Love in Every Origin: A 20-Year Journey with Mahina Mele Farm

At Mahina Mele Farm, coffee cherries ripen while Jason plays bass music and Kollette creates healing skincare from their macadamia nuts. For twenty years, we've watched this 60-acre Hawaiian farm grow into something truly special – not just a place that grows coffee, but a living example of creative, earth-friendly farming.

Since 2006, Thanksgiving Coffee Company and Mahina Mele Farm have built a partnership as rich as the coffee they grow. When the Stiths arrived on Hawaii's Big Island in 2005, they weren't just buying land – they were starting a new way of living that respects nature.

Kolletee Stith with Ripe Kona Coffee Trees 

Their approach blends creativity with farming in beautiful ways. Jason, who plays bass in local bands like Lip Service, brings that same creative energy to growing coffee. Kollette takes their organic macadamia nuts and transforms them into Pure Mana Hawaii skincare products that capture the essence of their land. These aren't side projects – they show how deeply the Stiths care about using every gift from their farm.

Our partnership goes beyond just buying coffee. We've supported their:

• Earth-Friendly Vision: Helping a farm that works to restore natural systems

• Creative Farming: Celebrating how growing food can connect with art and new ideas

• Community Bonds: Connecting coffee lovers directly to the farmers who grow their beans

Before Hawaii, Jason and Kollette were Peace Corps volunteers helping farmers in El Salvador. Now their 60-acre farm grows both coffee and macadamia nuts while nurturing the land around them.

Double Rainbow above the Stith family home on Mahina Mele Farms in Kona, Hawaii

The journey hasn't been without problems. When coffee rust disease finally reached Hawaii – the last place on Earth that didn't have it – the Stiths found natural solutions using organic treatments that help plants fight back. When their 70-year-old macadamia trees started dying from root rot, they researched sustainable answers while planning for the future. This resilience reflects the volcanic landscape itself – finding ways to thrive in challenging conditions.

As we celebrate two decades together, we're not just marking time. We're honoring a shared belief that every choice—from the way we farm to the products we create—can be an act of love for our planet.

Kolette Stith and Sue Mandini are the minds behind Pure Mana Hawai‘i, a macadamia nut oil-based skincare line. PHOTO COURTESY PURE MANA

Walking through Mahina Mele Farm shows you their thoughtful approach to agriculture. Coffee trees grow alongside avocado trees that provide natural shade. African tulips and Ice cream bean trees add nitrogen to the soil naturally. Bananas, papayas, and healing Noni plants create a diverse ecosystem where everything supports each other.

Their coffee tastes of the volcanic soils and careful growing methods. When you brew Mahina Mele coffee, you can taste hints of brown sugar, milk chocolate, citrus fruit, and hazelnut – flavors that come from a farm where intention meets innovation.

One of the many Macadamia Nut trees on the Mahina Mele Farm supporting with valuable shade for coffee and delicious organic Mac Nuts

When you drink their coffee, you're joining this ongoing story. Each cup connects you to Hawaiian volcanic soil, to farming that protects the Earth, to Jason's music and Kollette's healing creations.

As we celebrate twenty years together, we're not just marking time. We're celebrating the belief that every choice – from how we grow coffee to what we create – can be an act of love for our planet.

We invite you to raise your cup and taste the difference that mindful farming makes. Experience coffee grown with creativity, care, and deep respect for the land – because at Mahina Mele Farm, love truly is in every origin.

Organic Kona coffee drying on the patio

Lilies blossoming in the shade on Mahina Mele Farm

Stith family from Mahina Mele farms