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Five Pohaku Coffee bags of Kāu Arabica stand on burlap outdoors, with roasted beans scattered in front.
A person in a blue dress works a smoking drum roaster with a gloved hand and a yellow tool.
A hand in a grey sleeve holds a domed cup of creamy tan drink with whipped cream and chocolate drizzle.
29 photos

Coffee Farm

Pohaku Coffee

A family-run Ka’u coffee farm in Naalehu where Brenda and her family provide an intimate, owner-led experience.

Naalehu, Big Island Google 4.8 (25 ratings)

Buy beansShips direct
Visit / taste
Hours listed
Buy beans
Whole beanships direct
Farm visit
No listed tour
Coffee source
Origin not verified
Character
Hidden gem
DirectionsOfficial websiteShop coffee

Data collected 5 months ago (May 16, 2026). Spot an error?

Outbound booking, shop, and website links may be measured with referral parameters. Paid or sponsored placements do not determine KopeMaps rankings.

The verdict

Field notes

Hidden gem Chill Locals + tourists

A family-run Ka’u coffee farm in Naalehu where Brenda and her family provide an intimate, owner-led experience. It's genuinely good for those seeking a nuanced, light-roast profile that's rare on the Big Island, or for those who want to-go drinks like the Coffee Cloud or smoothies from their market stall. If you're looking for a polished, commercial tasting room or a high-traffic tourist hub, this is a more personal, working-farm visit—be sure to call ahead to see if they're at the farm or the market.
KopeMaps, field notes
Where it is
tucked away on a small one-way dirt road
What's unique
rare light-roast profile and monkfruit-topped Coffee Cloud
When to go
Wednesdays at the Naalehu farmers market

Plan the stop

What you can do here

Drink
Confirm tasting access
Buy
Whole bean
Tour
No listed tour

Who it suits

Best for

  1. Specialty coffee

    Praised by 'coffee aficionados' for rare light-roast profiles and nuanced, citrusy flavors.

  2. Bean shopping

    Customers frequently mention buying bags of light/medium roast beans to take home or shipping them.

  3. Farm tour

    Offers owner-led tours showing the 'whole process of coffee making' and hand-picking beans.

  4. Purposeful outing

    A 'hidden-gem' farm visit in Naalehu that requires calling ahead and is 'worth the trip'.

  5. Quick grab

    Popular for 'to-go drinks' and smoothies from their market stall at the OKK Ka’u Farmers Market.

Receipt

The facts

Size
intimate, owner-led working farm
Wait
Walk right up
Setting
Roadside
Parking
Free parking
Outdoor seating
Yes
Kid-friendly
Yes

In their words

The story

At Pohaku Farm, we have a unique aim to bring you farm to cup coffee. As a small farm, that is no easy hand-picked, washed and sorted then carefully dried and sorted by hand again and again to ensure the highest quality. Producing high quality farm-to-cup specialty coffee is a labor of love. It involves the strictest of standards and relentless discipline, rising with the sun and getting the work done. We left everything familiar, the people and home we loved, to move our little family of five to one of the most back-country towns on the most remote island in world—right in the middle of the 2020 pandemic. We purchased the farm with 683 young coffee trees and dozens of tropical fruit trees. We value our community—our extended family—SO much that its quite frankly, beyond words. Without people who consistently show up and do their part to help the farm keep running on course, we wouldn’t be here.

Stewards
Ryan and Brenda Trowbridge
Certified
100% Hawaiian Ka`u Coffee

29 photos

Photos

Five Pohaku Coffee bags of Kāu Arabica stand on burlap outdoors, with roasted beans scattered in front.
A person in a blue dress works a smoking drum roaster with a gloved hand and a yellow tool.
A hand in a grey sleeve holds a domed cup of creamy tan drink with whipped cream and chocolate drizzle.
Pohaku Coffee Ka'u Arabica bags, bean jars, tumblers, and a price list on an outdoor burlap table.
Coffee bags and labeled tumblers line a shop counter beside a French press while a person reaches for shelf bags.
Wide green lawn with palms and tropical plants at sunset, ocean beyond a dark cloud bank.
Labeled tumblers and clipped coffee bags line a work table beside glass brewers under a desk lamp.
Seven white buckets on a concrete floor hold limes, avocados, bananas, citrus, figs, leaves, and a spiky green fruit.
A barefoot person holds a yellow wheelbarrow heaped with pale coffee beans inside a drying shed.
Kraft Pohaku Coffee bags and a copper YETI tumbler with Kau Arabica labels sit on a wooden table.
A hand holds two Pohaku Coffee Ka'u Arabica bags in front of a green Io Maka Rd sign.
A person in a blue dress holds coffee beans in a metal scoop and a yellow thermometer beside a roaster.

12 of 29 shown

Common questions

Visiting Pohaku Coffee

Is Pohaku Coffee open on weekends?

Pohaku Coffee is open Monday through Saturday, 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM. They are closed on Sundays.

Should I call ahead before visiting Pohaku Coffee?

Yes, it's a good idea to call ahead. As a working family farm, the owners may be at the farm or at their market stall on any given day, so confirming availability before making the drive to Naalehu is recommended.

What kind of coffee does Pohaku Coffee grow and sell?

They grow 100% Hawaiian Ka'ū coffee entirely on their own estate in Naalehu on the Big Island. Cherries are hand-picked, washed in Hawaiian spring water, and small-batch roasted to order in a cast-iron barrel roaster.

Can I buy Pohaku Coffee beans to take home or ship to the mainland?

Yes, they sell whole-bean coffee and ship direct to the mainland. Roasting is often done to order, so beans are especially fresh when you receive them.

What does Pohaku Coffee taste like?

Pohaku Coffee is known for a nuanced light-roast profile that's relatively rare on the Big Island. Their careful processing — including solar-powered sun-drying and hand-sorting — contributes to a sweetness that has earned them perfect scores in cupping competitions.

Is Pohaku Coffee a drop-in stop or do I need to plan ahead?

It's a personal, working-farm visit rather than a polished commercial tasting room. Call ahead to confirm they'll be on-site and expect an intimate, owner-led experience rather than a high-traffic tourist setup.

Same island

Nearby Coffee

Pohaku Coffee

Naalehu, Big Island
Directions