HAWAIIAN OUTPOST BLOG

When people think of coffee they probably think of South America or Kona. But did you know that Hawaii is the only state in the US that grows coffee? The most well-known coffee from Hawaii is undoubtedly Kona coffee and there are several hundred coffee farms in Kona and surrounding regions alone. Kona coffee's name recognition and perceived value is so high that some producers began to mix real Kona coffee beans with cheaper imported beans and call it "Kona Coffee". However, now Hawaii state law requires that the percentage of Kona coffee be stated on the packaging.

While Kona might be the most famous source of coffee from Hawaii, the islands of Kauai, Maui, and Oahu also grow coffee. If you drive up to the North Shore of Oahu, you will pass pineapple fields and coffee plantations. Until recently, these fields were all used for sugar cane and pineapple. While sugar cane is no longer grown on Oahu, coffee now is.

Coffee plantation on Oahu

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The North Shore of Oahu is well known for its world-famous surf. But it is also home to the quiet town of Haleiwa. Years ago when I was just a child, Haleiwa was already one of the last places in Hawaii that looked like "Old Hawaii". To preserve some of the historic value of Haleiwa in the face of modernization, new developments must preserve the old look of the town. One example is the Haleiwa McDonald's. It was built with an old fashioned look rather than the contemporary design of all other McDonald's on Oahu.

If you are ever in Haleiwa and crave a breakfast other than McDonald's, there is a good hole in the wall called "Ted's Bakery" a few miles past Haleiwa (past Waimea Bay) near Sunset Beach. While mostly known for their pies, they also sell pastries, coffee, sandwiches, and other things for breakfast or lunch.

As more people visited the North Shore either to visit Haleiwa or on their way to the surf spots, traffic became an issue for the residents. To solve this, a highway bypass was built that went around the town so that all traffic did not have to channel through the old road that runs through Haleiwa. Still, if you want to get a glimpse of what old rural Hawaii must have been like, Haleiwa is one of the few places left on Oahu.

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Hawaii is sometimes called the "melting pot of the Pacific". There is no majority ethnicity in Hawaii and Hawaii's "culture" has evolved as a mix of cultures from around the world, including Hawaii's own indigenous culture. As a result, people of all races participate and celebrate different traditions from around the world. One such tradition is the blowing up of firecrackers on New Year's Eve. Hawaii people love fireworks! Actually, people bust firecrackers for New Year's Eve, Chinese New Years, and 4th of July, even if they don't have proper permits.

Anyways, my friend did have the proper permits and so he built a firecracker tower and tied it to his mailbox. Version 1 was too tall and unstable so we decided to shorten it by 3 feet. What you see here is the shorter version as the firecrackers begin blowing up.

As you can see, there is a lot of red firecracker paper all over the street. It took a team of 6 of us about 30 minutes to clean it up completely.

The best part of the firecracker chain is the end when a ball of densley packed firecrackers explode in such rapid succession that it sounds like one continuous tearing explosion.

I think the point of all of this is to scare away the bad demons and bring in good luck for the year. I am not exactly sure, but it sure was fun! Ahhh...culture!

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