Business Monday: Big Island Coffee Roasters showcase Kaʻū varieties to the world

Big Island Coffee Roasters, a business that started as a coffee farm in Puna, now supports 25 local farmers by bringing their beans to cups around the world.

Kelleigh Stewart and Brandon Damitz also have turned the company into an award-winning brand, a successful café and a public roastery in Hilo.

And during the process, they have helped to put the relatively young Kaʻū coffee on the map.

Big Island Coffee Roasters began in 2010, when Stewart and Damitz of Portland, Ore., bought a coffee farm and moved to Puna despite having no experience in the industry.

They wanted to give it a try and in just three years, they grew and roasted the Puna Pink Bourbon coffee. It earned them a first place prize in the creative division of the Hawaiʻi Coffee Association Statewide Cupping Competition in 2013. It was the first and only time a Puna coffee had received the award.

When neighboring farmers began asking for advice, Stewart and Damitz found their true passion in roasting coffee beans already milled from local farms.

Milling is the step that comes after harvesting, which involves removing the outer fruit pulp of ripe coffee cherries, breaking down the sugars (fermenting) the coffee cherries, washing and drying.

After the dried beans are sorted, they are sent to Big Island Coffee Roasters for roasting, which is the process of using heat to transform raw, green coffee beans into the familiar brown beans that unlock flavor and aroma. The beans are then packaged and labelled according to the type of coffee bean and the roast.

“We wanted to focus on our bigger mission to revitalize Hawaiʻi coffee,” Damitz said. “Everything was very dated when we first moved here, with the bags of coffee not accurately depicting Hawaiʻi or showcasing the diversity of the island.”

In 2023, Stewart and Damitz opened their first public roastery and café at 76 Kalanianaʻole St. in Hilo, across the street from Coconut Grill. They run production, order fulfillment, and the retail shop all in one place.

In 2024, they shipped 31,000 orders of coffee beans grown across Hawaiʻi and roasted at Big Island Coffee Roasters to coffee lovers across all 50 U.S. states and 29 countries. And since they began keeping track in late 2023, local farmers participating in the farm-direct coffee and crop purchases have earned a total income of $9.6 million.

“One thing we’re proud of is how we work closely with farmers to bring them more recognition,” Stewart said. “Recently, we just got the highest award given to any Kaʻū coffee.”

It was for Kaʻū Morning Glory, the top-rated Big Island coffee with 97 points on Coffee Review, a leading coffee guide.

Kaʻū Morning Glory captures the spirit of the southern Big Island and was carefully crafted from a proprietary blend of exquisite coffee varieties grown on nearby farms, its description says.

“The number of people who came to us from that review was incredible,” Stewart said. “We’ve gotten a lot of exposure for Kaʻū and have been working with farmers in that region more than any other.”

The coffee industry in Kaʻū is only 30 years old, which Stewart says makes the farmers typically more receptive to advice.

“This award is validation in the work we do to help farmers and it is amazing to see that growth for them, especially because a better product means we will pay more for it every time,” Stewart said.

When most people think of coffee from Hawaiʻi, they think of Kona coffee, which is known around the world.

But Kaʻū coffee is growing in popularity, and this week is showcased at the Kaʻū Coffee Festival.

“What makes Kaʻū coffee different is that the farmers were never beholden to any variety or method of growing and roasting coffee,” Stewart said. “That can’t be said about Kona coffee because of the brand that was created and how rare it is. The variety of coffee makes Kaʻū special. It’s like the trail mix bar of coffees and regions of Hawaiʻi.”

The Kaʻū Coffee Festival gives visitors and residents a chance to learn about the history of the industry and to taste all the coffee that comes from 600 acres of farmland. However, it is also a chance for farmers and producers from the area to come together to catch up without a feeling of competition.

“We have known and have grown with producers for several years, so it’s a time to reconnect and it does not feel competitive because we have been friends for years and cheer for one another’s accomplishments,” Stewart said. “In this community, we’re all rowing the same boat with different paddles. We all see that we’re working together to do justice for the representation of Hawaiʻi as a prominent coffee-growing region.”

On Saturday, Big Island Coffee Roasters will be hosting the Kaʻū Coffee Sensory Experience, which will feature three to four baristas as they prepare 15 varieties of Kaʻū coffee using different brewing methods to best bring out the flavors.

Attendees can get cups of this coffee and watch the professional baristas as they brew.

While production numbers continue to grow, the café and roastery also have earned Big Island Coffee Roasters numerous accolades and awards, including two this year. The café was recognized as the third best coffee shop for remote workers in a MarketBeat survey and was noted as one of the best cafés on the Big Island by Barista Magazine.

With help from their staff of 25, the café and roastery has become a place for brewing workshops, espresso martini classes, mamaki talk-and-sip activities, and a place for people to celebrate.

“The café has been amazing, better than we could have anticipated, in terms of traffic, response, and our team. We have awesome people,” Stewart said. “We get a lot of visitors and traffic from the cruise ships, but have been working to incorporate more elements of community, especially being on the border of Keaukaha.”

Next up, Big Island Coffee Roasters will be joining Sen. Mazie Hirono for Hawaiʻi on the Hill and will bring Hawaiʻi coffee directly to Congress.

For more information, visit the Big Island Coffee Roasters website.