"Are cherry prices below the cost of production? KCFA did the math. Yes." That line ran in the Kona Coffee Farmers Association's August 2026 newsletter, at a point when, by the association president's account, some farms were deep into picking, others were just starting and a few hadn't begun.
Three months later, many of the same growers will be pouring samples at the 55th Kona Coffee Cultural Festival, which the official festival site lists for November 6 through 15, 2026. This year's schedule places the festival's farmer tastings, cupping entries and cupping awards in Holualoa and the farm belt, in a season when selling coffee directly to people matters more than usual.
The Awards Table Moves Up the Hill
The festival's coffee-quality events now center on Holualoa. Cupping competition samples go in at the UCC Hawaii kiosk in Holualoa. The Holualoa Coffee & Art Stroll brings up to 25 farms to Historic Holualoa Village on November 7, and visitors vote for their favorite cup. The cupping awards ceremony, held at Kona Elks Lodge in 2025, moves to Buddha's Cup Sanctuary Event Space in Holualoa on November 15 from 1 to 3 p.m.
The competition itself has also been simplified. The 2025 results were split into three divisions: Heritage, Certified and Creative. The 2026 rules have two. Heritage is for washed Kona typica. Creative takes any Kona-grown varietal or process. Entries are capped at 70, cost $150 each, and close October 16.
Here is what moved, as the 2025 festival magazine and the current 2026 schedule show it:
| Event | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Grand Finale | Outrigger Kona Resort & Spa | The Theatery, Nov. 14, 6–9 p.m. |
| Cupping awards | Kona Elks Lodge | Buddha's Cup Sanctuary Event Space, Holualoa, Nov. 15 |
| Cupping divisions | Heritage, Certified, Creative | Heritage, Creative |
| Holualoa Stroll parking | Marked parking, carpooling suggested | Shuttles from Holualoa Elementary lot and the Imin Center |
| UCC Hawaii picking tour | One tour at 10 a.m. | Two tours, 9:30 and 11 a.m. |
| Greenwell Farms tours | 9:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. | 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. |
| Free button entry for kids | Ages 12 and under | Ages 5 and under |
The festival page says parking is limited and recommends carpooling, with rides running from Holualoa Elementary and the Imin Center. If First Friday is already part of your month, you know that village after dark. Our First Friday guide covers it. The stroll is the same street in daylight, set up around coffee farmers.
Why the Stroll Counts for More in a Below-Cost Year
The KCFA figures explain why tasting directly from the grower carries extra weight this November. Cherry opened at $1.90 to $2.25 per pound this season. The association estimates that a conventional Kona or Kaʻū farm needs $3.11 per pound to break even. Here is what that gap means for a farm with average yields, according to KCFA:
- At $2.25 per pound, the loss is $2,771 per acre in production costs.
- At $1.90 per pound, the loss grows to $3,893 per acre.
- Breaking even at $2.25 would take 8,508 pounds of cherry per acre, and picking labor alone uses up more than half of gross revenue.
The newsletter names three ways out: replanting for higher yields, higher cherry prices, or "shifting toward selling roasted." It also says the cost gap has lasted at least 15 years, and it blames coffee berry borer, coffee leaf rust and fertilizer prices for most of the damage. Selling roasted coffee requires buyers who will taste it, and the stroll, the farm tours and the cupping awards put those buyers within reach of a farm.
Statewide figures point the same way. USDA's January 2026 forecast put Hawaiʻi's 2025–26 utilized coffee production at 17.8 million pounds, cherry basis, which is 20% below the season before. The average price for that season was $2.33 per pound. Both numbers are statewide estimates, not Kona-only.
Weather added to the strain. The Hawaiʻi Tribune-Herald reported on August 25 that Hurricane Lala tore up trees, access roads and soil on Kaʻū farms. Kona grower Bill Myers told the paper the damage didn't look big enough to change Kona's harvest, and that Heavenly Hawaiian was aiming for a good crop. A month later, as Hurricane Nolo approached, Big Island Now noted that farms came into the season facing "a heavy previous crop, cautious purchasing by green coffee buyers and high costs" for fuel, fertilizer, labor and shipping. The outlet quoted Hawaiʻi Coffee Association Executive Director Abby Munoz: "When you add the realities of operating on an island, remote agricultural communities, high production and transportation costs and repeated severe weather, the impacts compound very quickly."
KCFA's October newsletter describes the harvest without numbers. It says crews are moving fast and orchards are active. Neither the October newsletter nor the September storm coverage gives a newer cherry price, so the $1.90 to $2.25 range is this season's opening price, not necessarily today's.
