Hoki Poki Hand Picked 100% Estate Kona Coffee at the Made in Hawaii Festival

Today is the last day of the Made in Hawaii Festival.  The festival is at the Neal S Blaisdell Center over the weekend of August 19 through Sunday, August 22, 2011 until 5pm.  Admission is $4 and parking could be a challenge because the Made in Hawaii Festival attracts more than 35,000 visitors, but yesterday I parked in the $1 lot a block away on Young Street.

While I was at the festival yesterday, I stopped at the Hoki Poki Hand Picked 100% Estate Kona Coffee booth to meet Suzy.  Suzy is the owner of the business that sells 100% Kona Coffee from her uncle's farms, Murasaki Farms.  I don't have any photos of the booth, but Suzy had a nice presentation of the family coffee farm in a traditional photo album.  I learned as much as I could about Murasaki Farms and the Hoki Poki Kona Coffee as I could in 2 minutes.  It was quite a bit considering the crowd of people surrounding the booth attempting to get a sample cup and take a peak at the creative art on a special line of their new packaging.  I didn't get a photo of Suzy, but @HNLmark did.  [@HNLmark is a fellow coffee enthusiast from Seattle that joins us on our Saturday Twitter #CoffeeCrew Tweetups at Beach Bum Cafe.]

A few bullet points that I am able to remember from the 2 minute presentation are listed below:

• Hoki Poki is 100% Kona Arabica Coffee.
• Single Sourced from the family's farm in Kona, Murasaki Farms.
• The Murasaki Farms has over a 100 years of experience over 3 generations.
• The Hoki Poki branded Kona coffee is a blend of the top 3 grades of Murasaki Farms harvest (there is a percentage of Kona Peaberry in it).
• Hoki Poki recently created an artistic packaging line featuring the creative art by Jenny Lee, Brand Marketing and Creative Director of Hoki Poki 100% Kona Cofffee.

On to the Kona coffee I brought home...

They had 4 ounce bags of their coffee for sale for $8 (if I remember correctly).  I brought one home to try it.  To my surprise, when I woke up this morning and headed into the kitchen to make my cup of  100% Kona coffee, I realized the bag I had was pre-ground!  This was a slight problem because I have a full-auto espresso machine so I need whole beans to use the machine.  I was forced to do a pour over, a bit challenging to do when I just wake up (I prefer to press a button on my espresso machine and have some coffee to drink in a couple of minutes).

So anyway, I searched my cabinet for my trusty $1 store pour over brewer and a paper filter.  I added 2 tablespoons of the 100% ground Kona coffee and measured out 12 ounces of filtered, boiling water and set off to watch my coffee brew for the next few minutes.

The grind looks a bit coarse. 

I moistened the grounds with about an ounce of hot water and let is rest for about a minute.

Slowly pouring over an ounce or so at a time, watching the coffee oils emerge, anxiously waiting to drink some  Hoki Poki... I was ready to turn myself about!

Finally, a 12 ounce cup of 100% Hoki Poki Kona Coffee... That's what it's all about!

Hoki Poki Kona Coffee
hokipokikonacoffee@gmail.com

Here is the back of the package.  It has their "motto" hand / heart.
It reads...

quote...

Hoki Poki Kona Coffee is proud to feature Jenny Lee's whimsical portrayals of a coffee farm for its new creative collection.

Our hand | heart collection offers a lovely eco-friendly package on the outside, while providing the highest quality on hundred percent Kona Coffee on the inside.  As always, Hoki Poki Kona Coffee only uses beans grown, hand picked, and drived on the Murasaki Farm where for 3 generations they have been using traditional methods of Old Hawaii, honoring their family heritage with every harvest.

We bring the farm to your coffee cup

end quote...

Then it goes on to their process and serving instructions.  Their mission is "to make coffee that tastes good, makes people feel good and does good for the environment."  You can click the photo to enlarge it to read everything on it. 

Here is a closer view of Jenny Lee's art on their creative collection.
Doesn't it just make you want to drink a cup of 100% Kona Coffee?

