Hawaiian Isles Kona Coffee Co out of business?

dascrow

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Any fans of Hawaiian Isles Kona Coffee? It appears they have recently gone out of business. That's been my favorite coffee for the past few years. My wife and I were hooked on the Kona Sunrise coffee. Could anyone suggest a coffee that is similar?
 

smohorcic305

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Aug 10, 2023
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miami, florida
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Any fans of Hawaiian Isles Kona Coffee? It appears they have recently gone out of business. That's been my favorite coffee for the past few years. My wife and I were hooked on the Kona Sunrise coffee. Could anyone suggest a coffee that is similar?
hi--my parents would always bring me back a pack or two of Hawaiian Isles coffee when they visited Oahu and got me hooked. Used to buy directly online or at World Market -- 'love their coffee. Or loved. They filed for bankruptcy earlier this year :-( When I feel the need for Kona I buy a very expensive bag of Kona (beans) at Fresh Market and have it as a treat on Sundays. Otherwise, still struggling to find a substitute.
 
A number of companys have either stopped selling 'Kona Coffee' or changed their packaging after the multi-million dollar lawsuit. Kona Coffee farmers have been complaining for decades that there is dramatically more 'Kona' being sold then we produce (Yes, I am a Kona Farmer myself).

Hawaiian Isles among others were named in the suit. Some companys KNEW they were cheating the public and some just bought from wholesalers who purposly did not label the product. The list of companys was very large and included Costco, Bed Bath and Beyond, Hawaiian Isles, Walmart, Safeway, Kroger and so on. Almost all companys have settled after seeing the technical results and some companys have been hit pretty hard and have filed bankruptcy because of this and other pressures like COVID.

It is interesting how the fraud was caught. Essentually almost a DNA test. Coffee was collected from many Kona Farms and analyzed for minerals. Then coffee was purchased from many companys and analzed. The percentage or absence of those minerals specific to Kona was noted.

IF you wish to see the scatter diagrams showing that there was often no Kona in the bags, download the PDF called "Third Amended Complaint'. It is very eye opening! The document describes how the testing was done and the results. It also shows images of the bags.

Of course the farmers who actually grow the coffee are still in business; it was just a number of middlemen and some end sellers who relied upon false information that caused the lawsuit. Many traded on the Kona name when there was little to no Kona in the bag. They may have even said KONA BLEND but never told you there was no Kona in the bag or perhaps 1 bean. One coffee on the shelf in Hawaii said "Roasted in the Kona Style' whsatever the hell THAT means!

As you may know, actual Kona coffee is very expensive because of where it is grown and that it is all hand-picked. Unlike world locations with cheap labor, Hawaii labor is quite expensive.

While some of the coffees the consumers purchased may have been fine tasting, the ones shown in the lawsuit were not Kona Coffee. A common thing done to lower grade coffees is to add flavors. Kona coffee is smooth. If the coffee you are drinking is bitter, it isn't Kona.

Anyway, I hope this answers the question What Happened To Hawaiian Isles Coffee and why some bags of Kona Blend may have recently been changed.
 
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Hydroid

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Nov 9, 2020
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We too enjoyed the Sunrise coffee, so we are now buying Pablo's Pride Guatemala coffee from Don Pablo. It is very close in taste to the Sunrise. Hope this helps.
 
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