What the Words on the Bag Now Mean
Festival week is also when many residents buy coffee as gifts, and the labeling rules changed recently. Public Law 119-37, signed November 12, 2025, includes Section 778. It requires coffee marketed as Hawaiʻi-grown or produced to contain at least 51% Hawaiʻi-grown coffee, with region-specific naming. You can read the full text on Congress.gov. KCFA supports the provision and has said "our position will not change." The Hawaiʻi Coffee Association ran an advisory member survey on it that closed August 7. A 51% floor makes "100% Kona" on a label a much more specific claim than a blend name.
That claim is also the subject of a federal case. West Hawaii Today reported on October 7 that a superseding indictment accuses an unnamed seller of marketing foreign-origin coffee as "100% Kona," and that the defense says it will plead not guilty. These are allegations, not findings. At the stroll and on the farm tours, the farmer pouring the cup is the farmer who grew it.
The Week, Ordered by Where the Coffee Changes Hands
Most of the program is community celebration, and that hasn't changed. Here is the 2026 calendar, with the grower-facing events alongside the familiar anchors:
- Friday, Nov. 6. The Made in Hawaiʻi Artisan Market opens at Hale Halawai at 2 p.m. The Lantern Parade walks from Kailua Pier to Hale Halawai from 6 to 7 p.m., followed by the Multicultural Showcase. KCFA wrote that it is looking forward to marching in the parade.
- Saturday, Nov. 7. The Holualoa Coffee & Art Stroll runs 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., though the event page says farms pour from 8 a.m. Also that day: the Holualoa School Legacy Project in the school cafeteria from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m., cultural demos at Donkey Mill Art Center from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and the UCC Miss Kona Coffee Scholarship Competition at Outrigger Kona Resort & Spa at 6 p.m.
- Sunday, Nov. 8. The 2nd Annual Pickle & Pour tournament starts at 9 a.m. at Holua Racquet & Paddle. The KTA Super Stores Kona Coffee Recipe Contest and Little Miss Kona Coffee are both at Outrigger.
- Monday through Thursday, Nov. 9–12. Barista training on Nov. 9 and the Latte Art Throw Down on Nov. 12 are both at Kona Coffee & Tea. The 5 Course Coffee-Flavored Supper Club is at The Theatery on Nov. 9, and Old Time Kona Stories is at Aloha Theatre on Nov. 10. On Nov. 11, the Nani Keao Mele Mele Concert & Okonomiyaki is at Kona Hongwanji, and the Kona Espresso Martini & Coffee Cocktail Competition is at Hale Cocoa in Kealakekua. Chamber Music Night is at Mokuaikaua Church on Nov. 12.
- Friday and Saturday, Nov. 13–14. Kona's Got Talent is at Keauhou Shopping Center on Nov. 13. On Nov. 14, the 100% Pure Kona Coffee Half Marathon starts at 6 a.m. from Coconut Grove Marketplace, the Hoʻolauleʻa runs 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Makaeʻo Pavilion, and the Grand Finale is at The Theatery that evening.
- Sunday, Nov. 15. The cupping awards are at Buddha's Cup in Holualoa, and the Chamber Orchestra of Kona plays Dvorak and Tchaikovsky at Kona Elks Lodge.
Farm tours run throughout the festival. Kona Historical Society's Living History Farm tour is offered November 6, 10 and 13. The other tour hosts are Island Sun Coffee, Greenwell Farms, UCC Hawaii, Buddha's Cup, Hala Tree Coffee and Doutor Coffee's Mauka Meadows. These are the same seven hosts as in 2025, with new times. If you want background on the farms themselves, our post on how county tax dedication shapes Holualoa coffee farms explains the land side.
Details Still Being Finalized
A few things are still unsettled. Ticket prices for Miss Kona Coffee are listed as "TBA." In 2025 they were $70 plus the button. The general schedule says children 5 and under get in free, but some event pages still say a button is required only for attendees over 12. A January Big Island Now article gave the dates as Nov. 6–16. The official site now ends the festival on the 15th. The $10 button gets you into the free events all week, and you can buy it at any festival event.
Kona's coffee country is part of what makes daily life here so particular, from Holualoa's village stroll to the tours in the mauka farm belt. If you're thinking about a home near the farms, or want to know how a coffee parcel is valued, Kristina Vaughn-Hazard would be glad to talk it through over a cup. Schedule a personalized Kona consultation.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
