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Finding the best espresso coffee in Kona is a different job than finding the best coffee in Kona. Plenty of places here pour a great cup of drip or a careful pour over. Far fewer can pull a shot that is actually worth drinking on its own, and fewer still can steam milk without turning it into bath foam.
I grew up in Kailua-Kona, spent 15 years in Australia where a bad flat white is a minor scandal, and moved home in 2018 with standards I did not ask for. So this is the espresso-only version of my best coffee in Kona guide. The short answer: White Nene Coffee Roasters pulls the best shot on this side of the island, and now you can get it downtown without driving up the hill. Here is why, plus where else is worth your money.
To be clear, I am not affiliated with any of these shops. I just drink there.
What Makes a Good Shot (And How I Judge a Cafe)
Espresso is unforgiving. Drip coffee hides a lot of sins. A shot hides nothing. Here is what I actually pay attention to when I walk into a new place.
Fresh roasted beans. Espresso needs coffee that was roasted weeks ago, not months. Stale beans give you a thin, sour shot with no crema. The shops on this list roast their own or buy from someone who roasts on the island, which is half the battle before anyone touches a machine.
A dialed-in grind. A good shot runs somewhere around 25 to 30 seconds and comes out thick and syrupy. If it gushes out in 12 seconds, the grind is too coarse and the shot will taste like sour water. If the barista is adjusting the grinder between shots, that is a good sign, not a bad one.
Milk that has been steamed, not boiled. The tell is the texture. Properly steamed milk is glossy and pours like wet paint. Big bubbles on top mean the steam wand was in the wrong place. Latte art is not the point, but a barista who can pour it has almost always nailed the milk.
A cortado or flat white on the menu. This is my shortcut. A cafe that lists either one is telling you they care about the ratio of coffee to milk. A menu that goes straight from espresso to a 16 ounce latte usually does not.
The Order That Tells You Everything
If you want to know whether a cafe can actually make espresso, order a flat white or a cortado. Both are small, both are mostly coffee, and neither gives the shot anywhere to hide. If you take it black, order a long black instead of an Americano. Same idea, but the water goes in first so the crema survives. I explain the difference in my Americano post.
Not sure what any of those are? My espresso drinks cheat sheet covers the whole menu in plain English.
White Nene Coffee Roasters: The Best Espresso in Kona
📍 Downtown Kona: Corner of Hualalai Rd and Kuakini Hwy, Kailua-Kona (Tues to Sat, 6am to 12pm)
📍 Holualoa: 76-5905 Mamalahoa Hwy, Holualoa, HI 96725 (daily, 7:30am to 2pm)
White Nene is the closest thing to a Melbourne espresso bar I have found on this island, and I do not say that lightly. Mark Kove roasts everything himself, sources from a handful of Big Island farms, and has been a US Roasting finalist two years running. The beans are fresh because they are roasted a few miles from where they are pulled.
The espresso is the reason to go. Shots come out sweet and heavy, not sharp, and the milk drinks are built around the coffee instead of drowning it. Mark teaches latte art, which sounds like a gimmick until you realize what it means in practice: the milk is always textured properly, every single time. Order the cortado or a flat white and you will understand why people drive up to Holualoa for a coffee trailer.
The downtown shop, on the corner of Hualalai and Kuakini, opened this year and runs early, Tuesday through Saturday. If you are staying in Kailua-Kona, it is the best shot within walking distance of the water, full stop. The Holualoa trailer is still going daily at Petals & Provisions if you want the cooler air and the small-town setting. Either way, take a bag of beans home. More on what I do with them below.
Kona Coffee & Tea: Kona Coffee, Pulled as a Shot
📍 Location: 74-5588 Palani Rd, Kailua-Kona, HI 96740
I will be honest that Kona coffee is not my favorite as a drip or pour over. It is soft, low in acidity, and a little too dark for my taste. As espresso, though, those same qualities work in its favor. A shot of single-estate Kona comes out round and gentle with none of the bite you get from a bright Ethiopian, which makes it an easy espresso for people who usually find espresso harsh.