There were other designs, but the Made in Hawaii Festival was so busy that they only had this design left.  Also part of the creative collection are smaller "favor" size bags labeled with the art or their other metallic purple bag to honor the Murasaki Family.  Murasaki in Japanese translates to purple.  The favor size bags would make great wedding favors or souvenir gifts if your budget is lower.

The 4 ounce package of ground coffee that I have should be able to make four 12 ounce cups of 100% Hoki Poki Kona Coffee.  That is about $2 a cup.  Not a bad price for 100% Kona Coffee.  As for the flavor of this cup, it started with a very strong roasty flavor.  The package says "medium roast", but the flavor seemed a bit darker than I expected.  As the cup cooled, the coffee had a much smoother finish.  It was a good cup of coffee, but I tend to prefer the more fruity or nutty Hawaiian coffees, which are also a lot more expensive.

If you have time this afternoon (and you actually read this in time), stop by the Made in Hawaii Festival.  They close at 5pm.  When you're there, be sure to visit Suzy at the Hoki Poki Hand Picked 100% Estate Kona Coffee booth.  Try a sample and "like" their Facebook Fan Page if you like their coffee!  

If you can't make it this afternoon, their Facebook Fan Page says they are at the Waikiki Farmer's Market every Saturday afternoon.  **Edit** Click the link to their Facebook Page to see their farmer's market schedule.  

Now it's time I brew another cup and head off to open houses and a birthday party later tonight.  I'm a little sad I will miss the 4th Yoga in the Park this afternoon, but if you're interested check it out!  Enjoy the rest of your weekend!  

Yoga in the Park with Keith Sato #YogaHi

On Sunday, July 31, 2011, @Keith_Sato officially started "Yoga in the Park" on Sunday afternoon.  The group meets at 530pm in a little grassy park between Waikiki School and Kapiolani Park.  Most of us that meet, know each other from Twitter, but you do not need to be on Twitter to participate in Yoga in the Park.

View Directions to Yoga in the Park from Kapahulu Avenue 21.268725, -157.815428 in a larger map


That map sort of shows the location of the park.  It is the rectangular grassy park with several trees in the middle of it.  There is usually a lot of free street parking on both sides of the park and because it's a small park, it's easy to keep an eye out on your car while we're all just several yards away.


Yoga in the Park is guided by Keith Sato.  The bunch of us that have attended the 1st couple of sessions are mostly beginners, but there are several that do practice yoga regularly.  It's a perfect balance for us beginners and those that have more experience.  My experience only came from doing yoga with my Wii Fit.  The routine is very similar, but the difference is Keith is there to actually make sure your form is proper.  The Wii Fit doesn't really do that part very well.  


Here are some photos from Yoga in the Park.

Here are some photos by @RickyLi99: Keith Sato's Yoga in the Park.
Here are some photos by @PhotoluluTV: YOGA TWEETUP AT THE PARK.
The official hashtag that Keith's Yoga in the Park group uses is #YogaHI.  If you want to keep track of tweets that may be coming from Yoga in the Park.
@Capsun is part of the group.  He created a YogaHI Twitter List.  This list has most of the people who have attended so far.  Tweet him if you are missing from the list.

Yoga in the Park by Keith Sato is currently planned to take place every Sunday from 530p to 645p in the same park.  There is a requested donation of $5 that Keith will use to provide additional equipment for the group.

Hope to see you there!

The Art of Hawaiian Coffee at Waikiki DFS Galleria

The first Art of Hawaiian Coffee event at the Waikiki DFS Galleria started on August 9th. The event runs through August 16th with complimentary tastings of Hawaiian coffees between 7p-10p. During this week long event, the mall also features all sorts of coffee related art displayed through out the lower level.

I checked out the first night because that is when they had the latte art contest. It began at 8pm with a few demos by Pete Licata then proceeded to the finalists competing.  I took a few videos of Pete doing the demonstrations and explaining to the audience how they would be judging the latte art.  By the way, Pete is the 2011 US Barista Champion and the Runner Up in the World Barista Championships.

