Rabbi Dr. Yosef Leibowitz

Kona Kosher Coffee Company
100% Kona — 100% Organic — 100% Kosher

The Story of Kosher Kona coffee

Kosher Kona Coffee was the brainchild of Sharona Lomberg, a Yemenite Israeli from Rishon Le Zion, who moved to Hawai'i with her husband in 1987. Sharona is a major force in the Jewish community of Kona. She has won national awards from such groups as Make A Difference Day and is the founder of Kona Association for Hebrew Education and the Arts (KAHEA). KAHEA serves the Jewish needs of the Hawai'i Island residents and visitors alike. It has brought such notables as Israeli Consul General Yuval Rotem, and Rabbi Yosef Leibowitz to Hawai'i, and encourages all visitors to Hawai'i Island to join KAHEA for Jewish activities. Come sip some Kosher Kona coffee with us at Shabbat.

The Lombergs own a home in Kona with a small amount of acreage in coffee. They envisioned growing and selling gourmet Kosher coffee but did not have the volume to market their product. They talked to two close friends of theirs, Miles Mulcahy, and his wife Jeanne Moriguchi, who have spent many evenings with them at Shabbat and hosted, at their home, several of the Channukah, Purim and Passover parties for the KAHEA community. Though the Mulcahys are not Jewish by birth, they have embraced the Jewish community in Kona and were just starting their own 4.5 acres Organic coffee farm.

The Lombergs and Mulcahys agreed to work together and promote Kosher Kona coffee. Since the road to market is a long one, each family agreed to share whatever part of the work they could and Miles and Jeanne have been working to get acreage into production and to market. Profits, should they ever come will be divided between the families and a portion will go to KAHEA to promote Jewish activities and awareness in Kona.

Sharona had brought Orthodox Rabbi Yosef Leibowitz to Kona to give some lectures about the Torah to the Jewish community and told the rabbi about her idea for a certified Kosher coffee. Rabbi Leibowitz agreed to certify the coffee as Kosher, providing it met the necessary requirements. He delegated Linda Levy of his congregation to act as Shomer Shabbat and to fly to Kona and inspect every aspect of the growing, handling, processing and roasting to assure its acceptability as a Kosher product.

In Addition, Kosher Kona Coffee is a member of the Hawai'i Organic Farmers Association and meets all the state, and federal standards for organic gardening, and we sell only 100% Kona coffee........NEVER any Blends, just pure Kona coffee.

That's why we are:

100% Kosher 100% Kona 100% Organic.