Sonia Tastes Hawaii

A spot for tea

 

The invitation said 'Experience the Art & Pleasure of Tea' - on a recent Sunday, Slow Food Hawai'i hosted a tour and tea tasting at the Onomea Tea Company, a premier Hawai'i tea boutique farm where 100% certified organic, hand-crafted artisan tea varietals are grown, harvested and packaged.

 

 

Not sure what happened with this blurry bit...but this is a partial view of the upper tea planting - the Asian teas.

 

To make white tea, only the very single top bit is used.  The three leaf tips are used for green, oolong or black tea.  The bluriness persisted!

About 15 people, some from nearby areas and some as far as the Kohalas, got together to walk around the farm while hosts Mike Longo and Rob Nunally conducted a tour describing the plants, the process for growing and what to look for when 'tea picking'.

Rob and Mike are committed to growing tea organically and sustainably, with the least amount of external intrusion, even using the trimmings and waste of plants from the property for mulching the rows of tea plants.

Located on a bluff right above beautiful Onomea Bay, the tea farm is not only a working place but a place of beauty and relaxation - although the relaxation is the part enjoyed by the guests!

 

Tea is made from the top leaves of the Camellia sinensis, a member of the camellia family but with a very small and what most people would call an insignificant bloom.

The tea house is open on all sides offering breezes and a bit of respite - a section of the teas from India in the foreground.

The house sitting amid fields of tea

 

Tea settings at the table

 

The tray for the Gongfu Cha tasting - a Chinese style tea ceremony

 

During the tasting, tea was poured into the small, narrow 'aroma' cups which are then inverted over the small tea cups and then inmediately picked up to smell the lingering aroma of the tea left in the cup.

We learned that white and green tea contain more caffeine since the higher leaves of the plant - the tips - contain higher quantities of caffeine, and only the very tips are used for white and the tips and the next two leaves below are harvested for green tea. Oxidation changes the chemistry of the antioxidents in tea.

We tasted three different teas, and each was tasted in several different 'brewings' using the same leaves for each brewing.   What follows are my own and others impressions of each tasting.

Whole Leaf Green - 1st brew: Beautiful light green color, delicate grassy aroma and taste...someone mentioned it reminded them of the smell of fresh garden peas.  2nd brew: stronger flavor and aroma, a bit more astringent.

Dark Oolong - 1st brew: golden color, sweeter taste with a hint of vanilla.  2nd brew: less 'sweet' and deeper aroma.  To me the taste reminded me of 'sun heated grass'.  3rd brew: much darker amber color, very astringent aftertaste but the first taste is a bit mellower than in the 2nd brewing.

Whole Leaf Black - 1st brew: a bit more oxidation, deeper amber color, much stronger in aroma.  Higher acidity but a smoother taste.  Someone compared it to a caramel malt, but I could taste hints of sugarcane or molasses.  2nd brew: mellower taste, smoother with no acidity.  3rd brew: darker color, much mellower but no hint of sweetness left.

The brewed tea leaves can be used in cooking.  The most popular dish made with brewed tea leaves is the Lahpet or Burmese Tea Salad, but the leaves can also be added to quick breads such as nut or banana breads.  Rob bakes a delicious tea bread and he shared the recipe with me a few years ago for a previous blog post and you can find the recipe by clicking on the link at the bottom.

The sweets  served with our tea were compliments of Short n Sweet bakery in Hilo; delicious liliko'i and shortbread bars, German chocolate bars and a Hilo bars made with macnuts.

The gates to the property are the work of Big Island artist Henry Bianchini and were the inspiration for the labels used by Onomea Tea Company.

 

Find Rob Nunally's Tea Bread recipe here: Afternoon Tea on Onomea Bay

For more information, please visit Onomea Tea Company and like their Facebook page

Join Slow Food Hawai'i on their Facebook page

 

Hawai'i Tropical Fruit Growers - A recent tour to a tropical fruit orchard

 

Almost ready to harvest rambutan

 

As part of the recently held 22nd Annual Hawaii International Tropical Fruit Conference on several of the Hawaiian Islands, the Hawaii Tropical Fruit Growers- East Hawai'i Island chapter conducted a tour of the Onomea Orchards, owned by Richard and Jenny Johnson.

Ken Love, the HTFG president, came over to our side of the island and brought Dr. Roberto Coronel of the RC Fruit Conservation Farm in the Philippines and Chef Ernest Miller, who holds the title of Lead Instructor Master Food Preserver with the University of California Cooperative Extention in LA.

Obviously, a couple of us taking pics were missing from this group photo.

