Kona coffee grows on a narrow belt of volcanic slope between Kailua-Kona and Captain Cook, and most of the farms that produce it welcome visitors. A farm tour gives you something a café can’t: you see where the coffee actually comes from, usually within a few hundred meters of where you’re standing.
Most tours are free or close to it, run under an hour, and are easy to combine into a half-day route along Highway 11. A few go considerably further.
Table of contents
- BIG LIST of coffee plantations and farms on the Big Island (with map)
- What happens on a Kona coffee tour?
- To the farm! Plan your own Kona Coffee tour
- Kona Coffee FAQ (When is the best time to go, what is Kona Snow, etc.)
Table of Contents
- BIG LIST of coffee plantations and farms on the Big Island (with map)
- What happens on a Kona coffee tour?
- To the farm! Plan your own Kona Coffee tour
- Kona Coffee FAQ (When is the best time to go, what is Kona Snow, etc.)
Coffee farms that organize tours on the Big Island
Most coffee farm tours on the Big Island are free or under $30, run 20 to 45 minutes, and require nothing more than showing up in the morning. A handful go deeper: multi-hour tastings, roasting workshops, and at least one tour that puts you on an ATV. The farms are spread across four regions, with the heaviest concentration along the Kona coast.
Plan for mornings. Trade winds bring afternoon rain to most farm areas, and the light is better earlier anyway
- Kona coffee Living History farm
- Greenwell farm
- Rooster farms
- Kuaiwi farm
- Heavenly Hawaiian
- Mountain Thunder
- Buddha’s Cup
- Hala Tree Coffee
- Ueshima coffee (UCC)
- Holualoa Kona Coffee plantation
- Uluwehi Coffee Farm
- Hula Daddy
- Mirandas Farm (in Kaʻu)
- Kaʻu coffee mill (in Kaʻu)
- Hilo coffee mill (in Hilo)
- Hog Heaven Coffee (on the Hamakua coast)
We have also added all the tours listed below to a map, which you can see further down.
Kona coffee tours (near Kona)
The heart of Hawaiian coffee country, with more than a dozen farms offering tours ranging from free self-guided walks to premium tastings. Most are clustered along 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.
- Kona Coffee Living History Farm: is the only living history coffee farm in the nation. Their farm is open for you to explore and self-guided tours are available, but a $20 admission fee is charged. More information on their website.
- Greenwell Farms: organizes free guided farm tours throughout the day. More information on their website.
- Rooster Farms: has been a certified organic Kona Coffee farm for 30+ years making it the oldest certified organic farm. They also won the 2016 Kona Coffee Cultural Festival Cupping Contest. Quite impressive! Farm tours are free but require a reservation, last about 30 minutes and include tasting their 100% Kona Coffee. Go to their website to make a reservation.
- Kuaiwi Farm: Grows coffee and cacao and offers a wonderful farm tour. Plan on a two-hour visit, tours cost $50/adult. Tours need to be scheduled, more information on the website.
- Heavenly Hawaiian coffee farms: Organizes hourly tours from Monday to Saturday between 9am and 4pm. The tours start at $27 (see here) and are concluded with a tasting on the lanai.
- Mountain Thunder Kona Coffee: Organizes both free tours. No reservation needed, tours start every hour, 7 days/week, and generally take about 20 minutes. More details at their website.
- Buddha’s Cup: Having received over 60 awards and honors for their High Mountain Grown Kona Coffee since 2004, This is a good destination for people that already know good coffee and want to taste something even better. Three tour tiers, and the top one is unlike anything else on this list. The standard options run 30 minutes ($60, see here) or 60 minutes ($99, here) and cover the farm and roasting process in detail. For the VIP ATV tour ($190, here), the owner takes you through the farm on a four-wheeler, which makes the terrain and scale of the operation land differently than a walking tour. Best suited to visitors who want more than a tasting and don’t mind spending for it.
- Hala Tree Coffee: Organizes free 1-hour tours Monday through Friday of their certified organic Kona coffee and tea farm overlooking the beautiful south Kona coast. They also offer (paid) coffee-roasting and coffee brewing tours.
- Ueshima coffee (UCC): Organizes 30-minute tours on their estate for $21/person, reservations are needed and can be made on their website.
- Holualoa Kona Coffee Company: Roasting tours are free and available Monday through Thursday from 8 am to 3 pm at their Kona Leʻa plantation. More information on their website.
