Mountain Thunder Coffee Plantation

I was disappointed by this tour. Our guide seemed somewhat bored though he did answer all our questions and was knowledgable about the process. The website mentioned we could feed some animals but we were told it was not possible because they were at a different location. Booking for the VIP tour online was confusing. I ended up paying for the kids even though I thought I was not supposed to but they did not offer to refund any of the money to me. The lunch included with the VIP tour does not include any vegetarian option.

This was our first ever coffee plantation visit. Emily was our tour guide. She is very friendly, informative and sweet. The plantation is huge and gorgeous filled with beautiful animals. Chickens, cats, dogs, pigs and I’m sure more that is what we saw while we were there. If you go ask about roasting your own beans and the VIP tour.

Great coffee. The tour was very informative. Bobby our tout guide was super nice and full of information.

We were visiting the Big Island and decided to see a Kona coffee farm. We were lucky that we picked Mountain Thunder Coffee Plantation as they not only grow coffee but unlike many of the other coffee farms, also have the equipment to process the beans into the final coffee product. An additional benefit is that they have a Japanese guide who escorts visitors from Japan and we had my mother-​in-​law along who was visiting Kona for the first time. The guide was very good in her explanations and showed us all the processing machinery and steps. At the end of the tour, it started raining so she was courteous enough to escort my mother in law to our car with an umbrella. This type of service is not too common in the US.

This place was wonderful! My husband and I were visiting from Oahu and decided to tour one of the local Kona Coffee farms and I’m glad we chose this one. We got there before 10am so that we could take the first tour. It was very quaint and peaceful, they had plenty of coffee and tea already set up for some free tasting which was great since it was still early in the morning. The tour guide got started right at 10. I forgot his name (my bad :/​) but he was friendly, he knew what he was talking about, and seemed to have a genuine love for the work that he does. He took us around various locations on the farm, starting at some of the coffee plants, to the sorting machines, to the roasters and so on. Afterwards, he took us inside the gift shop and explained all the different varieties and products that they had for sale. There was no pressure to buy anything, it was informative and we even got some samples of the chocolate covered peaberries :)
My 5 Star review is not just for the tour and facility, but for the coffee as well. I’m no coffee connoisseur or anything, but I do drink a lot of coffee, and I have to say that this coffee is one of the best I’ve ever tasted. I brought a bag home to Oahu with me and I’m sad that I only bought one bag. I purchased the Brown/​Tan Estate roast so that I could get the caffeine of the American roast along with the taste of the bolder Vienna roast. Delicious! I usually dump a ton of creamers and sugars into my coffee, but with this roast, I barely put anything in. Currently, I’m on the hunt for stores that sell them on Oahu, still no luck yet :(
For those visiting the Kona area, this place is a must!

Never been to a coffee plantation before, but this place was interesting.
It’s a 30 min tour through the facility + they have a couple of coffee and tea samples.
I do like how they are very sustainable within the plantation, although some of their coffee is up the wall expensive, I still prefer Philz in San Francisco.

We finally made it! Our last day here, and the last tour of the day. The tour guide was very friendly & knowledgeable. What a process from the tree to the bag. Call us newbies, but… the lighter the roast the stronger the caffeine! Bring on the American Roast! We left with a bag of Vienna/​American blend and can’t wait to try it at home.

Very chill place with a super informative tour (from Bobby, for us) and amazing coffee. We bought a bag there and will buy more from home too. Not too much pressure to buy coffee, though most people did, and the place is generous with coffee and tea samples; you can serve yourself. A few cats, chickens, etc., were also roaming the farm, which was fun to see. We didn’t get to see the farms on my tour, but we did see a few coffee plants and then learned a lot about the bean to cup process.
The tipping part was a bit awkward, we would have liked to tip Bobby but there wasn’t a clear time to do so, and we lost track of him at some point. Maybe they should have a jar next to the cash register saying «Tips for Tour Guide»?
One thing I did notice though is that the coffee on the plantation was $ 20 but I saw the same bag at the grocery store in Kona for $ 13. Maybe there was a difference in whole/​ground though… and I figure the extra price at the farm helps compensate for the tour?

