Take 600 specialty coffee farms, a spattering of mills, retail outlets and museums, then cluster them in 20 miles of scenic country roads, and you've got the perfect excuse for a self-drive coffee tasting tour. Akin to Northern California's popular wine tasting tours, here the brew of the day is Kona coffee. Grown on the mountain slopes above Kailua-Kona, it is the only place in the world where certified Kona coffee is grown.
Most people begin the tour from Kailua town and travel south to Honaunau. Take Palani Road (Hwy. 190) out of Kailua-Kona to Mamalahoa Highway (Hwy. 180). Turn south onto Mamalahoa towards Holualoa. Before you reach the tiny mountain village of Holualoa, you'll find the Ueshima Coffee Company's Kona Coffee Estate. The pretty roadside kiosk overlooks its coffee trees and offers a stunning view of the ocean. Continuing south into Holualoa, you'll see the Ferrari Coffee Visitor Center. You can't miss the place. It's across the street from the 1920s-era, hot pink Kona Hotel. Less than a mile down the road, you'll come to Kona Blue Sky Coffee Company, a large 500-acre estate that offers tours without reservations.
Farther south on Hwy. 180, turn into Holualoa Coffee Company. Driving up the narrow road to the farm, you'll be hit with the delicious aroma of roasting coffee, a scent you'll forever associate with Kona. Continue south on Mamalahoa Highway (Hwy. 11) through the quaint towns of Honalo and Kainaliu to the Kona Mountain Cafe in Kealakekua where you can sit and enjoy coffee, pastries and sandwiches. At the bottom of Napo'opo'o Road is UCC's Espresso Bar and Roastery where you can roast your own private label coffee.
The next stop is historic Greenwell Farms, situated on 35 acres of prime land at an elevation of 1,500 feet. This estate is operated by the descendants of Henry Nicholas Greenwell, an early pioneer in Kona coffee exporting. The Greenwell Store Museum in Kealakekua contains a revolving display that makes it easy to grasp the exacting, labor-intensive process from Kona bean to cup.
The Kona Coffee Living History Farm, on Mamalahoa Highway in Captain Cook, across from the 110-mile marker, offers a chance to experience the unique lifestyle of island coffee farms. The 1913 homestead has been preserved by the Kona Historical Society. It is listed on both State and National Registers for Historic Places. Small group tours are available by advance reservation. Interpretive guides in period costumes greet visitors and lead hands-on tours of the farm's historic farmhouse, the processing mill, drying roofs, and a traditional Japanese bathhouse.
