#original hawaiian chocolate farm

[snowy-equinox]

Updated list 7/11/23: 

Aldi

Aloha Feels Chocolate

Alma Chocolate

Alter Eco Chocolate

Amano Chocolate

Askinoise Chocolate

The Beach Chocolate Factory

Belicious (Now Mellona Products, doesn’t seem to sell chocolate anymore)

Cacaoteca

Caribeans Chocolate

Castronovo Chocolate

Charm School Chocolates

Chocolate Cartel

Chocolat Celeste

Chocolate Tree

Chocolate Troubadour

Choconat

Coco Chocolate

Compartes Chocolates

Dandelion Chocolate

Dark Forest Chocolate

Denman Island Chocolate

Eating Evolved

Eat Your Hat

El Ceibo

The Endangered Species

Equal Exchange

Fairafric

Forever Cocoa

Fresco Chocolate

Fruition Chocolate

Gayleen’s Decadence

GEPA Chocolate

Grenada Chocolate Company

Grocer’s Daughter Chocolate

Guittard

Habitual Chocolate

Hagensborg Chocolates

Hilo Shark Chocolate

HNINA Gourmet

Honest Artisan Chocolate

Hooray  Tuffles

Ithaca Fine Chocolates

Lake Champlain Chocolates

La Siembra Cooperative

Lillie Belle Farms

Madecasse

Maverick Chocolate Company

Max Havelaar

Mayan Monkey

Mayordomo

Nayah Amazon Chocolates

Purdy’s Chocolate

Omanahene Cocoa Bean Company

Ombar

OpuLux Fair Trade Chocolate

Original Hawaiian Chocolate

Parliament Chocolate

Montevérgine

Potomac Chocolate

Pure Lovin’ Chocolate

Rapunzel Pure Organics

Ritual Chocolate

Seed & Bean Chocolate

Shaman Chocolates

Sibú Chocolate

Solkiki Chocolate

Sweet Earth Chocolates

Sun Eaters Organics

Taza Chocolate

Terra Nostra Organic

TCHO

Theo Chocolate

The Original Chocolate Bar (Houston, TX)

Tobago Estate Chocolate

TONY’S CHOCOLONELY

Vivani Chocolate

Vosges

Wei of Chocolate

Xocolatl Chocolate

Zotter

[socialbrewcoffee]

Unlocking Paradise: A Dive into the Allure of Kona Coffee Beans

Imagine waking up to the aroma of volcanic soil mingling with ripe fruit and a hint of chocolate. No, it's not a fancy candle, it's a cup of Kona coffee. These prized beans, grown exclusively in the Kona district of Hawaii's Big Island, offer a flavor experience unlike any other. But what makes them so special? Let's delve into the world of Kona coffee beans and see why they're considered a taste of paradise.

Volcanic Magic:

Nestled on the slopes of Mauna Loa volcano, Kona coffee trees thrive in unique conditions. Rich volcanic soil, consistent rainfall, and ideal sunshine create a symphony of flavors that dance on your tongue. Expect delicate notes of fruit and citrus, mingling with hints of caramel, chocolate, and even floral whispers. Unlike some bold coffees, Kona boasts a smooth elegance, a true reflection of its island home.

More Than Just a Name:

Not all coffee labeled "Kona" is created equal. Look for 100% Kona coffee to ensure you're experiencing the true magic. This means the beans are single-origin, grown exclusively in the Kona district, with no fillers or blends compromising the taste. Certifications like the Kona Coffee Council Seal of Approval and USDA Organic further guarantee authenticity and ethical sourcing.

Brewing Paradise:

Unlocking the full potential of your Kona coffee beans starts with freshness. Grind them just before brewing and use filtered water heated to around 200°F. A pour-over method or a French press can help extract the full spectrum of flavors, but even a simple drip coffee maker can do wonders. Remember, Kona coffee is an investment, so treat it with care!

Beyond the Cup:

Your Kona coffee journey doesn't end with the last sip. Buying Kona coffee supports sustainable agriculture, ethical farming practices, and vibrant island communities. Many Kona coffee farms are family-owned and operated, dedicated to preserving the environment and cultural heritage of the region.

