5 Coffee Companies That Grow Their Beans In The US

With the threat of tariffs looming, the coffee business is understandably concerned. Climate change is already causing the price of coffee to go up and the industry worries how much more cost the market can bear. In 2023 around $8.2 billion worth of coffee was imported into the US. In recent years, coffee farming in the US has grown, likely influenced by these challenges. 

Hawaii and Puerto Rico have long been recognized for their coffee production, while California has recently entered the market. Other states like Florida and Texas are experimenting with small-scale coffee farms in hopes of becoming the next Kona. If you're worried about the availability of your daily brew, consider supporting these U.S.-based coffee producers!

Puerto Rico — Forgotten Forest

Coffee was reportedly brought to Puerto Rico from Yemen in the 1700s, once making the island the 6th largest exporter of coffee in the world. Political, economic, and environmental factors weakened their production until Hurricane Maria, which destroyed 80% of the island's coffee trees in 2017. To date, it's still recovering its ability to grow coffee, but thanks to a strong cafe culture, the drive to rebuild is strong. Only 8% to 10% of Puerto Rico's coffee is exported, so it can be hard to find!

Domenico Celli, founder of Forgotten Forest in the La Cordillera Central of Puerto Rico, got his start in 2017 helping farmers rebuild after Maria. Along with local farmers, he rediscovered a wild version of the original Yemeni coffee now called Typica 401. In 2023 one of their coffees became the first Puerto Rican coffees to break the 90-point barrier on Coffee Review, the website bringing 100-point wine-style reviews to the coffee-drinking world.

California — FRINJ

In 2002, organic farmer Jay Ruskey started growing coffee plants given to him by California Cooperative Extension Farm Advisor, Mark Gaskell, to see if it could be a viable crop so far away from the Equator. It worked — not only did the plants thrive in the region around Santa Barbara, CA, but they even received an "exceptional" 92-point score from Coffee Review on his 2014 crop of Caturra coffee. In 2017 FRINJ coffee was started and now supports 65 farmers throughout Southern California, including singer-songwriter Jason Mraz. 

The long summers and short winters in California give the resulting coffee a sweeter taste. At that latitude, the fruit takes 12 months to mature — twice as long as usual. The need to irrigate and a higher cost of labor result in a more expensive bag of beans but, luckily, the quality is still there! You can tour a farm next time you're in California and learn how coffee production is more complicated than most people realize.

Hawaii — Big Island Coffee Roasters

Kona coffee is legendary, and has long been one of the few coffees grown on U.S. soil. It's no wonder Honolulu is one of our favorite cities for good coffee when world-class beans are grown nearby. Due to labor costs, most store-bought Kona coffee is a blend with cheaper beans, but places like Big Island Coffee Roasters are changing this by offering coffees 100% sourced in Hawaii. Beyond just Kona, they offer other Hawaiian varietals such as Ka'u.

The company got its start with the purchase of a rundown coffee farm on Craigslist in 2010. After much rehabilitation, they started winning cupping competitions on their way to becoming the much-awarded coffee company they are today. They have multiple coffees with scores of 90+ on Coffee Review and work with other farmers to help grow the Hawaiian coffee industry.

North Carolina — Big Guns Coffee

North Carolina is too far from the equator and gets too cold to grow coffee, so Motivational Speaker and Veteran T. Shane Johnson and his 9-year-old daughter Charli Johnson started a hydroponic coffee farm and roastery called Big Guns Coffee. As of now, you can only reserve beans grown from their farm, but they're still selling coffees sourced from around the world.

The $119 price point for an 8 oz bag of coffee grown in North Carolina highlights the current economic difficulties of growing coffee in the USA. They don't yet have any information on when the coffee will be ready, but since coffee plants take 3-4 years to start producing, it may be a while still to come.

California — California Coffee Collective

On a farm that's been in the family since 1882, the California Coffee Collective started with 1.5 acres of coffee plants in 2016. Located just North of Los Angeles in Ventura, CA, the farm, Rancho Filoso, overlooks the ocean and grows a diverse array of fruits and vegetables. They partnered with nearby Ragamuffin Coffee Roasters to roast the Geisha and Caturra beans they grow.

Their coffee is seasonal, so it is sold out for much of the year; but you can take tours, attend cuppings, and participate in harvest events. They also sell a cascara jelly, made from the coffee cherry, that's naturally caffeinated. As a collective, they're looking to help other farms who wish to start growing coffee on their property as well.