Kona Coffee & Tea is the place to try that. The Bolton family grows, mills, roasts, and brews their own beans, so what is in the portafilter was on a tree a few miles up the road. If you came to Kona to taste Kona coffee, this is how to do it with espresso, and the cafe itself is one of the better places in town to sit with a laptop for an hour.
HiCo Hawaiian Coffee: The Best Espresso Drink With a Twist
📍 Location: 74-5599 Pawai Pl #B3, Kailua-Kona, HI 96740
HiCo is one of the newer shops in town and it has earned its spot fast. The focus is Hawaiian-grown coffee from across the islands, with a rotating lineup behind the bar, so the shot changes depending on what they have in.
If you only order one thing, make it the Hawaiian Latte: espresso with macadamia nut milk and honey. I am usually the guy rolling his eyes at flavored drinks, and this one is the exception. The mac nut milk is rich enough to stand up to the coffee, and the honey is a whisper, not a syrup pump. Good indoor and outdoor seating too, which matters more in Kona than it does most places.
Bonus: Surf Camp Coffee in Waimea
📍 Location: 65-1227 Opelo Rd A-1, Waimea, HI 96743
Forty minutes up the hill and a different climate entirely. Surf Camp Coffee shares a space with my favorite surf shop on the island and pours some of my favorite coffee on it. Get a latte, browse the boards, and use it as the starting point for a drive around the north side. It is not the shop you cross town for on a Tuesday, but it is the one I plan a morning around.
Which One Is Right for You
Staying in Kailua-Kona and want the best shot: White Nene downtown, before noon. Order a cortado.
Want to taste Kona coffee as espresso: Kona Coffee & Tea. Single-estate, farm to portafilter.
Want something sweet without embarrassing yourself: the Hawaiian Latte at HiCo.
Driving north anyway: Surf Camp in Waimea. Make it the first stop.
And if you are island hopping, my best coffee in Hawaii guide covers the rest of the state.
What I Pull at Home
Most mornings I am not at any of these places. I am in my kitchen. My machine is the Gaggia Classic Pro, a single-boiler Italian machine with a proper 58mm portafilter that I bought through an Amazon Warehouse deal and have never regretted. It does one thing, pulls a real 9-bar shot, and it does not pretend to be a pod machine. I wrote a full Gaggia Classic Pro review if you are considering one.
👉 Check the current price of the Gaggia Classic Pro on Amazon
The grinder matters as much as the machine, and mine is the TIMEMORE Sculptor 064S. Single dose, almost no retention, and quiet enough that I can pull a shot before the kids are up. When I bring home a bag from White Nene, this is what it goes through.
👉 Grab the TIMEMORE Sculptor 064S on Amazon
For the days between local bags, I use Trade Coffee, which ships fresh roasts from mainland roasters straight to Hawaii. That is how I keep Ethiopian and South American beans in the rotation, since those are still what I reach for most.
👉 Check out the Trade Coffee subscription here
If you are just getting started at home, my home barista starter guide walks through the whole kit in order of what matters.
The best espresso coffee in Kona is at White Nene, and it is not especially close. Go early, order small, and take a bag home. The rest of this list is there for when you want Kona coffee as a shot, something sweet, or a reason to drive north.
Whether the beans come from a Holualoa trailer or a subscription box, the shot only gets as good as the station behind it. That is the part I have spent far too long thinking about, so you do not have to.
Regardless of which method you choose, you need the right station to support it. I have written deep-dive guides on how I organize my own counters for both workflows:
- For the consistent drip: My Work From Home Guide to the Best Coffee Setup
- For dialed Espresso: My Work From Home Guide to the Best Espresso Setup
And remember, the best brewer in the world can't save bad beans. I use Trade Coffee to ensure I always have fresh, single-origin bags ready to grind.
Photo by Kevin Butz on Unsplash
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