Kau Coffee

Our coffee of choice at home — top quality, delicious, and we like directly ordering from the grower/​roaster family. Ships immediately and arrives in a few days. Fresh small batch local Hawaii Big Island coffee.

Kau coffee the best I have had love that coffee smooth don’t even have to have cream or sugar awesome coffee will take some back to Denver with me for sure

Imagine my surprise this morning when I went on-​line to order this, my all-​time favorite coffee on the planet!, only to be routed first to Unilocal, also one of my favorite sites for information on the great places and services on the planet! Lisa and Jimmy, your little but fabulous «Clouds’ Rest» Coffee Farm certainly has arrived on the world stage!, and deservedly! I am blessed to live on the Big Isle and therefore have had the rare opportunity to try virtually every farm’s offering! including Kona coffees! and I’m proud to state without equivocation that THIS. coffee is the very best! I’ve tried every roast: medium, dark, extra dark, hula roast, and for special treats the rare peaberry… and all are at the top of their game! Lisa’s LOW prices only add frosting to the cake of temptation!
Her charming coffee stand and new house are full of charm and lots of amazing art pieces (yes! she’s a gifted artist, too!), so it would be crazy to miss the opportunity to stop and meet her! I own two condos nearby at the Punaluu Black Sand Beach, and always provide a bag of Lisa’s coffee as a welcome gift for my guests! Invariably, they, mtoo, love the coffee, and stop by the stand to either take home bags as wonderful gifts/​souvenirs (what could be better?) or to order pounds of every variety they sample sent home by Lisa. Her priority mail service is very prompt! and the coffee arrives as fresh as the day it was roasted! which reminds me… I MUST get back to my ordering process…

Just a mile or so up the road from Pahala, there’s a funny little shack with hand-​painted «Coffee» signs. You’ll probably pass right by it and wonder, «Hmm what was that about?» Just like I did. If you’ve got a few minutes, turn around and check it out!
There’s a table with a coffee dispenser, sugar, a small cooler with milk and half & half, and a donation jar. Conveniently, there’s also a restroom. Though I’m not much of a coffee drinker, I’ve had Ka’u Coffee, the stuff is amazing. I couldn’t resist a cup the afternoon I found this place, it was a such a treat.
There was a white board with instructions to go up to the house if we wanted to buy anything. So we walked up the dirt driveway, rows of coffee plants on either side. There was a friendly gal sitting on the porch, with one of the cutest little pugs I’ve ever seen. My girlfriend could hardly contain herself! We learned that this woman ran the farm with her husband, a small family operation. The stuff isn’t cheap but it’s more affordable than you’ll find in the stores. And hey, nothing better than getting it straight from the farm! We actually watched as she ground the freshly roasted beans, weighed and sealed up the bags for us! Outstanding. Gahhh that smell. nothing like it.
I do believe this will be my first stop, on my next trip to Pahala.

This 2 acre coffee plantation is a little piece of heaven for Lisa and her husband Jimmy. Oh yeah, and the coffee is delicious too — incredibly smooth and has a good deep flavor (for the dark roast).
Upon arriving, there is a stand which offers a self-​serve coffee thermos for samples and an honor system for macadamia nuts. You’re also free to try any of the ripe (red) coffee beans from the trees. Should you feel inclined (and you should cause it’s good coffee), make your way up to the house and purchase either the mixed (dark and medium roast), medium or dark roast coffee bags (1 lb — $ 20 or ½ lb — $ 10). Not only will you get a bag of awesome coffee, you’ll get a chance to chat with Lisa who is definitely passionate about her coffee, very intelligent and proud of her cute 1 bedroom home that has views of both the ocean and Mauna Loa. Chatting with her is an experience in itself that is not to be missed.

This is best coffee. Little did I know how good coffee on a volcano road would be. We were greeted warmly by the owner and her chicken. She gave us free coffee and macadamian nuts. What a wonderful experience
10 for ½ pound
20 for 1 pound

Sometimes the «road» less traveled brings a surprise to my life in an unexpectedly good way.
Little that I know that I was going to taste the best dark-​roasted coffee ever at a small coffee stand on the side of the road, when I visited the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on Hwy 11 in the Big Island.
Most of the globally well-​known coffee plantations, however, were on the other side, in Kona. Those regional coffees demanded a premium of $ 30 per pound at retail.
This wasn’t a regular coffee stand as I soon discovered. See enclosed pictures. I met with Lisa, the owner, who gave away free cups of coffee to all visitors.
She gave me a brief tour of her Ka’u region coffee plantation that used to be a sugar plantation in 1996. She also invited me to eat some of the fresh macadamia nuts, growing from the trees, as well.
Both the Kona and Ka’u region coffee have a bitter taste from the volcanic soil that makes it unique from other coffees that I’ve tasted from Starbucks and Peet’s.
Lisa told me she was semi-​retired but ran her business with her husband, Jim, through a labor of love. She generates most of her business through her website. There is no set time as to when the coffee stand actually opens. I was very surprised that she even carries an iPhone.
Before I drove away, I bought a pound of their expresso, dark roast, and medium roast at more than 35% discount from a leading Kona Coffee brand.
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In a crazy busy world, I am reminded to take a few minutes a day to celebrate life in the present moment, when I savor a sip of Ka’u’s strong brew of coffee.
Look at the stars on a clear night; snuggle in a warm bed; listen to a cat purr.
Ka’u Coffee, you have just been Unilocal’d!