Ready to embark on your own Kona coffee adventure? Start by exploring online retailers specializing in Hawaiian coffees or visiting local coffee shops with a passion for single-origin beans. Remember, freshness is key, so consider subscription services for a taste of paradise delivered directly to your door.

Don't wait any longer. Let the spirit of Aloha into your cup and experience the magic of pure Kona coffee beans. Visit https://socialbrew.us/ and place order now! Mahalo!

Bonus Tip: Pair your Kona coffee with local Hawaiian treats like macadamia nut cookies or pineapple bread to enhance the island experience!

[islandsharkschocolate]

Island Sharks Chocolate

Website: https://www.islandsharkschocolate.com

Address: Hilo, Hawaii, USA

Island Sharks Chocolate, a unique Hawaii-based craft chocolate maker, specializes in vegan, solar-powered, and eco-friendly chocolate products. They offer a diverse range of single-origin craft chocolates, including a subscription service and a Chocolate Sommelier School for chocolate enthusiasts and professionals. Emphasizing sustainability and quality, their products are made with locally sourced ingredients and are available for online purchase.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/islandsharkschocolate/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/island_sharks_chocolate/

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[foodandbeverages012]

Island Sharks Chocolate

Website: https://www.islandsharkschocolate.com

Address: Hilo, Hawaii, USA

Island Sharks Chocolate, a unique Hawaii-based craft chocolate maker, specializes in vegan, solar-powered, and eco-friendly chocolate products. They offer a diverse range of single-origin craft chocolates, including a subscription service and a Chocolate Sommelier School for chocolate enthusiasts and professionals. Emphasizing sustainability and quality, their products are made with locally sourced ingredients and are available for online purchase.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/islandsharkschocolate/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/island_sharks_chocolate/

Keywords:

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vegan white chocolate

plant based chocolate

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[sandjsbeachbumbonanza]

Day 131 – Wine tasting

J woke up early this morning to carb up and line her stomach before today’s wine tasting. We met Mansur at around 9am and headed off to our first winery, Waterford Estate, in Stellenbosch. This was a beautiful property with a lovely courtyard with plenty of tables and chairs. We sat in the sun and tasted 8 different wines. Two of the reds and the dessert wine were paired with chocolates. Bizarrely, J also got a salt tasting of three different types of salt. Mud salt, pearl salt and Hawaiian volcano salt. Her favourite was the mud salt, which tastes amazing on popcorn. The two stars of the wine tasting were the old vine Chenin Blanc and the Chardonnay dessert wine. J also loved the rose and geranium chocolate, which had a floral taste. We also got a cellar tour. The cellar is for the most part housed in a former cathedral. We also saw the bottling area and the winemaker, who was tasting some of the barrel wines. Interestingly, this winery had steel tanks, French oak barrels ranging from 200 to 3,000 litres, concrete tanks and four ceramic tanks. They use different storage vessels to age different types of wine. As the winery owner’s son had recently gotten married on the property, one of the concrete tanks had been decorated with a lovely design. This was our favourite winery of the day.

The next stop was Babylonstoren in Franschhoek. J was looking forward to this winery the most. Pre-COVID it was impossible to get in here. Even on a weekday post COVID Mansur struggled to find a parking spot. This place is known for its kitchen. They do farm-to-table cooking. Disappointingly, the winery was very corporate and we didn’t love the ambience. They even charged us a 10 rand entrance fee per person. We did get to walk by some of the vines, however, and J tried a Viognier grape for the first time. We ended up buying a bottle of Viognier so J could try it, and a platter of food to keep us going. The food was the star here. The biltong and droëwors beef sausage were excellent. The beef sausage was spiced with some combination of mace and clove and tasted almost like a Moroccan merguez sausage. There was also a delicious duck liver paté. The visual highlight, however, was the fruits and vegetables. There were orange, yellow and purple carrots, golden beetroot, green oranges and a persimmon. We highly recommend this platter.

