Hawaii Kona Darnall Estate Typica
Hawaii Kona Darnall Estate Typica
Hawaii Kona Darnall Estate Typica
Balanced sweetness opens up to subtle bright tones, and top note hints that are elegant and clean. Raw sugar, brown malt, rose hip tea, herbal accents, and a pleasantly bittersweet finish. City to Full City.
Full Cupping Notes
The fascination with "Kona" coffee is easy to understand. It's grown in the United States, for one. But it also evokes nostalgia for countless vacationers looking to bring a piece of their tropical vacation back home to the mainland. We love Hawaiian coffee too, but let's face it, a lot of what you're served on the island is often stale, roasted poorly, or both. Here's your chance to buy high quality Kona green, and roast it fresh! This lot from Darnall Estate has balanced sweetness that opens up to soft bright tones as it cools, with top note hints that are elegant and clean. The dry fragrance has sweet caramel and unrefined sugar notes, with a touch of baking spices, and herbal tea. Hot water brings on deeper sweet notes with some tartness behind them, like brown sugar with a lemon spritz, along with a scent of Assam black tea when breaking through the crust. The cup flavors are well-balanced, with notes of raw sugar and brown malt, and hints of rose hip tea, citrus, a green herbal hint, and pleasantly bittersweet finish. I found this real "sweet spot" in the City to City+ range, which is what this review is based off of. But we've pulled great espresso shots, even with some of our lighter roasts (price is the only reason we haven't tagged this coffee as "good for espresso"). Jarrett and Mike pulled shots 3 days off-roast, and noted molasses sweetness, with hints of date, savory spice, and malic-type acidity that pointed to Asian pear. Mild island coffees like this, moderate in acidity and so well-balanced, are a great choice for un-blended espresso experiments.
Specs
Region Holualoa, Kona Processing Wet Process (Washed) Drying Method Patio Sun-Dried and Mechanical Dryer Arrival date May 2025 Arrival Lot size 17 Bag size 100 LB Packaging GrainPro Liner Farm Gate Yes Cultivar Detail Typica Grade 18 Screen Fancy Appearance .2 d/300gr, 18 screen Roast Recommendations City to Full City, with the lighter end of that spectrum leading to a more bright toned profile Type Farm Gate
Product Overview
Product Overview
| process method | Wet Process (Washed) |
|---|---|
| cultivar | Typica Types |
| farm gate | Yes |
Farm Notes
Farm Notes
Origin & Farm Notes
Kona Coffee is grown on the western slopes of the Big Island of Hawaii near the active volcanoes Mauna Loa and Hualalai. That's where you'll find Pam and Ted Darnall's coffee estate, above the small coastal village of Holualoa. The 42 acre Darnall estate is planted in Typica, a variety so common in Kona that it's synonymous with the "Kona" name. While the Typica grown today can be traced back to the late 1800's by way of Guatemala, coffee was first introduced to Kona in the 1820's from Brazil. It wasn't long after this that Pam's great grandfather established agricultural roots in the Kona region farming cattle, pineapple, and eventually coffee. According to Ted and Pam, ever since they started dating, they've dreamed of carrying on the family tradition. They finally fulfilled this dream in 2023 when the current farm site went up for sale. The original owners did not process their own cherries, instead selling to a local wholesaler, which is quite common. The Darnalls have decided to take a more hands-on approach, establishing the "Darnall Estate" name by managing the harvest and processing the coffee themselves, and selling direct. This cups like a wet process coffee, though technically the process style is more like a wet process/honey hybrid. They depulp the cherry and most of the fruit, soak the seeds in tanks for a day, and then move it to the drying patio.
The Darnall's coffee has the kind of well-balanced sweetness, and moderately bright flavors we look for in wet process Kona coffees. The fact is, Kona coffees are known for their mild cup character, never showy. And in a scoring system that rewards big, outlier flavors, they don't command the ultra high scores of the wilder experimental types...which is how we like them! We were also impressed by the quality of the physical prep, something we've had issues with in the past. Ted reached out to us about this year's harvest earlier in the year, and we're so glad he did. It's been nearly 10 years since we've had a nice Kona on our list and we're excited to make this available, even if only a small amount!
This lot is our latest November '25 shipment. More on Kona coffee and the Darnall Estate here.
Specs
Specs
Technical Specifications
Key specifications and operating details for this product.
| region | |
|---|---|
| processing | |
| drying method | |
| arrival date | |
| lot size | |
| bag size | |
| packaging | |
| farm gate | Yes |
| cultivar detail | |
| grade | |
| appearance | |
| roast recommendations | |
| type | Farm Gate |
| recommended espresso | No |
Hawaii Kona Darnall Estate Typica
Hawaii Kona Darnall Estate Typica
Balanced sweetness opens up to subtle bright tones, and top note hints that are elegant and clean. Raw sugar, brown malt, rose hip tea, herbal accents, and a pleasantly bittersweet finish. City to Full City.
Full Cupping Notes
The fascination with "Kona" coffee is easy to understand. It's grown in the United States, for one. But it also evokes nostalgia for countless vacationers looking to bring a piece of their tropical vacation back home to the mainland. We love Hawaiian coffee too, but let's face it, a lot of what you're served on the island is often stale, roasted poorly, or both. Here's your chance to buy high quality Kona green, and roast it fresh! This lot from Darnall Estate has balanced sweetness that opens up to soft bright tones as it cools, with top note hints that are elegant and clean. The dry fragrance has sweet caramel and unrefined sugar notes, with a touch of baking spices, and herbal tea. Hot water brings on deeper sweet notes with some tartness behind them, like brown sugar with a lemon spritz, along with a scent of Assam black tea when breaking through the crust. The cup flavors are well-balanced, with notes of raw sugar and brown malt, and hints of rose hip tea, citrus, a green herbal hint, and pleasantly bittersweet finish. I found this real "sweet spot" in the City to City+ range, which is what this review is based off of. But we've pulled great espresso shots, even with some of our lighter roasts (price is the only reason we haven't tagged this coffee as "good for espresso"). Jarrett and Mike pulled shots 3 days off-roast, and noted molasses sweetness, with hints of date, savory spice, and malic-type acidity that pointed to Asian pear. Mild island coffees like this, moderate in acidity and so well-balanced, are a great choice for un-blended espresso experiments.
Specs
| Region | Holualoa, Kona |
|---|---|
| Processing | Wet Process (Washed) |
| Drying Method | Patio Sun-Dried and Mechanical Dryer |
| Arrival date | May 2025 Arrival |
| Lot size | 17 |
| Bag size | 100 LB |
| Packaging | GrainPro Liner |
| Farm Gate | Yes |
| Cultivar Detail | Typica |
| Grade | 18 Screen Fancy |
| Appearance | .2 d/300gr, 18 screen |
| Roast Recommendations | City to Full City, with the lighter end of that spectrum leading to a more bright toned profile |
| Type | Farm Gate |