Roasted by hand on the slopes of Kīlauea, Volcano Cat Coffee brings you the rare, award-winning flavors of Kaʻū Coffee and the lush Big Island — one small batch at a time.
Named for Milky, our tuxedo cat and unofficial quality inspector.
Volcano Cat Coffee was born from two simple loves: the volcanic landscape of Hawaiʻi Island and a deep, two-decade devotion to the art of coffee roasting. Co-founder Todd Isoshima began roasting green beans long before artisan coffee became a cultural movement. He learned through trial, error, and thousands of carefully timed batches — developing an intuitive feel for the bean that no algorithm can replicate.
Together, Todd and his wife built this micro-roastery in Volcano, Hawaiʻi — a place where the air itself carries the mineral richness of Kīlauea's volcanic soil. It's that same soil that gives Kaʻū Coffee its extraordinary complexity, and it's why they wouldn't roast anywhere else.
The name? That belongs to Milky — their beloved tuxedo cat who has presided over every roast, every cupping session, and every late-night quality check with the serene confidence of someone who knows the coffee is good.
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The two cats that inspired a roastery — with love, from Todd & his wife.
We source exclusively from Hawaiian farms whose growing conditions — volcanic soil, elevation, and the cooling Pacific trades — produce flavor profiles unlike anywhere else on earth.
The crown jewel of Hawaiian specialty coffee. Kaʻū beans are grown at elevation on the southern slopes of Mauna Loa, where volcanic minerals and frequent mist create a cup of extraordinary depth. Our medium roast preserves every nuance.
Our house blend captures the boldness of the Big Island. Sourced from small family farms near Volcano Village, roasted to a point where caramel sweetness and a smoky finish emerge in perfect harmony.
Named for the Hawaiian goddess of volcanoes, this light roast honors the delicate floral character of Hamakua coast beans. Bright, clean, and elegant — a revelation for those who think Hawaiian coffee is only bold.
Coffee roasting isn't manufacturing — it's a conversation. Todd has spent over two decades learning how each origin, each harvest, and each ambient humidity requires a different hand. Here's how a bag of Volcano Cat Coffee comes to life.
We begin by sourcing only the highest-grade green beans from vetted Hawaiian farms. Todd personally samples each lot before committing to a purchase — no exceptions.
Bean density, moisture content, and the specific harvest's character inform the roast profile. No two batches are treated identically — they don't deserve to be.
Small batches. Careful heat curves. Todd monitors airflow, drum speed, and color transformation by sight, sound, and smell — technology assists, but experience leads.
Freshly roasted coffee needs time. We let each batch rest to allow CO₂ to degas and the flavors to settle into their fullest, most balanced expression.
Every batch is cupped before it leaves the roastery. Milky approves. (She's never technically said no, but her presence during a cupping session counts as a positive review.)
Sealed in one-way degassing valve bags within 24 hours of roasting. Your coffee arrives at peak freshness — no sitting on warehouse shelves for months.
Volcano, Hawaiʻi is not just our address — it's our reason. We're committed to sourcing, roasting, and shipping in ways that protect the ecosystems and farming families that make this coffee possible.
We buy directly from small Hawaiian farms at prices that reflect the true value of their labor, not commodity market rates. Every farm we work with we have visited in person.
Silver skin chaff from roasting is composted and returned to local gardens. Packaging uses recyclable materials with one-way degassing valves that extend freshness without plastic excess.
By sourcing exclusively from Hawaiʻi Island, we help sustain one of the last significant domestic specialty coffee regions in the United States — a cultural and agricultural treasure worth protecting.
A portion of every sale supports the Volcano area community and local farming initiatives. When the land thrives, the coffee thrives. It's that simple.
When Todd started roasting in the early 2000s, he was driven by a simple frustration: the coffee available to him tasted like a commodity, not a craft. He bought a small home roaster, ordered green beans, and began what would become a twenty-plus-year education in the chemistry, art, and soul of coffee transformation.
Over the years, Todd roasted for friends, refined his profiles, visited farms, and absorbed everything he could about single-origin sourcing and ethical trade. When he and his wife settled in Volcano, Hawaiʻi — surrounded by ʻōhiʻa lehua forests and the ever-present energy of Kīlauea — the decision to start a roastery felt less like a business plan and more like an inevitability.
"Volcano Cat Coffee isn't about scaling up," Todd says. "It's about staying small enough to care about every batch. When you roast twenty years for the love of it before you sell a single bag, you have a different relationship with the coffee."
His wife brings the warmth, the sharp eye for detail, and the brand sensibility that turns Todd's craft into something people can find and trust. Together they've built something that feels genuinely Hawaiian — unhurried, rooted, and quietly extraordinary.
"The best coffee I've ever tasted was one I roasted on a Tuesday morning, with the rain coming down over the crater and Milky asleep on the windowsill. That's the feeling we're trying to put in every bag."β Todd Isoshima, Co-founder
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