The next stop was Anthonij Rupert. Because we were not part of a large tour group, we bypassed the more corporate tasting room and went to the manor house where Graham Beck, a famous winemaker, used to live. The manor house was built in 1833. They have kept a lot of the original décor but have given it a few modern touches. It looks like it should be a guest house, but it is only used for tasting. The floors creak and J asked if the manor house was haunted. The staff said they think it is, by, you guessed it, a lady in a white dress, much like all other alleged hauntings. We tasted three sparkling wines, one Pinotage and three heritage wines. J’s favourite was the blanc de blancs sparkling wine, which is made in a French style (‘Méthode Cap Classique’), but cannot be called champagne as it is not made in the Champagne region of France. There was only one other couple there. They were toasted and having a grand time. They were there before we got there and were still there when we left.

Our final stop was Delaire Graff Estate. According to Mansur, it is owned by the largest diamond trader in South Africa, a very wealthy guy who lives in London. There is even a diamond shop on premises. Mansur told us it costs at least $1,000 a night to stay at one of the villas at the winery. It too looked a little corporate, but had a nice outdoor terrace overlooking the mountains. J found the wine guy here the most impressive of all and she thought this winery had the best red wine, a blend called Botmaskop. The wine guy, James, trained as a sommelier but now wants to work on a yacht in the Mediterranean once COVID is over. We tried three different Chardonnays at different price points. S was very proud that the one he liked the most was the most expensive and is sourced from a single vineyard. J found it too sweet. We also tried some other whites and reds and J requested a meat and cheese platter to go. Bemused, the wine guy told us the chef had said this was fine, but it would not be as ‘aesthetically pleasing’. The platter arrived in little takeaway containers and true to the chef’s word, was not aesthetically pleasing.

We went back to the hotel. Mansur foolishly thought we were done for the evening, but S insisted on heading down to aperitivo hour(s) with our food. The hotel kindly plated it and made it look aesthetically pleasing. S was disappointed as the hotel didn’t have the usual chicken liver paté canapé platter ready for us as they didn’t think we’d make it to aperitivo hour(s). We ended up having to share one platter with Room 3, who surprisingly dropped by and sat next to us.

Room 3 is a funny couple. They are Gareth (no relation to the Zimbabwean Gareth who we hung out with over the weekend) and Kirsten. He is Welsh and she is South African. They live in London and escaped here in early December shortly after we left the UK. They only intended to stay for a month to visit Kirsten’s father, but ended up working and travelling in South Africa instead of going back to the UK. They, like us, are planning to head back in May/June. We traded notes on how to try to avoid quarantine in the UK. We also learned that he previously lived in Bethnal Green, so we spent a lot of time talking about the Krays (famous East London gangsters), their old haunts and the various movies about them (sadly S has watched all of them multiple times). Gareth informed us that the Blind Beggar, the pub where they shot Georgie Cornell, is now a tourist attraction and is worth a visit when we return to London.

J noticed that S and Gareth were twinning, in a business casual button-down shirt with rolled up sleeves, khaki shorts and brown shoes. However, S has a few decades on Gareth. Due to a glitch with our hotel room key, we lost track of them after aperitivo hour(s), but they were good fun.

[bestkonacoffees1-blog]

Pure Kona Coffee - 100% Pure Kona Made From Freshly Roasted Beans

With the increasing demand for Kona coffee, it is no surprise that some distributors will sell renegade Kona coffee to meet the demand and increase their profits. So in order to avoid purchasing low quality coffee or even fake ones, buy only from a reliable source. And before buying, make sure to read reviews and know about the product, the grade, type and what to expect.

Pure Kona coffee farms

Pure Kona coffee has distinct taste and flavor, it is said that there are no other type of coffee that can taste like Kona. The flavor of 100% Kona is mild and smooth, it is mellow and has great aroma. The taste according to its roast is intense and full. There are several farms from Hawaii that sell 100% Kona coffee. Only farms from the Hawaiian Belt are certified to produce 100% Kona.

