Island Treasures: Sugai Products, Inc.
What’s in a name? You might not know until you’ve tried award-winning 100% estate grown Kona coffee grown by the Sugai Family on their Hōlualoa farm for three generations.
It all began in the 1890ʻs when Grandma Omotoʻs parents emigrated from Hiroshima, Japan and farmed Kona coffee while living in a grass shack and using primitive equipment. Grandma Omoto married Grandpa Omoto in 1930 and they farmed Kona coffee intensively. Life as a coffee farmer was a struggle, as the price of the coffee was down more often than it was up. During the down times, they weaved lauhala baskets and sold produce as well. Their second daughter, Hilda, married Fusao Sugai in 1956. Fusao also had a history in Kona coffee farming. His parents Kurakichi and Seiki Sugai arrived around 1900 from Japan and raised Fusao working on the coffee farm. Hilda and Fusao worked on the family Kona coffee farm for many years while raising their family.
They passed down the business to Lee, their youngest son, in 1989. Lee has attended many schools, acquiring a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering. Lee married Mimi Kim and they have two beautiful children, Marshall and Dana. Lee has invaluable knowledge of farming and roasting coffee that was passed down to him from previous generations.
Kay Dixon, coffee roaster and longtime staff member shares some of the Sugai Farm history. “The Sugai family have been growing award winning Kona coffee for three generations. Lee grew up on this farm, and then left for service in the Air Force. After serving our country, he came back to his roots in Kona to take over the farm and family business. It’s a testament to their strength and commitment that this family has taken so much pride and extra care to raise, process and roast this coffee grown exclusively on their family farm. All of our coffee is handcrafted, including picking, roasting and hand labeling each bag of coffee.”
Sugai Farms offers coffee sampling, roasting demonstrations and custom roasting, as well as retail and wholesale sales from their roaster and farm office in Hōlualoa. They also sell their commercial label (Kona Grove) in all of the KTA grocery stores on Hawai‘i Island, plus most of their products are available online through their website.
Sugai Farms offers flavored coffees such as Amaretto, Chocolate Macadamia Nut, Chocolate Mint, Chocolate Raspberry, Coconut Cream, Hazelnut, Irish Cream, Kona Cappuccino, Kona Cream, Macadamia Nut, and Vanilla Macadamia Nut.
You can also receive your favorite Sugai Kona coffee on a regular basis by joining the Sugai Kona Coffee Club. You can order how often you would like to have your Kona coffee shipped, including which grade and the package size. Youʻll even receive a 10% discount for participating in their automatic shipping program. Your Kona coffee or treats will arrive automatically without you having to remember to place an order. What a deal!
Sugai Products, Inc.
808.322.7717
Toll free 800.566.2463
Kona@kona.net
Sugaikonacoffee.com
