Ka'u District is located on the eastern side of Hawai'i's Big Island and is a vibrant hotbed of coffee innovation.  Many growers in this up and coming community of coffee producers were once employees of the now-defunct C. Brewer sugar mill, which closed down in 1996.  As part of the severance package, cheap leases were offered to the laid-off workers.  Some of them had been involved in coffee cultivation in Kona, and decided that coffee was the cash crop they could best use to stay afloat economically.  Those workers planted about 280 acres of coffee trees that form the core of Ka'u coffee production.

Ka'u Specialty, Inc. markets the product from a few rigorously selected farms in this region, chosen for their commitment to specialty grade quality and their track record of correct and consistent processing and storage techniques.  Ka'u farmers have done the work to distinguish their growing region as the harbinger of quality among Hawai'i's origins, as evinced by eight SCAA Coffee of the Year awards given to farmers from the region since 2007.