In 2002, we (Lee and Karen Paterson) decided to grow Kona Coffee. We bought an 11-acre cow pasture in Kona. We set a reach goal to create one of the ten best coffees in the world.
We started by hiring a local agronomist who had an outstanding reputation for planning Kona Coffee plantations. With his help we bulldozed the property and planted 7000 coffee trees. Three years later, we harvested our first crop. It wasn’t great coffee, but it had promise. In the next few years our coffee beans got better and better and we began to win awards and get good reviews.
In 2008, we hired a coffee expert from Minnesota (It helped that snow was just beginning to fall in Minneapolis.) We also retained a soil consultant from the Napa Valley wine industry. Within the next six months, we changed every operation on our farm from the soil to bagging coffee. At every step we asked the question “Will this improve our quality?” It was expensive, in fact we tripled our costs of production, but it worked. The quality of our coffee shot up. In late 2008, our Kona Sweet coffee was reviewed as one of the top six coffees in the world.
In September 2008, we bought a 20-acre pasture at 2500 feet on the slope of the Hualalai Volcano. Instead of planting the same coffee as at our lower farm, we decided to find trees that produced world-class coffees in other countries. We spent a year tasting different varieties of coffee. After we picked five coffee varieties we wanted, we found the trees at the Honolulu research station. We went to the station, picked ripe beans, brought them back, and planted 15,000 grow bags. A year later we planted the seedling trees. Three years later, we were able to pick, process and taste the results.
In 2010 we hired a full-time roaster, who has become one of the top coffee roasters in the United States.
Since 2010, we have won the Kona Cultural Festival Cupping Competition 3 times. We have also won the Hawaii Coffee Association all Hawaii cupping competition 2 times. In 2018, Coffee Review placed us Number 1 among the 3000 coffees they tasted that year. In 2018, Forbes Magazine named us one of 12 top coffee roasters in the United States. In 2023, our Bourbon Pointu Laurina was named the Number 2 coffee out of the 3000 coffees that Coffee Review tasted that year.
We only sell coffee that we have grown, picked, processed, and roasted ourselves. We have a major advantage over most coffee roasters, in that we know where our beans have been. We don’t buy other farmers’ coffee beans. We don’t have problems with adulterated beans, old beans, transportation defects. and poor storage. We can provide our customers with fresh current crop coffee that has been carefully picked, processed, roasted, and shipped with care.
Every bag of Hula Daddy coffee has its roast date and its Agtron score attached to it.
What sets Hula Daddy Kona Coffee apart is our unwavering commitment to quality and authenticity. By overseeing every step of the process - from growing and picking to processing and roasting – we ensure that each cup of coffee delivers an unforgettable experience.
Product Guarantee
Because Hula Daddy Kona Coffee uses small batch roasting, we ensure that each pound of 100% Kona coffee you purchase is freshly roasted. We guarantee an unforgettable experience rich in aromatic flavor. If for some reason you are unhappy, we encourage you to tell us. We will do whatever it takes to make your Hula Daddy Kona Coffee experience perfect.