Here is the honest truth up front, so you can pick before you brew:

• Flash brew (Japanese iced) is the brightest and most aromatic — and the fastest, at about five minutes.
• Cold brew is the smoothest and sweetest, with the lowest acidity — but it asks for patience.
• The iced Kona latte is the boldest and creamiest — built to travel and survive the ice.

No single one is "best." They are three different moods. Let's make all three.

Method One: Flash Brew (Japanese Iced Coffee)

If you want the brightest cup, this is it. Japanese iced coffee — also called flash chilled coffee or flash brew — is a hot pour-over brewed directly onto ice. You replace part of your brew water with ice in the carafe, so the hot coffee hits the cold the instant it drips. That sudden chill traps the aromatic, volatile compounds that would otherwise escape as steam, locking Kona's floral and citrus notes right into the glass.

It is the same technique whether someone calls it "Japanese iced" or "V60 over ice." Don't let anyone sell you two recipes here — it's one method with two names.

What You'll Need

• Brazen Hazen 100% Kona, ground for pour-over (medium-fine, like table salt)
• A pour-over dripper and filter
• Hot, just-off-boil water (~205°F)
• Ice
• A scale, if you have one

The Process

We brew at a total 1:15 ratio, with the water split between hot and ice.

1. Set your ice. Add about 135g of ice to your carafe or directly into your mug below the dripper. The ice counts as part of your water.
2. Measure your coffee. Use 30g of coffee to 400g total water — but only 265g of that as hot water, since the 135g of ice will melt to make up the rest.
3. Bloom. Pour just enough hot water to saturate the grounds and wait 30 seconds. Fresh Kona will rise and breathe.
4. Pour in stages. Add the remaining hot water in slow, steady circles. Total brew time runs about 2:45 to 3:00.
5. Swirl and serve. The coffee chills as it lands. Swirl, top with fresh ice if you like, and drink it right away — this one is at its peak the moment it's made.

We believe great coffee doesn't need to be complicated. It just needs to be done right. Pour over is the most honest brewing method there is—it strips everything away and leaves the bean alone with the water, which means it rewards good coffee and exposes the rest. Our beans are Hand Picked, Carefully Selected, and Roasted to Order, and pour over is where all of that work finally lands on your palate.

Why We Love Pour Over with 100% Kona

Most brewing methods blur a coffee. Pour over does the opposite. As water passes slowly and evenly through a single bed of grounds, it draws out the subtle flavor compounds that faster methods leave behind—the aromatics, the gentle acidity, the sweetness that defines a true single origin.

That clarity is exactly what 100% Kona was made for. Grown on the rocky volcanic slopes of Hualalai, our beans carry the signature of their terroir: a silky, medium body, a bright-but-balanced acidity, and notes that run from honeyed sweetness to milk chocolate, marzipan, and soft stone fruit. Pour over lets every one of those notes speak.

A clean, transparent brew makes a great bean transcendent—and a mediocre one taste flat and muddy. A $15 grocery blend has nowhere to hide in a pour over. A bean that was grown under avocado and mango canopies and roasted in small batches finally gets to show what it's been holding back.

At Brazen Hazen, we believe great coffee doesn't need to be complicated—it just needs to be done right. When you start with true 100% Kona coffee, you're already ahead of the game. The result? Exceptionally smooth, naturally sweet coffee that lets Kona's character speak for itself.

Why We Love Cold Brew with 100% Kona

Kona coffee is prized for its balance—soft acidity, layered sweetness, and a clean finish. Cold brewing amplifies those qualities:

Less bitterness, more clarity

Chocolate and nut notes come forward

A smooth, almost velvety body

It's not just iced coffee—it's a different experience altogether.

Imported Coffee Prices are on the Rise

In 2025, the U.S. implemented a 10% blanket tariff on imported goods, including coffee, as part of broader trade measures. While some tariffs were temporarily paused, the baseline 10 percent tariff remains, affecting coffee prices nationwide. This has led to increased costs for coffee roasters, who are likely to pass these expenses onto consumers. Additionally, adverse weather conditions in major coffee-producing countries like Brazil, Colombia, and Ecuador have further strained global coffee supplies, contributing to higher prices.​

With global tariffs, climate-related supply issues, and rising international shipping costs driving up the price of imported coffee, switching to American-grown coffee—especially from Hawaii—makes more sense than ever for consumers who value quality, traceability, and ethical production.

When Brazen Hazen founders Cassandra Hazen and her husband Paul were looking at retiring, the island of Hawaii was already beckoning them home. After years of rejuvenating visits, the couple bought a house by the beach and their early retirement days were spent soaking up sunshine and getting in rounds of golf. But after a while, it became clear that Cassandra needed something more.

Her husband knew before she did, she needed a project. Being in Kona, which is world renowned for coffee, Paul suggested they buy a coffee farm. Neither one knew a thing about growing coffee; nevertheless, the search for a property began.

When Cassandra first set eyes on the property in Holualoa in 2005, the coffee fields were overgrown, and the various buildings were in disrepair, but even then, something about the land felt special. Originally built in the late 1970s as a private residence, the main building on the property had been repurposed into an inn, but at the time was more akin to a hostel for backpackers.

The amount of work required to restore the coffee farm and repair the inn was daunting. Her family told her she was crazy to attempt it. Cassandra looked for some kind of sign that she was making the right choice. During a walk along the beach, she noticed a green sea turtle (Honu) basking in the sun. In Hawaii, sea turtles are a form of 'aumakua, a deified ancestor taking on a physical form to provide wisdom and guidance. She told herself, if the turtle was in the same place the following day, it would serve as a cosmic sign she was on the right path. Sure enough, the turtle returned the following day, and Cassandra knew in her heart she had found the place she was meant to be.

To Cassandra, taking over property was first and foremost, a land preservation endeavor. "It's a special place that needs to be cared for," she says. "I feel it."