Kena Coffee farm is also a coffee estate that processes and roasts their coffee beans. They are known to produce 100% Kona and also they offer other variations; the decaf, peaberry and the Hawaiian reserve. Also, Kena coffee farms grow their coffee trees organically and sustainably. The farm offers free shipping with a minimum order of five pounds.Read this article best kona coffees

Sugai farm was established since 1910 and another certified coffee farm that produces 100% pure Kona. This farm has been roasting their coffee for three generations now and still continues to impress coffee lovers and enthusiasts. Sugai farm has won awards and recognition to prove that they produce the best tasting and 100% original Kona only.

Kona council on the other hand is an association of coffee farmers who with combined efforts and resources process their coffee cherries into a 100% pure Kona. This council is sure to be a good source of 100% Kona because before any farms can claim themselves as producers, they need the certification or seal of the council to be legitimate. It is a seal of authenticity and credibility.

Kona coffee blends

Since Kona is expensive and rare, some farms and companies sell blends. Kona blends have only 10% Kona and 90% cheaper beans and other alternatives. This kind of Kona can also be flavored; it can be chocolate flavored, vanilla flavored etc. But the taste is very different from the pure Kona. The intensity and the acidity of the coffee are lesser. Also the aroma and smoothness is affected.

Some farms produce Kona blend with 30% Kona coffee and they use freshly roasted coffee beans. They also roast the beans on the day of its delivery to make sure that the blend is fresh. The blends even though they are not 100% Kona are also made with high quality and standards. And since they are much cheaper as compared to the original Kona, some coffee drinkers prefer Kona blends since they can still have a taste of coffee at lower price.

[disappearinginq]

Tag Game

Tag Game

I was tagged by both @amandagaelic and @waitingforthestarstofall

1. What was the last movie you watched in theaters? I think...either Little Women or Knives Out (for the second time). 

2. What’s your favorite game to play? One that I call Murder Mansion, but I think is actually called Betrayal at House on the Hill or one called Bang! - mostly because it was the most hilarious introduction to a game I have ever had where I got to play a trigger happy unlimited round packing Sheriff who everyone was trying to kill and my besties from the dawn of time were in fact my loyal deputies. 

3. Chocolate or vanilla? Vanilla, if I must only pick between those two.

4. What’s the last show you binge-watched? Yellowstone or Locke & Key

5. Do you have any pets? Oh dear. Yes. Three cats, two horses, and three dogs (though technically I might own a third horse, who knows at this point?).  

6. What’s your favorite fairy tale? Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves. 

7. Who’s your favorite superhero? Batman - not the one that they keep portraying as an abusive asshole like Howard Stark, but the one who legit went to court to keep Jason Todd as his son and dipped out from being Batman and Bruce Wayne social obligations when Jason needed him and collected orphans and tried to make sure they wouldn’t turn out like him. 

8. Who’s you favorite Disney Princess? Pocahontas or Tiger Lily probably, though I was never really a fan of the princess movies. I liked Treasure Planet and Great Mouse Detective where there were zero romantic subplots or princesses. 

9. Where’s the first place you’re going to go after the social distancing is over? ALASKA. BECAUSE THAT WAS THE PLAN BEFORE THIS HYAH! SHITSHOW! 

10. Cookies or Cake? Cookies. I am weirdly not a fan of cake. 

+ 10 questions from @teenwolf-theoriginals:

1. which show could you watch over and over? Lucifer, Daredevil (and add-ons), Republic of Doyle

2. favourite song lyric? " I choose my eyes wide open/And my heart half-broken every time/Over the gilded golden shackle/And the reassuring sentimental lie.”

3. favourite season of your favourite tv show? Lucifer season 4, Daredevil Season 1, and...whatever season ends with Jake Doyle getting kidnapped and locked unconscious in a shipping container bound for Mexico

4. what never fails to make you smile/happy? Cirque De Sewer videos on Facebook (ren fair comedy show with cats and rats and a former ballerina). 

