A Holualoa coffee farm with a visitor center and tasting room. Its hour-long tours, by reservation Monday through Friday from 9:45am to 12:30pm, visit the orchard and the roasting room and finish with a coffee tasting.
Why we love it
A smaller, more personal take on the Kona coffee tour, where you can actually talk with the roaster and the owners.
What to expect
Hula Daddy is a family operation on Māmalahoa Highway in Hōlualoa. Lee and Karen Paterson bought an 11-acre cow pasture in 2002 and planted 7,000 coffee trees. They later added a 20-acre farm at 2,500 feet on Hualālai, growing five coffee varieties sourced from the Honolulu research station. The hour-long tour walks you through the orchard and into the roasting room, where the full-time roaster works in small batches. Every bag carries its roast date and Agtron score. The tour wraps up with a tasting, and along the way you can talk with the roaster and the owners.
Know before you go
- Reservations
- Tours are by reservation only, Monday through Friday except major holidays, starting between 9:45am and 12:30pm. You need at least two people to book.
- Hours
- The visitor center and tasting room are open 9:30am to 2:30pm on weekdays and closed on weekends and holidays, so this is strictly a weekday stop.
- Groups
- Larger group tours are by appointment. Call (808) 327-9744.
- On the farm
- All the coffee is sun-dried, and the farm makes its own compost from restaurant green waste, wood chips, and coffee pulp. Keep an eye out for hawks, owls, pheasants, and francolins around the trees.
Illustrative photo — not taken at Hula Daddy Kona Coffee.
Photo: Katya Ross via Unsplash
