The coffee estate below Kalaheo spent 2026 watching its dates move. The land lease was set to end in March, and the new one wasn't signed until June. The Community Mahalo Party was scheduled for a Saturday in August and got postponed the day before. After Hurricane Lowell, the short drive from Kalaheo down Halewili Road was closed for weeks.
The harvest still started when it usually does. Kauaʻi Coffee describes its harvest season as September through December, and the company's harvest article dated September 2 said ripe cherries were already on the trees and the season had begun. That puts the estate in the middle of its harvest right now.
A Year of Moved Dates
Here's how the calendar went for the biggest coffee company in Hawaiʻi, from the council chamber to the orchard.
- January 7. Senior advisor Wayne Katayama and 20 employees spoke to the Kauaʻi County Council about lease negotiations that had stalled for nearly two years. Soon after, employees got Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification notices, with the lease set to end in March.
- First quarter. The company kept its workforce but paused hiring and scaled back some normal agricultural work.
- March 9. Operations, tours and coffee service carried on as usual while negotiations went on.
- June 25. Brue Baukol Capital Partners, which bought the 3,100-acre plantation from Alexander & Baldwin in 2022, and Kauaʻi Coffee's parent company, Massimo Zanetti Beverage USA, signed a 15-year land lease.
- July 8. Katayama went back to the council and announced plans for a community celebration.
- August 14. The Community Mahalo Party set for August 15 was postponed because of a severe weather forecast.
- September 2. The company said the harvest had begun.
- Mid-September. Hurricane Lowell closed the visitor center for a time, and downed utility poles shut Halewili Road from the Kalaheo side.
The September 2 entry is the only one that lands where the season usually begins.
At the July council briefing, Brue Baukol's vice president of land assets, Trinette Kaui, described the deal in terms that went beyond business, as Kauai Now reported:
"Today's successful agreement represents much more than the signing of a lease. It's a reaffirmation of our shared commitment to agriculture, our community and the future of this island."
Kaui has a long history with this land. Kauai Now reported that she worked on the transition after McBryde Sugar Co. closed in 1996, and later on the original long-term lease Kauaʻi Coffee signed in 2011. The new 15-year lease is the next step in a land arrangement she has worked on since the end of sugar.
The Trees Kept Their Own Schedule
The lease fight did reach the orchard. Katayama told the council that normal farming schedules were interrupted during negotiations and this year's crop had some setbacks. He also said fruit development looked promising, and the company expected another good harvest after what he called one of its strongest the year before.
The size of the operation shows how much rides on that crop. Kauai Now reports that Kauaʻi Coffee farms about 3,000 acres on the West Side, manages roughly 4 million coffee trees, and produces between 1 million and 2 million pounds of green coffee a year.
Picking at that scale is done by machine. The company's harvest article describes mechanical harvesting, with each machine able to bring in up to 35,000 pounds of cherries a day. That's a per-machine ceiling, not a count of this year's crop.
The workforce numbers are worth keeping straight. The company's June announcement said the lease secures more than 140 jobs. At the July council meeting, Katayama put current employment at about 126, with 30 to 40 more hires planned as operations get back to normal. The two figures may be measuring different things, but either way, more people are working those rows than at the start of the year.
The Detour Through ʻEleʻele Is Over
For a few weeks after Lowell, the estate was closer to ʻEleʻele than to Kalaheo, at least by road. The County's September 15 update, republished by The Garden Island, said Halewili Road was open from the ʻEleʻele side but "remains closed from the Kalāheo side of the highway to Kauaʻi Coffee due to downed utility poles."
Two days later, general manager Mark Bogner told KHON2 that the visitor center had closed right after the hurricane and then reopened, with visitors still coming in only from the ʻEleʻele side.
The state's weather-related traffic alerts page tracked the rest. Halewili Road is Route 540. On September 25, HDOT noted the first mile on the Kalaheo side was still closed because of a downed utility pole. On September 30, it noted the poles had been removed. The route is now listed as Open. HDOT doesn't give an exact reopening day, but the short way down from Kalaheo Town is available again.
What the Estate Offers During Harvest
With the road clear, the estate is a quick drive from town during the busiest weeks of its year. These are the offerings listed on Kauaʻi Coffee's visitor and tour pages:
| Option | Cost | When, per the company's pages |
|---|---|---|
| Self-guided orchard walk | Free | Daily during visitor center hours |
| Coffee tasting | Free | Daily during visitor center hours |
| Roasting demonstration | No fee listed | Tuesday through Thursday at 9 a.m. |
| Farm Tour, about one hour | $50 adults, $45 ages 8 to 18 | Monday through Saturday; not open to children under 8 |
| Coffee on the Brain | $35 per person | Listed as Monday through Friday on the Help Center and Sunday through Friday on the booking page |
The visitor page lists daily Visitor Center hours of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Its holiday schedule has the center closed on Thanksgiving, which falls on November 26 this year. It also lists Christmas Eve from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., closed on Christmas Day, New Year's Eve from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., and New Year's Day from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. That page has no date, so after this fall, a quick call before driving down is a good idea, especially if you're bringing guests for a tour.
The free walk loops through the estate's display orchard, where signs identify five coffee varietals and walk you through the process from blossom to roasting. The company's events guide notes that during harvest, visitors may see harvesters out in the fields, since operations run 24 hours a day through the fall.
The Party Is Still Waiting
The mahalo party is the item on the year's list that was put off with no replacement date given. As Kauai Now described it in August, the plan was a 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. gathering at the visitor center. It was to open with a blessing ceremony led by Puni and Troy Waialeale, followed by live entertainment from Hiʻipoi, West Kauaʻi heritage performers and taiko drummers. There would also be food, drinks, shopping specials, free coffee giveaways, bounce houses for kids, and farm tour rides out past the visitor center.
When it postponed, the company said it planned to reschedule and would announce a new date in the coming weeks. Hurricane Lowell hit a few weeks later. Kauaʻi Coffee's events guide, dated July 30, still lists August 15.
The holiday open house page on the company's blog is for December 14, 2024, two seasons back. Kauai Now and the company's events guide are the places to look for a new party date. Until one is announced, the harvest runs through December, and the free orchard walk is open daily on the road down from Kalaheo.
For a lot of homes in Kalaheo, the coffee fields below town are part of what makes the location what it is. The land just got a new 15-year agricultural lease. If you'd like to know how your home sits in today's market, Kelly Liberatore and Mike are glad to walk through it with you over a cup of the local stuff. Request Your Home Valuation whenever you're ready.