5. how are you doing with all that’s going on in the world (virus, having to do social distancing, etc)? I feel really weird saying this, but the quarantine is working out freakishly well for me. My sister, who hasn’t lived nearby since 2010, came to visit for our mom’s 70th birthday just before the travel ban, so she’s been here for a little over 2 weeks now, which is the most I have seen her in 10 years. We live in a small town on a farm, so I have a lot to keep me busy outdoors without having to go to public outdoor places. My job is 100% capable of being 100% remote, we always buy from the warehouses when we have coupons so we have plenty of food and paper goods, we have puzzles out the wazoo to keep us busy when the weather is bad, we have a huge garden every year so if this keeps up we’ll have all our own food and eleventy billion movies and crochet projects, etc. I’m also a hella hermit normally, so this is not really all that new. Little mad I can’t go help a friend paint their house, but eh. Small price compared to a lot of others.  

6. we all love new music to listen to, name an artist that is underrated/you think people should check out? Janet Devlin. Irish/English folk singer I found on Spotify. 

7. tv show or movie? TV show. I love the level of character development that can happen when given the opportunity. 

8. favourite holiday? Thanksgiving. All the food. And less work than Fourth of July, because July means I get roped into directing the town parade and half a dozen other things because my parents get me to. 

9. a song that describes you? “Psycho” by Ava Max. 

10. describe your tumblr in three words? Themed = for chumps.

+5 questions from @macspaperclips

1. What is your favorite hobby? Crocheting, or writing

2. What is your favorite book? Or/and a really good book you’ve read recently? Six of Crows duology - a heist series that I got sucked into thanks to fan art and then finding out the main male lead can’t stand human touch and I was like SOLD. 

3. What is your favorite Ship that will never happen (Or hasn’t happened yet)? Not a shipper. I hate ships, because inevitably, ship wars ruin everything. And in some cases, really make me question sanity or mental health of some people. Said I didn’t like a female romantic lead, next thing I get is death threats, and I am totally the type to back track a URL, hunt you down in the real world, and brain you with a hammer. It’s not good for my anger management. 

4. If you could spend the day with any living celebrity, who would it be?  Harrison Ford, because it would be on his ranch in Jackson Hole. 

5. The best worst movie you’ve ever seen. A movie that you know objectively is trash but you can’t help but really enjoy it. The new Robin Hood with Taron Edgerton, or the Four Musketeers.

My questions (answer these if you’re tagged, then come up with some questions of your own, and then tag people):

1) What is your MBTI and/or Enneagram Number? MBTI - I had to look this up - INFJ or ENFJ, depending on how you want to interpret that first letter. 

2) What TV episode is your all-time favorite? The Hay Burner on Bonanza, 

3) What does happiness mean to you? Lack of desire

and tagged on because I was in fact tagged by two people @amandagaelicquestions: 

1) If you’re a fic writer, do you reply to every review? And if so, how long do you wait? I have only recently started getting over my weird phobia of responding to reviews (I also am rather new to AO3 and it was a little hard or impossible to do in FFN.net), so some stories in the smaller fandoms like Magnum, I have tried to respond to all of them, and it takes anywhere from a day to a month, but in Lucifer...oh dear. It’s daunting, and I keep freaking out because I haven’t finished the behemoth that is Damnatio despite it being years, so I don’t want to respond back to everyone saying “I HAVE NO IDEA WHEN I AM FINISHING THIS” in between severe writers’ block. 

2) What color Starburst is the best? Of the original? Pink. Of the options of outward packaging? Blue. 

3) Skittles or M&Ms? M&M’s

4) If you were to learn any new language, which one would you choose and why? Bold of you to assume I would learn only one. I am actually taking...four lessons through Duolingo? Irish, Welsh, Spanish, and Hawaiian (Was learning Navajo, but I made it to food and WTF....nope, kicked my ass). 

My questions: 

If you could be anything else, what would you be? 

If you’re a fic writer, what would you guilty pleasure fic idea that you won’t write because you don’t think anyone else would read it?

