Big Island Coffee Roasters

Big Island Coffee Roasters started on a run-down coffee farm in Puna, on the rugged eastern side of Hawaii. The roaster's own history puts that purchase in 2010 and the coffee business itself in 2013, followed by what it describes as the first coffee mill in East Hawaii. That sequence, farm first and roastery second, explains the catalog better than any tasting note could.

All five of the single origins in the active lineup are grown in the United States, which for a roaster on this island means grown close to home. No imported lots appear. The other half of the shelf is blends, five of them, so the catalog divides exactly down the middle between blended coffee and single origin.

Prices reflect where the beans come from. A 10 ounce bag runs $27 to $49, with the median at $38. The gap between the floor and the ceiling is $22, a wide spread for a list of only ten coffees.

Single Origins

Blends

Roast Profile & Flavor Range

The roast spread is wide. Three coffees are roasted dark, two medium-dark, two medium, and three medium-light, which is close to an even distribution across four of the five roast levels and gives a customer real range to choose from inside a ten coffee list. Nothing is roasted at the lightest step.

Acidity averages medium-low and body medium-high. Those two readings together describe a heavier, rounder cup with the brightness pulled back. Four of the five single origins are washed and one is natural. Blends hold half the shelf. Prices run $27 to $49 at 10 ounces, with most bags near $38.

What Big Island Coffee Roasters Coffees Tend to Taste Like

Dark chocolate and vanilla each appear in four of the ten coffees, more often than anything else on the list. Caramel and hazelnut follow at three apiece. That group is the core of the catalog, sweet and nutty, and it lines up with where the roasts land.

Cocoa and cacao extend the chocolate theme through two more coffees each, so some form of chocolate accounts for eight of the mentions among the catalog's most frequent notes and makes it the most reliable thing on this shelf. Cinnamon adds warm spice, honey adds sweetness without fruit behind it, and golden raisin brings dried fruit rather than fresh. Where fruit does show up it runs red or dark, blackberry and red apple, each in two coffees. Spruce is the odd note, a resinous evergreen descriptor that turns up twice. Nothing in the top tokens points toward citrus or florals.

Why Buy Big Island Coffee Roasters

• Hawaii grown, Hawaii roasted: All five single origins are US grown, and the roaster runs its own mill in East Hawaii.

• A roast range covering four levels: Three dark, two medium-dark, two medium, three medium-light. The distribution is nearly even.

• Blends carry half the shelf: Five of the ten active coffees are blends, an even split with the single origins. CoffeeByMe notes that division in its catalog data.

• Chocolate, vanilla, and evergreen: Dark chocolate and vanilla lead the note list, and a resinous spruce note turns up twice behind them.

Is Big Island Coffee Roasters Right for You?

The case for buying here is geography. All five single origins are grown in the United States, on the island where the roaster also mills and roasts them. Farm and roastery sit in the same region.

Price is the reason to hesitate. At $27 to $49 for a 10 ounce bag, this is expensive coffee by weight, and a daily drinker will move through it fast enough to feel it in the monthly total. The flavor direction is settled too. Medium-low acidity and a note list anchored on dark chocolate and vanilla means someone chasing bright, floral East African cups should shop elsewhere. There is no decaf in the active catalog.

Frequently Asked Questions