Best places to buy Macadamia Nuts and Kona Coffee

We will be on the POA in a few weeks and wondering where the best places would be to buy Macadamia Nuts and Kona Coffee at the best prices. I thought these items would make great gifts to bring home.

Walmart by far for both . Remember to look at the Kona coffee packaging as the majority of what you see is a blend but most only has 10% Kona.

Costco sells chocolate covered macadamia nuts in gift packs, at good prices.

You can get buys on macadamia nuts at the Mona Loa factory (hilo). People with us said they were cheaper than at Walmart.

Costco has a good variety of Hawaiian treats (candy, cookies, etc). I almost always buy my coffee, cookies, nuts, etc from Longs Drug Store (aka CVS).

http://longs.staradvertiser.com/view.php?island=oahu

Often times, Longs is a bit cheaper than Costco, but only if it is on sale.

I also frequent a local (Japanese) store called Don Quiote near the Ala Moana Shopping Center. Stay away from purchasing stuff from Moana Loa Factory or Hilo Hattie.

Coffee (10%) usually runs under $5.00. !00% Kona Coffee will run you closer to $10.00 (on Sale). I also buy Chocolate Covered Shortbread Cookies from Big Island Candies on the Big Island.

There are many other gifts to buy such as calendars (bought mine at Longs for 50 cents), (Real) Hawaiian Salt in Jars, and Diamond Bakery crackers.

I also stay away from ABC stores.

If you are considering taking thank you gifts for your cabin steward or tour driver, Trader Joe's Chocolates are always a welcome treat. I buy the 3 pack (red) chocolate bars.

Renee (displace local girl)

The Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Factory is a fun place to shop. They have many different flavors that are hard to find in other stores. And, they usually have lots of samples you can try. Sometimes we stop in there just to snack our way around for a little while :) Nice selection of gift items also. I also like to buy 100% Kona coffee at Costco. And Costco does have good price on mac nuts.

The Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Factory is a fun place to shop. They have many different flavors that are hard to find in other stores. And, they usually have lots of samples you can try. Sometimes we stop in there just to snack our way around for a little while :) Nice selection of gift items also. I also like to buy 100% Kona coffee at Costco. And Costco does have good price on mac nuts.

I do agree that they have a wider variety of stuff at the Mauna Loa Factory and stopping there is a good feeding ground. Too bad this is Princess' first stop so you really have no way to compare what is out there. I found a large bag of "seconds" (macadamia nuts). That was a bargain. But if you are looking for standard macadamia nut cans and/or candy, you dollar will go farther at Costco or Longs.

Renee

The Mauna Loa factory had flavors we didn't see elsewhere like Wasabi. Wish we had bought more.

Coffee there are a lot of places to buy it in Kona. We got some at Royal Kona Coffee and in one of the shops downtown. We also got some on Maui and Kauai as well. I don't remember where we bought it in Maui but in Kauai we went to the Kauai Coffee Company.

The Mauna Loa factory had flavors we didn't see elsewhere like Wasabi. Wish we had bought more.

 

Coffee there are a lot of places to buy it in Kona. We got some at Royal Kona Coffee and in one of the shops downtown. We also got some on Maui and Kauai as well. I don't remember where we bought it in Maui but in Kauai we went to the Kauai Coffee Company.

Every island has their own coffee. Only Kona Coffee can be called Kona (location). If you are a real coffee lover, try to find PeaBerry Kona Coffee. Each coffee seed usually produces one bean. A fruit/seed that has two (and smaller beans) is called a PeaBerry. It is suppose to be super smooth and much better. I am not a real coffee person.

You can find Wasabi macadamia nuts in Hilo Hatties too (sometimes also "Spam" nuts).

The Hawaiian Islands is the place to really try different foods.

Enjoy.

Renee

Walmart by far for both . Remember to look at the Kona coffee packaging as the majority of what you see is a blend but most only has 10% Kona.

Costco sells chocolate covered macadamia nuts in gift packs, at good prices.

I agree to check Longs who many times have sales prices that are better than at Walmart. Selection at the Mauna Loa factory store is great but not the prices.

The 100% Kona brand that Costco sells in a one pound bag is a good price but I prefer the Royal Kona 100% on sale at Longs...whole beans for my coffee grinding coffeemaker & ground coffee for my Keurig refillable K-cup. :D

It has been years since I had the opportunity to stop there, but the flea market at Aloha Stadium on Oahu used to have great prices on 1lb bags of Macadamia nuts. I forget which days but they run that flea market several times a week.

Bill

Most are aware but some are not that the Macadamia Nut is native to Australia and the Genus was name by John Macadam. The seed was exported to Hawaii from Australia in the 1880s and produced commercially from the 1920s in Hawaii.

K-Mart had good prices on Macadamia nuts when we were there last year. They also had a free shuttle from the ship to the store.

Most are aware but some are not that the Macadamia Nut is native to Australia and the Genus was name by John Macadam. The seed was exported to Hawaii from Australia in the 1880s and produced commercially from the 1920s in Hawaii.

True but they are unsuprisingly 100% cheaper in Hawaii :D

We will be on the POA in a few weeks and wondering where the best places would be to buy Macadamia Nuts and Kona Coffee at the best prices. I thought these items would make great gifts to bring home.

While on our POA sailing in November 2012, we made a special point of taking the free Wal Mart shuttle while in Kona to purchase coffee. We were off the ship at approximately 9 a.m. and headed directly to Wal Mart. Prices were fair and we purchased several different types of coffee. We also had plenty of time to take some great photos of the ship from the parking lot before heading back on the shuttle.

We had plenty of time to explore more of Kona doing additional shopping and stopping for an occasional adult beverage. We also relaxed on a nearby beach for an hour or so before taking the tender back to POA. Overall, this was a relaxing day and we were able to take the day at our pace. This was the only port where we did not rent a car, but we really enjoyed having a break in the action of this port-intensive cruise.

Have a great trip. We really enjoyed Pride of America.

It has been years since I had the opportunity to stop there, but the flea market at Aloha Stadium on Oahu used to have great prices on 1lb bags of Macadamia nuts. I forget which days but they run that flea market several times a week.

 

Bill

The swap meet is Wed & Sat, 8am-3pm. http://alohastadiumswapmeet.net/Index.asp