This is a working farm, not a polished-​up tourist trap. The folks here work hard and deliver a beautiful high quality product. Its truly a superior coffee and has been my favorite for years. I loved the free tour and Mary Ellen, the tour guide, is extremely knowledgeable and through. The farm is clean and located in a gorgeous cloud forest. There are lush plants, friendly animals and nice people. Well worth the visit. Next time I’m buying the more thorough VIP tour.

we took the VIP Tour #3 via our Wanderable gift. James was an excellent guide and gracious host. The grounds are incredibly beautiful, lush, picturesque. We were offered endless coffee and tea samples, and even given a donut when we arrived! (definitely not part of the tour but so incredibly endearing and kind). We would absolutely recommend this tour to anyone visiting the island.

Really neat and informative stop, and some amazing tasting coffee.
Visiting a Kona coffee farm was one of my main attractions I wanted to do while on the big island, so I dragged the hubby along with me to come do a tour and tasting here. Yes, if you do the hourly tour you won’t get to go see the actual plantation grounds, but it’s still worth doing (and completely free)! I thought I knew a lot about coffee beforehand, but I learned quite a bit from our lovely guide, who you could tell had a real passion for what she did.
I actually enjoyed the little video clip they played at the beginning, which was the Dirty Jobs episode that featured Mountain Thunder. Since we didn’t get to physically see the grounds, it was a good way to still learn about it. The actual tour felt like it went by fast, but that’s probably because I was having such a fun time…
I was surprised to learn that Mountain Thunder actually roasts very little of their coffee beans, and they actually process/​sell a lot of their «green» beans to other roasters. But their beans that they do roast are REALLY good. I bought a few bags to take home and it’s quite honestly, some of the smoothest, purest I’ve tasted. Easily worth the price if you are any level of coffee snob! Or even if you aren’t. It’s great. I plan on ordering some more when I run out!

One of many «must do» on my list while in Kona. This was our first tour on the Big Island and I was excited because I love coffee. It was a beautiful drive from our resort up the mountains where it was much cooler, a cloud forest. Not hard to find.
We arrived a few minutes late but was allowed to join the current tour which was great because we had a lot on our schedule that day. The tour was short but seemed to have covered the entire process from berry to bean. They had a Mike Rowe episode playing the entire time and the roaster that was featured on it. Who doesn’t love Mike Rowe. I did wish there was a tour of the grounds but it seemed sufficient.
Brought home the Premium whole bean Peaberry Vienna Roast and can’t wait to try it!

One of my «must do things»
I this trip was to visit a coffee farm. I found Mountain Thunder in one of our welcome packet guides at our resort. Less than 30 minutes away, we had to go.
First things first, thank goodness for GPS. Located in the «jungle» it would be easy to get lost. The scenery on the drive up was beautiful. Set high up the mountains the elevation was higher and cooler.
We arrived just in time for the free mini tour and of course sampling. I thought the tour was informative and o learned things I never knew about coffee. Like the darker the roast, the less caffeinated the coffee. As a working farm there was a lot going on.
I got to try the coffee bean fruit which was very interesting and glad I took the opportunity to try.
I’m sure the paid tours are more informative but this was good enough to get the basics and traveling with kids.
I purchase the Black and Tan coffee and one of each of their teas!
If you’re here, you should give it a whirl for a coffee or tea lover. I was surprised it wasn’t referenced in our Hawaii Revealed book, but they did recommend others.

Tour was short, and really not much of a tour. We just walked around in the one building tight up top. I would’ve loved to have seen more of the grounds. But it was still nice.
Also we came late in the day, so we missed seeing the roasting and such. So I’d say to go early to see everything.
One funny thing was the lazy ass cat. I swear I thought it was a pretend cat. Laying right on the table upfront, and not even seeming to breathe.
Great coffee — I’ve enjoyed it in percolator for the past week or so, and I’ve got another couple pounds to go.
Good stuff.

We enjoyed the tour and learning a bit about the process… cant beat the price free!

