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 The history of coffee in the Hawaiian islands dates back to the early 1800s. Coffea arabica plants, thought to have been acquired in Brazil, were planted in Manoa valley on the island of Oahu. Early clippings from these first coffee plants were then transplanted to Kona, Hawaii. In the 1830s coffee became a commercial crop in the United States – the first and only coffee still grown commercially in the US.

In the second half of the 19th century, coffee plantations almost vanished to make room for the growing and robust sugar industry. In the late 1800s excess world coffee supplies crashed the market while spikes in sugar prices forced coffee plantations to practically abandon farming coffee altogether.

World War I brought back demand for coffee as sustenance for the troops. Coffee production continued to soar until the Great Depression when world prices bottomed out again.

In 1940 The Second World War brought coffee production back, as the military stocked up on provisions. Demand for Hawaiian coffee continued on a cyclical up and down trend for the next fifty years. The specialty coffee industry was revitalized in 1990, and as the only coffee grown in the United States, Hawaii-grown coffee remains a highly marketed and sought-after product to this day.

Unfortunately the bulk of Hawaiian coffee roasters today use this highly marketable product to their advantage by offering flavored "Hawaiian" blends such as Vanilla Macadamia Nut or Coconut. Furthermore, these blends often use as little Hawaiian coffee as possible while blending them with cheap blender coffees.

Our goal is to reflect the pride and quality that goes into producing these local products. Keala’s coffees use a minimum of 20% Hawaiian coffee in every blend. We blend our Hawaiian coffees with excellent coffees, cupped from around the world and roasted in small batches to ensure our commitment to quality.

Our roast profiles are chosen to highlight the unique flavor profile of each of our coffee offerings.