 

A group of about 18 to 20 people met in Hilo on a beautiful sunny morning for the drive to the orchard, where we met Richard Johnson, who then proceeded to take us on a tour. 

Richard Johnson, owner of Onomea Orchards, conducting the tour

 

After the tour we went back to our vehicles and we all broke for lunch...later meeting at the Komohana Agricultural Research Station where Dr. Coronel and Chef Ernie shared their presentations.

Starfruit trees were covered in blooms.

 

Dave Longacre the HTFG - East President summed it up quite nicely and with his permission I share his comments:

"What a great day we had on the Hilo Farm Tour and the post-annual conference presentations in the afternoon.  HUGE Mahalo to Richard and Jenny Johnson of Onomea Orchards for hosting a big bunch of us at their gorgeous house and orchards"

"The immense productivity of Onomea Orchards' carambolas, longans, mangosteens, and myriad other fruits is testament to their hard work to maintain a spectacular orchard.  Add to that a beautiful house and outbuildings and a mesmerizing pond filled with lotus blossoms - well, it is inspiring to say the least"

Inside of a mangosteen.

 

"More big thanks to YOU, the attendees, for the thought-provoking questions and commentary that everyone offered;  I know it stimulated a lot of thinking about our own orchards, whether commercial or in our backyards"

Little gems:  Georgie Fong's coconut water (deelightful on a very warm day), Shirley "Charley" Black wearing two right-foot boots (and one of them was her husbands' boot.  I am not making this up.);  Bob Ernst's magnificent mustache and vigorous support of "orga**ic" (I know he meant organic) farming;  Sonia Martinez and I discovering we have been living in practically the same places for years and never knew it,  plus plenty more!

Dr. Roberto Coronel and Chef Ernie Miller in front of a very prolific longan tree.

Finally, wonderful presentations from Dr. Roberto Coronel, who opened our eyes to some fantastic Philippine fruits that really need to be considered here, and Chef Ernie Miller, whose energetic (I want what he eats for breakfast!) talk on the history of food preservation was a reminder of just how recently our American society lost touch with the value of food preservation such as canning and jars, and what opportunities there are for us to tap back into this skill with our multiple exotic fruits.  

Rambutan starting to ripen.

None of the day's events would have occurred without HTFG President Ken Love's tireless effort to bring the post-Conference "roadshow" to those of us on the neighbor islands who missed the main conference, and also our very own Cooperative Extension Agent Mark Nickum's thorough logistical coverage for the afternoon presentations. THANKS Ken and Mark!"

Ripe abiu.

I am definitely looking forward to the next HTFG - East event!

Hawaii Tropical Fruits Growers is a statewide association of fruit growers, packers, distributors and hobbyists dedicated to tropical fruit research, education, marketing and promotion and was incorporated in 1989 to promote the tropical fruit grown in the state.

For more information click HTFG

The 17th Annual Mealani Taste of the Hawaiian Range

Photos above: the fresh produce display by Kamuela Grown is always so huge it is hard to take it all in one shot... After the event, the produce is all donated to Hawai'i Island Food Bank

This is our 4th 'Taste of the Range' and it never gets old...

One of the premier and oldest food festivals on the Island of Hawai'i, "the Taste" is more than just a celebration of island grown food...it is also a showcase for the talented chefs that come to 'strut their stuff' ...and for the ranchers, farmers, growers and purveyors of the hundreds of agricultural related products that can be found on our island it is a chance to meet each other and meet the chefs using their products.

Chefs from around the state competing in "the Taste" are assigned a cut of meat by lottery and each is given 100 pounds of whatever cut they were paired with to wow the sophisticated taste buds of the hungry herds (oops, I mean hoards) that attend the event. The meat showcased is island raised grass-fed beef; pork, both commercial and feral;  lamb, mutton and goat.  From tongue to tail, no edible part is wasted.

 

 

Photos above: Left: Delicious Shepherd's Pie made with seasoned ground mutton, in puff pastry cups made with the rendered fat and the addition of Hawai'i Island Goat Dairy cheese to the mashed potato topping, by Town Restaurant of Oahu; Chefs Ed Kenney & Dave Caldiero  Top: Appetizer made with 'Mountain Oysters' (beef testicles) on a cucumber slice and topped with salsa, by Honolulu Burger Company; Chef Ken Takahashi; the most talked about pupus of the event.  Right: Beef Flank Slider with Shiraka Sauce by Village Burger of Waimea; Chef Ed Goto.  Bottom: Goat Manapua by Mauna Lani Bay Hotel; Chef Allen Hess.