- Uluwehi Coffee Farm: Uluwehi Coffee Farm is a small 5 acre farm in Holualoa that grows single source specialty coffee. $28 for a 1 to 1.5 hour tour of their plantation that covers all the steps from, growing coffee trees, to tree care, harvesting, processing (all methods), drying, dry milling, grading/sorting, storage, and roasting. Also includes free tasting of their home-grown coffee. More information on their booking website.
- Hula Daddy Kona Coffee: Is open Monday through Friday, their 45 minute tours of the orchard and the roasting room are $35/person and reservations are mandatory. More information on the booking 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
Coffee tours in Kaʻu
Kaʻū coffee has quietly been beating Kona in competition for years, with a fraction of the name recognition. Several farms offer tours here, two of which we recommend. Miranda’s is the more immersive option; Kaʻū Coffee Mill is free and straightforward. Worth adding to a South Point or Punaluʻu day.
- Miranda’s Farm: organizes 2-hour tours for $25 per person. The tour includes a showing of their farm, a coffee sampling panel, and a demonstration on the different stages of coffee production. Find out more on their website.
- The Kaʻu coffee mill: organizes free ~20 minute tours of their orchards twice a day. Find out more on their website.
Coffee tours close to Hilo
Hilo Coffee Mill previously offered tours but has discontinued them. The tasting bar is still open if you want to try the coffee. Paradise Roasters and Koana are worth knowing as quality coffee stops rather than tour destinations.
- Hilo Coffee Mill: Tours are discontinued but you can still visit their tasting bar to sample their 100% Hawaiian coffees of the day. See their website for details.
Other places to buy / try good coffee close to Hilo
- Paradise Roasters is a micro-roaster that specializes in high quality and unique espressos and single origin coffee – a great place to talk story and buy wonderful local roasts. Located in Hilo at 250 Keawe St, more information on their website.
- Halfway between Hilo and Volcano Village, Koana is a cozy coffee shop run by a coffee-loving husband and wife team. More on their website.
Coffee Tours on the Hamakua Coast
One option, and a good one. Hog Heaven Coffee is a two-time award winner offering small-group tours with real depth. Further from Kona than the other farms, but a natural add-on if you’re already heading up the coast toward Waipio Valley.
- A small-farm tour on the Hamakua coast that takes the coffee seriously. Hog Heaven Coffee has won awards in both 2022 and 2023, and the 45-minute to one-hour tour reflects that — this is less about a quick tasting and more about understanding how a high-quality micro-farm operates from cherry to cup. $40 per person. Worth the detour if you’re in the area, more information on their website.
Map of our favorite coffee farms that organize tours
We summarize all coffee farms listed on this page and that organize tours on their property, on the map below. Also included are a few tea plantations that organize tours and tastings at their farms (green symbols).
What to expect on a Kona Coffee tour
There are now more than 650 coffee farms of all sizes clustered along the ±20 miles of scenic roads on the Hualalai and Mauna Loa slopes. Many of these farms offer tours to the public.
During these tours you are typically shown around the plantation to see the growing coffee in the field. Then you are taken through the processes that are needed to go from a growing coffee bean to a cup of coffee (drying, processing, and roasting). Many tours end with a (free) tasting of the coffee, very close to a showroom or visitor center where you can buy the local coffee.
Coffee Tours last on average about 30 minutes and are often walking tours (but with only a little bit of walking). Details though vary on a farm-by-farm basis. Most tours start on the farm, which means you have to drive there yourself. Some tours need to be scheduled ahead of time to make sure there are people to show you around, and many tours are free of charge.
Coffee for sale on highway 11 in the Kaʻu district, between Naʻalehu and Volcano
To the farm! Planning your own Kona Coffee tour
Visiting one (or a couple of) coffee farms during the day to learn about Kona coffee, to buy some coffee and of course for free tastings, is a great way to spend your day!
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 Honaunau national park or with a snorkeling expedition to one of our favorite snorkeling spots: Kealakekua bay or Honaunau bay (two step).
All the Kona coffee farms are located on or near the 20 miles of scenic country roads. Add to that the presence of a few shops, cafes, and the colorfully painted church, and you have the perfect excuse for a self-drive coffee tour. 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 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:
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.
Coffee farms on the Big Island are open for tours and tastings the whole your 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.
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
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.
(Even) More interesting things to know about Kona 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