O.K.Dokee, Im from Hawaii, I live in the Kona Cofee area, so yes, Im a «coffee snob” —
but IM NOT an elitist. I do attend festivals, etc., but dont sway to hype, adverts, awards, or such– only my palate– a very experienced and sensitive palate. For fun, i’ll add the palette also plays a factor; it speaks to the roasting-​technique, time, caffeine quantity and quality. Kona Coffees are best at lighter to medium roasts. This Maximizes the caffeine content while allowing the delicacy of aroma, tones and flavors to peak. Im not here to teach «Kona coffee 101» but explain that Im actually easy to please in a world surrounded with great coffees. So MOUNTAIN THUNDER almost literally bowled me over!
Yep you guessed it: Im 100% THUNDERSTRUCK!
Like most coffee farms around the world (small family operated) they have different varieties to meet demand. This means packages Costco sells isnt going to be the «reserve» available on the farm. (This is common).
Im not a tourist, so I cant comment on the visitor walk about, or «plantation tour».
This review is ONLY for the PREMIUM RESERVE Coffee Bean product/​drink/​roast.
The flavor is SO Superior to the coffees Ive been drinking for the past decade, I’ll now get in my car, drive 100+ miles to find the farm and stock up.
btw Im surrounded by really wonderful coffee growers… so yeah they’ve won awards, etc. etc…but Im finding it hard to explain what ever Mountain Thunder is doing– they’ve taken my enjoyment to another level of perfection.
Check them out.!! (I dont have ANY relationship to these pps– never yet met them, no «benis» for good words; this is just too good to keep quiet.)

MTCP is up in the Kona clouds. The temperature is cooler due to elevation (duh!). We actually enjoyed just the drive up there, looking at the big houses and tropical plants.
They have a free «tour» of the grounds every hour from ten to four. I think. Kinda boring and couldn’t hear the tour guy with the coffee mill running (even with a loud speaker) so we left. You basically walk around the visitor parking lot looking at the coffee plant and tea plants that are planted and look at the machines operating. Definitely very organic (keep animals on property to help maintain agriculture and use manure for fertilizer).
Maybe the VIP tour is better and you get to see more things. I give it two stars for being friendly, giving a sample of their coffee (black and tan was good) and the fact that there are adorable sleepy cats on the property.

My first time visiting a coffee plantation and I enjoyed it (even not being a huge coffee drinker: P).
This plantation is family owned and the two ladies I met were incredibly friendly. You can tell that they really care about what they do here. It’s also pretty cool that they make organic coffee as well.
I didn’t know before coming here that it was the highest coffee plantation in Kona sitting at 3200 ft on top of a mountain. So it does take some time to get up here… just keep driving up! Don’t get discouraged by the lack of signage and google maps access like we almost did.
The free tour is every hour on the hour, so if you’re early you can watch the video they have playing about the plantation and sample their coffee and teas. You can also hang out with their dogs and cats which I loved. The tour is not that long, but they explain the whole coffee making process from coffee cherries to roasting. I heard someone say they offer a longer tour for a cost, but it wasn’t offered to us, so I don’t know the details.
They have a small gift shop where you can buy their different varieties of coffee (they have k cups!), macadamia nuts, chocolate covered coffee beans, skin care products, t-​shirts and other souvenirs. It’s always good to buy products straight from the source!
If you’re a coffee lover, this place is a worth a visit.

Great FREE tour which starts every hour on the hour from 10am-​4pm. You can get tasty free samples of Kona coffee to the left of the café window as you wait for the tour to begin. Tour guides are friendly, positive, and informative. They show you the coffee cherry tree, samples of Mountain Thunder teas, the coffee peaberry, processing machinery, and the gift shop, where chocolate covered coffee beans are offered to taste. We also got to test their new product of fantastic smelling lotion here.
The tour is actually relatively short, 20 – 25 min. Length varies according to how many questions your group asks. My sis and I actually spent a good hour there taking photos and chatting to the tour guides as we waited for the beginning of the 4 o’clock tour (we missed the first 10 min of the 3 o’clock one). The green scenery and old style buildings and decorations gave the site a charming countryside atmosphere.
It was a bit of a long drive from Kona, but worth it since we were able to stretch the time out.

Mountain Thunder is my favorite coffee to drink. For years my parents have been bringing me home coffee from this planation, it isn’t as acidic and not as highly caffinated. I was pretty dang excited that I finally was able to go visit their planation.
Tours are short and sweet. They show you the coffee trees, talk to you about how coffee originated on the island, how it is cultivated and then show yow you the beans are processed. You get to same some mac nuts in the shop and there is free coffee to drink. The planation is gorgeous. It is off the beated path a bit and well worth the drive up the mountainside. cats, ducks, a pig, lots of fun animals roam the grounds and are all very friendly.
A few tips: You can buy Mountain Thunder coffee at Costco and at some local markets, however, it is not their plantation grown coffee. They purchase 100% Kona beans shuck, roast, and make coffee out of out and that is what you can find. You can only buy the estate grown beans at the estate. Not all Mountain Thunder Coffee is the same and once you try the different varieties you understand why people pay twice the money for the good stuff.