 

Photos above: Left: Roasted Leg of Mutton, one of 5 mutton presentations served by Hilo Bay Cafe; Chef Joshua Ketner.  Top: Beef Top Round, smoked, braised with chili garlic and onions for 10 hours and served with Pico de Gallo on chips; Red Water Cafe in Waimea; Chef David Abrahams.  Right: Pork on Crostini served with a cold Apple Soup and edible flower petals, Cafe Pesto in Hilo; Chef Casey Halpern.  Bottom: BBQ Smoked Beef Brisket served with Mashed Taro Root, Potatoes and Pickled Kula Onion Salad; Hilton Waikoloa Resort, Chef Charles Charbonneau.

Photos above: Our own Big Island Celebrity Chef who competed in the recent Season 8 of The Next Food Network Star, "Ippy" Iona of Solimene's Restaurant in Waimea served Seared 'Butcher' Steak with Chili Bruleed Peach, Gorgonzola Crumbs and topped with their own Cafe Pickled Red Onions.

Peaches in Hawai'i you ask? Yes, the Mealani Research Station is testing growing peaches on the Big Island and report a hefty yield this past spring.  The station is also growing blueberries, persimmons and other crops not considered tropical.

Photos above: Familiar faces...Clockwise from Left: Executive Chef James Babian of the Four Seasons Resort Hualalai, working in the trenches; Chef Joshua Ketner & Dean Otake of Hilo Bay Cafe; Ryan Peters of Cultured Foods Hawai'i; Bottom Right: Hawai'i Community College School of Culinary Arts, East Hawai'i booth with Chef Instructor Allan Okuda and students; Dick Threlfall of Hawai'i Island Goat Dairy and Leslie Hill of the Wailea Agricultural Group showcasing their 'hearts of palms'.

Besides the chefs' showcase, educational, agricultural and local products booths, there are educational presentations held earlier in the day.  This year the presentations included a "Nutritional Seminar" geared for culinary students and industry professionals presented by Joannie Dobbs, PhD CN5, a faculty member of the Human Nutrition, Food and Animal Sciences Dept at UH Mahoa; and "How to Cook Grass-Fed Beef 101" presented by Executive Chef James Babian of the Four Seasons Resort Hualalai well attended by both culinary students and the general public.  I will be sharing an article about Chef Babian's presentation in the Hamakua Times newspaper of Honoka'a in their next issue.

For a peek at Chef Babian's two recipes, click on the following links: 

http://bit.ly/RcAjIv

 

http://bit.ly/RcAnYz 

Save the date for the 18th Mealani's Taste of the Hawaiian Range - already scheduled for October 4th, 2013

 

Previous blog posts and articles by me:

October 1, 2007 - Blog and Gather.com
A Taste of the Hawaiian Range Food Festival

September 21. 2010 - Hawaii HomeGrown Food Network
Taste of the Hawaiian Range

September 28, 2010 - The Hamakua Times of Honoka'a
The Taste of the Hawaiian Range

October 12, 2011 - Blog and Gather.com
Chefs Cook-Off at The Taste of the Hawaiian Range - Waikoloa, HI

October 15, 2011 - Blog and Gather.com
More from the 'Taste of the Hawaiian Range' 

October 27, 2011 - The Hamakua Times of Honoka'a

How to Cook Grass-Fed Beef 101 - From Taste of the Hawaiian Range

2012 "Taste" blogs by friends: 

Saturdays with Maggy

A Sari Sari Life

Damon Tucker

Attainable Sustainable

So sorry, but the site is playing all sorts of tricks with the fonts!

 

Picnic at Carlsmith Park - Hilo

 

Our little group of friends likes to get together 'just because' and enjoy little imprompty picnics in different parks and areas of Hilo.   This time Galyn was the planner and he chose the Carlsmith Park in the Keaukaha area of Hilo.  

Besides the 'usual suspects'...Galyn and Trevella, Brenda and Kevan and of course, Anthony and nyself, we had two visiting couples join us for our little picnic this past Thursday.

Friends from Arizona were again visiting our area for several weeks and we asked them to join us.. Linda and Howard Hinz have participated in our potluck picnics in the past and I was so glad they could join us again.

 

Anthony, Sonia, Galyn, Trevella, Brenda, Linda, Kevan, Howard, Mary Ann and Andy.

 

Andy and Mary Ann Galligan from Pennsylvania are long time readers of this blog...when they planned to be visiting the island they contacted me and said they hoped we met in person...so we invited them to join our little group.

The day was gorgeous, the park is always beautiful, the food was good but the company was wonderful!

