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Coming to Hawaii or live in Hawaii?
There's no better way to learn all about coffee and or tea than to take a private tour of The Mill. (Private tours consist of one to 10 people and may include bookings outside of your party. It's fun to get to know everyone.)
Your private guided tour will be given by one of our founders who has been with us since the beginning of Hilo Coffee Mill in 2001. We have extensive knowledge in the building of our business, coffee farming, coffee processing, brewing and tasting. And we love to share what we know.
Your tour will begin at the main building, a beautiful plantation style design built in 2005. As we meander our way to the back coffee fields, we'll be greeted by our cage-free chickens, about 130 of them. They're all friendly and love people.
We'll take you through what used to be an old sugarcane plantation and show you a hand-built water passage used to divert water from the heavy rains well known in this area.
Next we'll head into the coffee fields, lush from the tropical climate we know so well in Mountain View. See over 5 acres of coffee trees started from seed and nurtured for over 3 years before producing their first cup of coffee. Learn about planting, fertilizing and picking coffee, all of which are done by hand by local farm workers employed year round by Hilo Coffee Mill.
Then we'll head to the pulping area, located away from the main visitors' area. Pulping and fermenting coffee is a very interesting process and we'll show you how we do it all.
We'll start back, passing our tea fields, which are in their early stages. You'll learn how tea is grown, cultivated and processed. Tea is a new crop for Hawaii and we're in on its beginnings.
As we return, you'll see where our coffee is dried, one of our toughest challenges due to the wet, tropical climate experienced year round, and we're trying to dry it during our rainiest, coldest season of the year.
We'll make our way back to the main building where you'll see our roasting room and get a refresher course on the entire coffee process. Equipped with 2 Diedrich roasters, each with a capacity of 30 pounds, we watch every roast with a human eye, not a push button operation. Now you begin to understand just how special our coffee is.
We've learned and seen a lot. Now it's time to taste and learn about coffee brewing and drinking. We head next door into the retail area and taste some coffee. You'll sample 3 different freshly roasted coffees from around the islands.
OK. Whew! We bet you're hungry and we look forward to serving you lunch. Our menu items all include fresh produce grown in Hawaii, when available. Try a local favorite, Portuguese Bean Soup served over a scoop of rice. Ours is the best! Or have one of our famous wraps, with all fresh ingredients, many grown right here in Hawaii. Or, select from many other menu items available on the day of your visit.
Tours usually run from 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
Please select the options above. When we receive your booking, we'll get in touch with you to work out the details of your visit.
Due to the detail and length of our tours, we must charge a minimum of $20. If you are a single tour, please select 2 from the quantity drop down menu. Mahalo for understanding.
Mahalo nui loa (thank you very much) for visiting us. We hope to see you soon
@ The Mill.
We also provide:
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free abreviated (15 to 20 minute) tours without appointments
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free educational tours for schools (please call to schedule)
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other free tours upon approval
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