From source to sip
The story behind your next cup.
On the gentle western slopes of the West Maui Mountains, above the old plantation town of Lahaina, grows a coffee almost nobody else has. The Ka'anapali Estate is the only farm in the world cultivating the Mokka variety commercially. This is Hawaii beyond Kona.
Coffee in Hawaii is most often a Kona story, but the islands hold a wider belt than the famous Big Island slopes. On Maui, the 500-acre Ka'anapali Estate sits below Pu'u Kukui, the second wettest spot on earth, drip-irrigated from a century-old plantation ditch system fed by fresh mountain streams. The estate planted four varieties on its hedgerows, and the rarest by far is Mokka.
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The Coffee Story
The SourceOne Farm, One Variety
Coffee in Hawaii is most often a Kona story, but the islands hold a wider belt than the famous Big Island slopes. On Maui, the 500-acre Ka'anapali Estate sits below Pu'u Kukui, the second wettest spot on earth, drip-irrigated from a century-old plantation ditch system fed by fresh mountain streams. The estate planted four varieties on its hedgerows, and the rarest by far is Mokka.
The Mokka name traces to the ancient Yemeni port of Mokha, the same trade hub that carried coffee out of the Ethiopian highlands and across the world. The plants here are tall, unruly, and low-yielding, producing tiny cherries with very small, almost perfectly round beans that retain North African characteristics. The estate's relatively low growing elevation reflects Maui's coastal terroir, where consistent trade winds and volcanic soils stand in for the thin mountain air found at higher origins.
The CraftNatural Processing and a City+ Roast
This lot is naturally processed, with the cherry dried whole around the bean so the fruit's sugars concentrate inward during drying. That choice suits Mokka well, deepening the chocolate character the variety is known for and adding body to a famously small bean. If you want to understand how drying choices shape a cup, our guide to natural and washed processing methods breaks down the difference.
We roast to City+, a level that lets the bean's chocolate and brown-sugar tones develop without scorching the delicate sweetness underneath. Mokka's round, dense beans roast evenly when watched closely, so we run small batches and pull each one by feel and color rather than by clock alone.
The CupChocolate With a Hawaiian Edge
The cup leads with chocolate, the trait that gave the variety its Mokha namesake centuries ago. Brown sugar sweetness fills the middle, followed by a soft buttery roundness and a finish of toasted nuts. Acidity sits in the medium range, keeping the profile smooth and balanced rather than bright, which makes this an easy daily pour for drinkers who want comfort and depth over zing.