Is there something you wish you knew more about, and if so, what is it?

tagging: @dragonnan, @rohanrider3, @sofasurf, @buckky, @ariaadagio, @get-whumped, @itsjustdg 

If you’re busy or otherwise not feeling it - as always, feel free not to play. If you weren’t tagged, I also mean you. You can come play too. 

[starryyastraea]

bisexual emoji game!!

☀️ / 🌙 sun bisexual or moon bisexual

⚔️ / 🔫 sword bisexual or gun bisexual

🐱 / 🐶 cat bisexual or dog bisexual

💐 / 🍫 flowers bisexual or chocolates bisexual

😁 / 😊 dimple loving bisexual or freckle loving bisexual

🐴 / 🚀 cowboy bisexual or astronaut bisexual

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🌱 / 🍂 springtime bisexual or autumn bisexual

🥖 / 🐑 wants-to-own-a-bakery bisexual or wants-to-own-a-farm bisexual

🍰 / 🎂 pie bisexual or cake bisexual

😂 / 😡 send memes bisexual or being being sent memes bisexual

👻 / 🏢 / 👽 ghost theory bisexual or government theory bisexual or alien theory bisexual

⚡ / 🌸 neon bisexual or pastel bisexual

🔥 / 🌬/ 🌍 / 💧 fire bisexual or wind bisexual or earth bisexual water bisexual

👔 / 🏆 / 👓 / 💀 prep or jock or nerd  or goth bisexual

☔ / 🌤 rain bisexual or shine bisexual

🏖️ / 🌋 beach bisexual or mountain bisexual

👶🏻/ 🛑good with kids bisexual or bad with kids bisexual

🍝 / 🍱 local cuisine bisexual or foreign cuisine bisexual

🍳 / 🍔 breakfast bisexual or dinner bisexual

🎥  / 🎭  movie bisexual or theatre bisexual

👖 / 🌴 denim bisexual or hawaiian shirt bisexual

📘 / 📕 slice of life bisexual or fantasy / sci-fi bisexual

🌤️ / 🍝 picnic date bisexual or restaurant date bisexual

🐟 / 🐯 aquarium date bisexual or zoo date bisexual

😱 / 😍 horror movie bisexual or romance bisexual

🎷 / 📻 music bisexual or podcast bisexual

🖋️ / ✏️ poetry bisexual or prose bisexual

🕹️ / 🎮 Nintendo bisexual or PlayStation bisexual

🚗 / 🚢 road trip bisexual or cruise bisexual

💗 / 💙 / 💜 pink bisexual or blue bisexual or purple bisexual

💃🏿/ 🕺🏻  good dancer bisexual or dorky dancer bisexual

🤕 / 😏 disaster bisexual or distinguished bisexual

✨ / 🌫sparkles bisexual or matte bisexual

🌊 / ☄ sea bisexual or space bisexual

🗼 / 🏡 jet-setter bisexual or staycation bisexual

🥰 / 😐 always get crushes bisexual or never get crushes bisexual

📱/ 📞 texting bisexual or calling bisexual

🍭 / 🍋sweet bisexual or sour bisexual

📌 / ⚓ piercing bisexual or tattoos bisexual

🏀 / 🎾 team sport bisexual or solo sport bisexual

🌹 / 🌼 roses bisexual or wildflowers bisexual

💩 / :^) emoji bisexual or emoticon bisexual

💘 / 💰 love bisexual or money bisexual

👌 / ✌ / 👍 / 👈👈 okay bisexual or peace bisexual or thumbs up bisexual or finger guns bisexual

👀 / 👂🏽 sight bisexual or sound bisexual

🙀 / 😼 curiosity killed the cat bisexual or satisfaction brought it back bisexual

👼🏼 / 😈 angel bisexual or devil bisexual

🔔 / 🔕 noise bisexual or silence bisexual

🔥 / 🕯️ campfire bisexual or candle bisexual

original by @iridescentblue

[ericahitshawaii]

From the land

Today I am leaving the ocean and heading to the land.  The Big Island is even more biodiverse than Maui.  It contains 11 of the 14 climate zones in the world.  They even have snow on their tallest peak, Mauna Kea.  Today I am heading south og Kona to explore a Chocolate Farm, a coffee farm and a bee apiary!

