitions for over a decade, with farms from the district collecting wins at the Hawaii Coffee Association and Specialty Coffee Association events. The name recognition still lags far behind Kona, which means prices do too: a pound of high-quality Kaʻū typically runs 20 to 30 percent less than comparable Kona. Two farms offer tours. If you are already heading south toward South Point or Punaluʻu Black Sand Beach, adding one costs you nothing extra in miles.

Miranda’s Farm

Tours available on: Monday through Friday.

Near Naalehu, a short drive from South Point. The two-hour tour ($25 per person, 15% group discount available, Monday through Friday by reservation) covers both the lower and upper sections of the farm. The presentation walks through each stage of production from growing through harvesting, picking, and processing, and includes a coffee sampling panel alongside cafe dessert specials. More time and more depth than most Kona tours, at a lower price.

More information and reservations at their website.

The Kaʻū Coffee Mill

Tours available on: Monday through Friday.

Free tours run Monday through Friday at 11am and 1pm, lasting 45 to 60 minutes, weather permitting. The tour covers the orchard and roasting facility, with a complimentary 2-ounce sample of estate-grown medium roast when you arrive. The volcanic soil here gives Kaʻū coffee a distinct flavor profile from Kona, and the tour explains why. An espresso bar, gift shop, and free parking are on-site. Family-friendly and easy to add to a South Point or Punaluʻu day without much detour. Find out more at their website.

Hāmākua coast: one farm, worth the detour

One farm on this coast offers tours, and it is worth making time for. Hog Heaven Coffee is an owner-operated micro-farm that has won Best Hāmākua Coffee at statewide cupping competitions in both 2022 and 2023. Tours are kept small and personal. Further from Kona than the other farms on this page, but a natural add-on if you are already heading north along the coast toward Waipiʻo Valley.

Hog Heaven Coffee

Tours available on: 7 days/week.

Mike and Sookyung run Hog Heaven as an owner-operated micro-farm, and tours are limited to 1 to 6 guests so you spend the time with the people who actually grow the coffee. The 45-minute to one-hour tour ($40) follows production from cherry to cup and tends to run longer when conversations go in a direction worth following. Ocean views from the property and the quiet that comes with being off the main tourist strip. Freshly brewed tasting included; beans available for purchase. More information on their website.

Coffee in Hilo: no tours, but worth knowing

Hilo Coffee Mill previously offered tours but has discontinued them. The tasting bar is still open if you want to try the coffee. They also organize a Farmers market Saturdays from 9 am to 2 pm. See their website for details.

For coffee without a tour: Paradise Roasters (250 Keawe St, website) and Koana (halfway between Hilo and Volcano Village, website) are worth knowing.

What happens on a Kona coffee tour

More than 650 coffee farms work the strip of volcanic slope between Kailua-Kona and Captain Cook, and the ones that offer tours follow a similar arc: a walk through the rows of coffee trees, a look at how cherries get pulped, washed, dried, and roasted, then a tasting at the visitor center where you can buy a bag. Most tours run 30 to 60 minutes. A few of the farther-out ones (Kuaiwi, Buddha’s Cup VIP, Hog Heaven) run longer and go deeper. Walking is light, the ground is uneven in spots, and the sun overhead is not subtle.

Coffee for sale on highway 11 in the Kaʻū district, between Naʻalehu and Volcano

Planning your route along Highway 11

Visiting one or two coffee farms is a natural way to break up a south-Kona drive: tastings, a conversation with the farmer, and a bag of coffee to take home.

In our experience it is convenient to plan the visit to a coffee farm in combination with for example a trip to the Puʻuhonua O Hōnaunau national park or with a snorkeling expedition to one of our favorite snorkeling spots: Kealakekua bay or Hōnaunau bay (two step).

All the Kona coffee farms are located on or near the ±20 miles of road climbing the Hualālai and Mauna Loa slopes between Kailua-Kona and Captain Cook. Add a few shops, cafes, and St. Benedict’s Painted Church (Star of the Sea) in Hōnaunau, and you have the makings of a self-drive coffee morning. Plan about one to two hours for a visit, and make sure to check ahead of time whether you need to schedule a tour at your farm of choice.

Kona coffee tour FAQ

When is the best time to go on a Kona coffee tour? And what months should you go if you could choose? See our answers to these frequently asked questions below:

Q: What is the best time of day to go on a coffee tour?

Coffee trees love both sunshine and frequent rains, so expect both when visiting. As a rule of thumb however, the mornings on the south Kona coast are sunny, and the clouds and rain appear after about 1PM (read more about the typical weather in Kona).

So, if you like sunshine and staying dry, the best time to plan your Kona coffee tour is before noon.

Q: What is the best month to go on a coffee tour?

Coffee farms on the Big Island are open for tours and tastings the whole year round, and the coffee they serve for the free tasting is always fresh. This means that there really is not a ‘bad’ time to visit.

However! Coffee in Hawaii has a yearly growing cycle and depending on when you visit you will see other things in the coffee fields. Our favorite stages of the coffee cycle are those between the blossoming (February + March) and the harvesting of the ripe, red, fruits (August), making February through August our favorite months to go on a Kona Coffee tour.

Q: When do the Kona coffee flowers bloom? ("Kona Snow")

When coffee plants bloom in the months February and March they carry lots of beautiful, small and fragrant flowers.  These flowers are especially impressive when you see whole fields of coffee covered with them. It almost looks like the coffee plants are covered in snow, and this is why the flowering fields of coffee are also known as “Kona snow”.

Flowers of Kona coffee (“Kona snow”), South Kona, in early March 2012. By Frank Schulenburg – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link

Q: When to see the green and red coffee berries (cherries)?

After coffee flowers are pollinated they fall off and a small green berry starts growing at its base. These berries typically start appearing on the plants in April, and they stay green until they are red, ripe, and ready to be harvested. The berries turn so red that they are called “cherries” for their resemblance to a cherry.

Each tree needs to be hand-picked several times between August and ~January, but August, September, and October, are our favorite months to see the red cherries on the coffee plants.

Ripe coffee berries ready for harvesting. By Jonathan Wilkins – own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link.

More on Kona coffee and Hawaiʻi coffee

If you would like to find our more about Kona coffee you should have a look at our in-depth Kona Coffee guide. This guide will tell you about:

• The 200 year history of Kona Coffee on the Big Island
• Why Kona Coffee is so special
• What to pay attention to when buying Kona Coffee in a shop or online
• The other very tasty Big Island coffees that are not “Kona” (but that are as tasty and more affordable ).

The Kona Coffee Guide

Why Kona coffee costs $45–$60/lb, how the 10% blend law works, and what to look for on the label. Plus Kaʻū and Puna: equally good, half the price

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