Our morning began on a verdant mountaintop overlooking central and west Maui with hot coffee in hand. As we tasted estate-grown Kaʻū, a honey-processed estate blend and a Mokka grown in Kāʻanapali, Molly Leoso, one of the farmers and our tour guide from Oʻo Farm, walked us through the process of coffeemaking. “I often liken […]
If you haven’t been to the North Shore—or haven’t been in awhile—this blog is for you. We ventured out to the northern part of Oʻahu, which has long lured visitors with its winter surf and beach-y towns, to find new things to do—and eat. Here are nine new things you need to put on your
During my exciting three days attending the opening weekend of the Kona Coffee Cultural Festival (KCCF) on Hawai‘i Island, it was finally time to drive out for a farm tour or two. With the purchase of a $5 festival button, KCCF offers free tours for attendees at multiple coffee farms around the island, so attendees
Driving up to Sweet Land Farm in the sleepy community of Waialua, with shining blue skies overhead, my 4-year-old son was glued to his Kindle. It was the only way I could keep him occupied during the 45-minute drive from our home in Honolulu to the farm, tucked away between a massive, Mainland-owned egg farm
It’s a sunny Saturday morning in Hilo when my boyfriend and I drive up a rocky road to Lavaloha cacao farm, gazing at the clear, blue sky and empty fields along the way. At the top of the hill, we’re greeted by large palm trees swaying in the wind next to a quaint farmhouse overlooking Hilo Bay. We park the car and
It’s a rainy day in Hilo, but I pack my three kids into the mom van and make the 45-minute drive to Volcano with a hopeful heart and a quick prayer for sunny skies over the Lili House Farm, a petting zoo, country tea time spot and agricultural oasis that has become one our family’s
On the North Shore of Kaua‘i, there’s a farm where plants are called allies and the farmers are herbalists. Kaua‘i Farmacy creates plant-based medicine from crops grown on the company’s Kīlauea organic farm. My first experience with its medicinal potions was eight years ago, through the screened window of a mobile “farmacy” parked on a side road off the
“Chocolate is a suspension of particles in cocao butter.” I had to think about that for a minute. Gunars Valkirs is conducting a virtual tasting of his Maui Kuʻia Estate chocolate via Zoom, and I’m listening to him describe, in very scientific terms, what I’m sensing, tasting and feeling when I bite into one of
I make a scoop with my hand and pull out sticky, slippery white beans from a ridged, yellow pod. It’s a cloudy Friday afternoon in Kapaʻa in East Kauaʻi. I’m in a small clearing in a cacao orchard on Lydgate Farms. Every month, Will Lydgate, the owner and namesake of Lydgate Farms, hosts cacao-harvesting volunteer
If you love everything coffee, then this two-and-a-half hour tram tour of Kauai Coffee’s expansive farmland is more than worth your money. Bus it around the plantation’s red dirt roads and learn about the farm and its history from entertaining tour guides onboard. After experiencing bird’s-eye views of the farm, relax back at the visitor
Everywhere you look in Hawaii, you’ll see coconut trees. But it’s not always easy to find fresh coconuts. And it’s even harder to find a coconut farm. That was a surprise to our editorial team, all of us born and raised on O‘ahu, when we visited Punakea Palms on Maui, the only coconut farm we
Inside each tank is an adult day octopus—called hee in Hawaiian—native to Hawaii waters and active during the daytime. At Kanaloa Octopus Farm, it’s a look and touch kind of experience. It’s a sunny Friday afternoon and I’m on a tour with 20 other people. Kanaloa Octopus Farm is located at scenic Keahole Point, about 10
