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Hilo · United States

Big Island Coffee Roasters

Since 2013 · Kelleigh Stewart, Brandon von Damitz

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Overview

Big Island Coffee Roasters started in 2010 when Kelleigh Stewart (former Q-Grader) and Brandon von Damitz answered a Craigslist ad for a derelict three-acre coffee farm in Puna while living in Portland, Oregon. They taught themselves to farm, process, and roast — and in 2013 their Puna Pink Bourbon won Grand Champion at the Hawaii Coffee Association Statewide Cupping Competition, the first Puna coffee to ever take the prize. The 4,000-square-foot Hilo café and roastery opened December 2023 on the scenic Keaukaha coastline, powered by renewable energy. They now source from 27 Hawaiian farmers across Puna, Kona, Ka'ū, Hāmākua, Maui, and O'ahu.

Known for

  • Founded 2010 (farm) / 2013 (roaster brand) by Kelleigh Stewart and Brandon von Damitz
  • First Puna coffee to win Hawaii Coffee Association Statewide Grand Champion (2013, Puna Pink Bourbon)
  • Sources from 27 Hawaiian farmers across Puna, Kona, Ka'ū, Hāmākua, Maui, and O'ahu
  • $7M+ paid directly to local farmers since 2015
  • Hilo café and roastery opened December 2023, powered by renewable energy

Why it matters

Hawaiian coffee had effectively two reputations in the mainland market — premium Kona at one extreme and 10% Kona blends with stale flavored beans at the other — and almost no presence for the rest of the state's growing regions. Big Island built the case for Puna, Ka'ū, Hāmākua, and Maui coffees by sourcing widely, paying farmers above market, and putting region names on bags rather than blending them away. The 2013 Puna Pink Bourbon Grand Champion win was a turning point for Hawaiian coffee diversity outside Kona.

Production

destoning
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head roaster
Kelleigh Stewart
color sorting
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roaster machine
Custom-designed renewable-energy-powered roaster
filter equipment
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cupping frequency
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roastery location
Hilo, Hawaii
espresso equipment
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annual volume tonnes
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Café

Hilo, Hawaii (Keaukaha coastline)

Recognitions

  • Hawaii Coffee Association Statewide Cupping Competition Grand Champion (2013)
  • Hawaii Senate Certificate (2013)
  • Good Food Award for Espresso Bites (2021)
  • World Coffee Innovation Awards Best Specialty Coffee Roaster
  • Progressive Grocer Impact Award (2023, ethical sourcing & sustainability)
  • Pacific Business News Hawaii's Fastest Growing Companies

Sources

More roasters