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We are the exclusive purveyors of fine coffee at the Grand Apartment complex in Oakland.
We are the exclusive purveyors of fine coffee at the Grand Lake Farmer's Market in Oakland.
We are the exclusive purveyors of fine coffee at the Asian Heritage Street Celebration.
We are the exclusive purveyors of fine coffee at the San Francisco International Dragon Boat Festival.
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Aloha friends, welcome to Hawaiian Regional Coffees |
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>click here to begin the presentation< |
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News
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06.20.09 - Our New Booth in Oakland
We will be exclusively featured at the Grand Luxury Apartment complex in Oakland, California beginning on Monday, June 21st.
Please come by and try our coffee and say hello. They are located at 100 Grand Avenue, Oakland, CA 94612.
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06.01.09 - Our Store is Open!
Our store has officially opened for business. Please take a moment and click here or on the products link to the left
to look at the variety of fine Hawaiian and International coffees we have to offer. For those fortunate customers of ours that take the time
to visit our Walnut Creek, Oakland or Special Event booths, there are special discount codes available exclusively to you. You can enter
these codes on our products page and receive discounted rates on all of our products. Thank you for stopping in!
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"Roots" of Our Website
My love affair with coffee really began some 35+ years ago on the "big island" of Hawaii , and since, has evolved. I am just now recently back to living near the city of my youth, San Francisco , CA .
Essentially I will always remain an islander, knowing this, I had "to keep my hand in somehow" -- All "roots" must be "nourished" to remain alive, vibrant and growing, coffee for me, was the "chosen way to go" once back on the mainland.
 In my time, while not the mainstay, I have grown coffee, picked it and sold it. However, at times, and in order to survive, initially at first, the same could be said as much for taro (mountain) pineapple (turn-flip-throw; very nasty work indeed), papaya, down to the very "able," but humble, breadfruit (Ulu). With lots of climbing, one becomes quite inventive. The true longtime "local" knows what this really means.
I had just rotated out of the U.S.M.C - still half crazy - and found myself not fit just yet for meaningful association with man nor beast. It was in my heart to go "back to basics" and stay there.
In those days "Kona" was still "Kona". One could be on any other island, within that islands airport and see "another" with only a pair of "flops" and his or her "a'lu a'lu" shorts (generally the most ragged, faded, baggy and beloved, would be squirreled away for special occasions) tucked under the arm, as an only means of "luggage," and "all" would know, without question, that person was - "in the wind" - "holo - holo" - "going to Kona".
There were still no traffic lights yet in kona, and one could still pull up to any storefront ( sideways ) with a vehicle. Most of which were of dubious nature and vintage by their looks, however, if you were a "player" - three respected - (mandatory ) requirements were essential - - it had to be able to go "anywhere," the inevitable "pit bull" be tied appropriately ( centerpoint ) with a short leash, and able to hold all your gear - - - because you weren't sure if you would be back again that night from "from whereva."
Plenty of sand still remained in most doorways of the main drag and "Harry Lyons," when not in his cups, was the town's much loved cartoonist ("always on the loose" with his editorials).
"Aj" McDanold owned Kona Gardens, then located down on Ali'i drive, and it was well understood, before the more formal "farmers markets" came to pass, that on any given Sunday, one could squat down on the side of the road to swap and barter. In my case, it was usually the "limu" fish (small reef fish) I had early on learned to "thrown net" for -- exchange for the fresh fruits and vegetables that the "aunties" - down from the "Filipino Camps" (coffee- "up country" - mauka) grew between harvest times (plus a little egg money).
And so it began with the coffee...
This then is my attempt, now being back on the mainland and realizing how difficult it really was to find good photographs, solid information and real literature that could interest and educate those to some degree about the romance and mystery surrounding coffee itself - its history.
In truth I have scraped and pulled from every quality magazine, business journal, recommended book, respected website and "associations" for information (to include those still in the islands and "doing it") in an attempt to pull it together in a manner not readily found at any one place when I first started in (nor will it ever be, because frankly, coffee is one of those "many faceted " subjects, not unlike wine; the more you learn, the more you realize what you have yet to know; it's ever evolving).
So I hope you enjoy the site. I will try to keep it informative without being technical and dry. This will always be a "work in progress" site, meaning it will be evolving as we all learn.
I will no doubt take liberties from time to time and share a story or two about the islands, on our Hawaiian Life Page, such as:
- What is "squid eye"? (free diver)
- "Hock grabbers vs. Head grabbers" (wild pig hunting)
- How to "make home" (harvesting octopus)
- "Hawaiian caviar" (the preparation of the black spiny sea urchin)
- Mongoose
- Tita vs Teeta
- "Cockroached Ya"
- "Hit da Beach"
- ah - ah - ma - (tools employed to catch)
- ah - ah - ma - (lesson # 1 if you are to survive)
- "catch da eye" - (beginnings of judgements)
- night diving and the "uhu"
-He'e
(pronounced Hay' A)
(amakua or moniker)
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>click here to begin the presentation<
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Na 'AIi'i i ka ho'o mahele Palena ku'i wahi mahele 'aina |
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