We are wild coffee lovers.

Our farm and roasting company grew from a penchant to explore our senses, develop our skills, and help anyone do the same. With attention and taste, we weave the best coffees from Hawaii's wild and beautiful places with fine craftsmanship and display.

 

HOW WE GOT HERE 

 

In 2010 the unexpected opportunity emerged to buy a small coffee farm in a wild, disadvantaged region of Hawaii -- Puna. With little to lose, we thought, “Why not?” As we integrated with the community of farmers and sampled coffees from around Hawaii, we were surprised by the diverse coffee varieties and origins that largely get overshadowed by Kona. We wanted to change that.

Over the next two years we taught ourselves to farm, roast and cup coffees. We tested the difference between processing methods, cultivars, regions and roast profiles. Our end-goal was always the same: the objectively best coffee we could produce from our land. When we found methods and profiles that produced great results, we worked with neighboring farmers to do the same and began sourcing their coffees as well.

 To our surprise, the obsession paid off.

In 2013 our Puna coffee won Grand Champion in Hawaiiʻs statewide cupping competition, and became the first farm outside of Kona & Ka'u to win the esteemed award. To this day, it's the only Puna or Hilo coffee to have won a Grand Championship. The same year the USDA honored our efforts to improve East Hawaii’s coffee economy by awarding us a grant to secure grading equipment, so that we could help neighboring farmers add value by improving their quality as well. Later that year we were awarded a Hawaii Senate Certificate for "putting Puna on the map" and working to elevate the quality of neighboring farms. And as the year closed, our Honeyed Yellow Caturra coffee placed in Coffee Review’s “30 Top Coffees of 2013”.  

...And that became the year Big Island Coffee Roasters was born.

Today, our Hawaiian coffees have been praised for their quality and integrity by Forbes, Coffee Review, Honolulu Magazine, Edible Hawaiian, Brutus, UPROXX, Island Air, The San Franciscan Chronicle and, oddly, even Coors.

Together we are certified by the Specialty Coffee Association in Roasting, Brewing, Green Coffee, and Barista Skills. Kelleigh is a licensed Arabica Q-Grader (licensed to grade arabica quality), a judge in several Hawaii cupping competitions, and a Hawaii 40 Under 40. 

Since 2014, we've served on the Board of Directors for the Hawaii Coffee Association with a mission to bring income stability to farmers, and support the production of coffee that Hawaii is proud to stand by.

Nearly ten years later, our goal is the same: 

 

To share exceptional coffees from all growing regions in Hawaii, and roasted in a way that preserves distinction.

Help Hawaii lead the way in quality and innovation, from farm-to-cup.

To measure our success by the positive impact we have on farm sustainability and within our community.

 ...

A love for wild and beautiful places brought us to this Big Island. Respect for the terrain and craft of farming has kept us here. And each of our customers have made it possible for farms like ours to continue doing what we love to do. 

 

Mahalo.