In this first video, Pete started with the "easiest" common design for latte art, the heart.


He progressively demonstrated the designs that require more skill.  This video is the rosetta.


After the rosetta, he demonstrated the tulip.


The final level of difficulty that he demonstrated was the multiple rosetta.  In this video he went for three.


I know those weren't the best videos, but oh well.  I was there in person to enjoy the demonstration and just thought having video to share might be cool so I shot it with my phone.

If you get to check out The Art of Hawaiian Coffee, be sure to sample some of Rusty's Red Bourbon.  I had a cup of this when Beach Bum Cafe had a secret stash of it.  This is an award winning batch of coffee and when I saw the Rusty's Coffee booth sampling the Red Bourbon, I had to get a sample cup.  Yum!

Of course, you'll also get to check out some of the art on display and read about coffee at all the displays.  I think some of the displays change daily.  The latte art photos are from the competitors of the contest.

I met up with Melissa Chang, blogger with NONSTOP Honolulu, there.  She wrote about the experience here: The art of Hawaiian coffee.  She also has more photos of the coffee tasting booths and the art that is on display.

We also met up with @S4xton that night.  He also took a few photos and those can be found here: Shots from the Art of Hawaiian Coffee event & Latte Art Contest at DFS Galleria Waikiki.

I hope to get back to The Art of Hawaiian Coffee this weekend so that I can taste the Greenwell Farms coffee.  When we were there, there was nobody at that booth and that was a recommended coffee to sample.  At least I got another few sips of the Rusty's Red Bourbon.  :)

After all this coffee talk, I am definitely going to walk over to Beach Bum Cafe for a delicious cup of micro-brewed Hawaiian coffee after I get out of here this morning.

Went for a ride in a Tesla!

A couple days ago, @S4xton drove me around the block in a Tesla that he had.  This was my first experience in a fully electric street vehicle and it just so happened to be a Tesla.  How will I ever be satisfied when I finally decide to get a Nissan Leaf?  Hehehe.

Anyway, the torque was nice.  I was a little weird-ed out by the silent acceleration that this vehicle is capable of. While I may be used to feeling the type of power and acceleration that this car offer (it's been a while since I've been planted back in my seat while someone drove me around the block) it was sort of scary not hearing the roar of 400 horsepower blowing out of an 80mm exhaust pipe.  I guess I was concerned the other cars wouldn't hear us coming.

It was a great ride and I enjoyed it.  Even considering the majority of the time we were sitting in bumper to bumper traffic in the hot sun.

Here is a little video that I took.  It's not much, but it's what I got.






A few other friends also got to ride in the Tesla.

Here is a video that @RickyLi99 put together and posted.  http://www.vimeo.com/27481184

Here is a blog post about @TokiDote's experience in the green machine!  http://briandote.com/2011/08/09/bolt-of-lightning

Here is a youtube video of @Melissa808 screaming during her ride with @S4xton.

Finger Sweets Petit Custa Ginza ギンザ プテイ カスタ in Shirokiya

We happened to walk into Shirokiya and stumbled upon an amazing aroma.  In the area that used to be book-off, was a Petit Custa Ginza shop set up.  They make these mini donut like "finger sweets".

Here is their website http://www.petit-custa.com/shop/shop.html/.

I really like the Caramel Crunch and Cream Cheese flavors.  I don't care much for the fruity filled ones.

They are only here until August 6th so check it out quickly, like by tomorrow!!!

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http://RickNakama.com

Rosemary cuttings for Granny.

Kelli's Granny wanted some rosemary plants a few weeks ago.  We told her not to buy any because I have bushes of rosemary and discovered recently that if I cut a branch and put it in water, it very easily grows roots.

About 3 weeks ago I cut these branches.  They were about 7 inches long.  I cleaned off about 2 inches at the bottom, removing any pines or little branches and put them in about a half inch if water. 

This is how the roots look today.  I've planted them in little pots with a mixture of some potting bark and vermicast from my worm bin. 

I hope these bushes grow big and Granny makes a nice rosemary roast pork for dinner!  :) 

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