I made gazpacho, guacamole and we brought Anthony's favorite chips; Galyn and Trevella brought delicious deli cuts and bread for sandwich fixings, including a wasabi cheese that was to die for... Brenda and Kevan brought some of their delicious homemade wines and cut papayas in yogurt with a touch of hot sauce...Andy and Mary Anne made Elena Ruz Sandwiches, about which they had learned reading the blog...and Howard and Linda brought a lovely cake which was quite "spirited"...  

It is always amazing that although we don't asign dishes, no one brings the same thing!

I love getting together with friends, old and new... Linda and Howard...mahalo for the wild rice and the blood orange infused olive oil!  I'm addicted to that stuff!  Andy and Mary Ann, mahalo for the lovely quilted Amish potholder, the 'Landscaping for Wildlife in Pennsylvania' book (Anthony has started reading it already!) and the Amish country postcards.

Just another day in Paradise!

Picnic in the park

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Hubbell's BBQ

 

About a month ago we received an e-mail from our friends the Hubbells to save the date of September 8th for a BBQ at Hale Pomaika'i, their home near Pahoa.  I knew it would be fun, so the date was prominently marked on our calendar as a 'Red Letter Day'.

The hosts were providing a pig from their piggery for the BBQ and the rest of the guests brought all sorts of goodies to share.  We got to see friends we don't see often, others we see all the time and got to meet new friends!

Mike and Liz have chickens that live in a coop of Mike's invention, the Hubbell Bubble  and their piggery is more like a 'palace for oinkers' than a pig pen.  Their pig raising methods are adopted from Dr. Cho's Korean Natural Farming ideas and using Indigenous Micro-Organisms where pigs are not raised right on the ground but are actually several feet off the ground on clean and non-smelling matter forming various layers mixed with IMOs .  A piggery with no mud, no smells and no flies...imagine that!!

 

The Piggery aka Pig Palace - if you look to the right you notice how high off the ground the piggery 'floor' sits.  

 

A closer look at the piggery 'floor'.  All kinds of logs, wood shavings, husks and IMOs to keep it all sweet go into building a 'clean' floor for the pigs...These babies don't have any idea of what a pig sty means...

One of the 'pig palace' residents...happy as a pig in...oh, wait...there is no mud!...and they each have their own private rooms!  No crowded residents in this pig palace!

 

View of the piggery (and the outdoor oven where the unfortunate piggie chosen for the day's BBQ was roasting) from the backyard of the house.  

Hmmmm....wonder if the rest of the residents in the pig palace knew one of their own was roasting near by?

 

The pig 'oven'

 

Our Master chef for the day, Chris Hara tending the roasting pig

 

 

There it is!...the aroma was being carried all over by the afternoon breeze...

 

Impatient guests waiting for the pig!

 

READY!

 

 

Our hosts with the roasted pig... the delicious meat literally was falling off the bones...and the skin crackling good.

Mahalo Mike and Liz for such a wonderful time spent with old friends, new friends and delicious food!

 

Click on the live link if interested in learning more about the Natural Farming and IMOs in Hawai'i.

 

 

 

 

Fall is in the air...

 

Two years ago yesterday (September 1st) I shared a post titled Hilo's Bayfront is ablaze with color..., after last year when the trees were not as beautiful, they are again aflame with our version of fall colors.

Yes, fall is in the air... You might not think that our tropical island climates would allow for noticeable seasonal changes, but we do have them... maybe not as sharply contrastinc as in most mainland states, but seasons nevertheless.  In fall our sunlight is diffuses through the clouds as it you were seeing it through tinted glasses.  The evenings and earlu mornings are definitely cooler and there is a slight golden hue to everything around us.  

Hilo's Kamehameha Avenue, which paralels the bayfront shore, is lined with Cassia fistula x javanica, or as they a fittingly called, Rainbow Shower trees...and in fall the blooms burst forth in a riot of colors ranging from cream to yellow to orange to pink to flaming corals...a tropical tapestry woven with bits of blooms, green leaves and blue skies..

Although the trees when not blooming are sort of scraggly and nothing to write home about - they actually look a bit ackward, slightly disheveled and rumpled - as someone does who hasn't taken time to comb their hair or take off their pjs when getting up in the morning - when they bloom, they are spectacular and you can't help but be in complete awe at the sight.

When the trees start dropping their petals, the sidewalks look like they have been strewn with confetti and although I find Hilo beautiful regardless of the season, at this time of year it is filled with 'gorgeousness and gorgeousity'm to borrow a pair of words from a quote in a book by Anthony Burgess (I've always wanted to use them and finally find the perfect ocassion)

Confetti strewn grass

under sad and teary clouds...

Hilo is ablaze

Photos and haiku (c) Sonia R. Martinez