Chocolate Farm

The Original Hawaiian Chocolate factory is the only chocolate producer in an industrialized country that processes the chocolate from the plant all the way to the final product.  Most chocolate producers start with the dried cocoa bean.  The beautiful estate grows cacao (the pod that chocolate is made from), macadamia nuts and coffee.  The entire operation is run by only eight staff, including the owner (Bob) and his wife.  (American Ex-pats)

Above are the tree that the cacao pods grow on.  They are about the size of a large eggplant when fully ripe.  Iniside these pods there is a fibrous membrane (like in a squash) that contains seeds.  These seeds have to be fermented and dried to give them the chocolate flavor.  This produces chocolate nibs which are ground to make cocoa powder, which becomes chocolate.  (More or less, you can google it if you want to fact check me on this one.)

Cacao pods growing in the trees.  This variety will will turn a bright yellow when they are ripe. 

Ripe cacao pods.  They grow in a variety of colors.  For example green pods turn yellow when ripe, maroon pods turn candy apple red when ripe.  Other colors include purple, orange and rainbow!

These are the seeds (or cocoa beans) inside of the pod.  They are covered with a bitter coating that will help ferment the seeds.

After they have fermented, they are cleaned off and left outside to dry on these racks.

Cocoa beans on the drying rack.  These will be ground to make the cocoa powder used to make chocolate!  This chocolate farm only makes milk and dark chocolate.

Fun fact:  White chocolate is not actually made from the solid bean, it is made from cocoa butter, which is extracted from the bean.  Since there are no cocoa butter extractors on the island, they are limited to milk and dark chocolate only.

It was really interesting to see this done as a small operation, given the extremely unjust conditions that many cacao growers face in developing countries.  At least one aspect of eating chocolate was guilt-free today! m On to cofee next!

Coffee Farm

There is a oot of coffee grown in Hawaii so I had lots of options for a coffee tour.  No one will be surprised to hear that I chose the Kona Historic Socity’s Living History coffee farm!!  YEA!  The nerdiest of an already nerd activity!

So...the Kona Historical Society has preserved one of the early coffee farms on the island that was run by a Japanese family.  It was purchased by the Ushida family in 1913.  The Ushida’s had immigrated from Japans and decided to take up farming.  However, they had no experience farming coffee when they bought the coffee farm in 1913.  The spent the next few years learning from local farmers how to grow it.  This was the beginning of what we know know as the Kona coffee industry, which was led mostly by Japanese immigrants.  The Ushida’s were one of the first Japanese families to do it and encouraged and inspired many other to take up the trade throughout the 20th century.

Fun fact:  In the 1940s 50% of people living in Hawaii were Japanese.

The Ushida’s tore down the small farmhouse that was on the property when they purchased it and built a traditional Japanese home.  The Ushida’s had 5 children, who all shared a three room house (a iving area, bedroom and kitchen).

The Ushida farmhouse, built circa 1917.

To be totally honest, I had absolutely no idea how coffee grew.  I knew it came from beans, but that was about it.  Well...it grows on trees.  Coffee trees can live and produce coffee for hundreds of years, in fact.  Coffee beans actually form inside of these cmall round berries.  (They sort of look like cranberries.)  They are green when unripe and turn a bright red color when ripe.  Inside each berry is a small amount of flesh (similar to grapes) and in the center is a coffee bean.  In order to make coffee, the berries have to be picked, the skin and flesh need to be removed, the beans need to be dried and then they can be roasted.  Coffee beans are harvested 4 months out the year from September - December.

Coffe tree.  The base of this tree is over 100 years old.  The branches are trimmed every few years, but the base and root systems can remain for hundreds of years.

Coffee berries.  These are small because the are yound.  They are about cranberry sized.  The will grow to be closer to grape size when it is time to harvest next September.

The Ushida’s also grew other plants for subsistence farming and to sell at local markets.  Although the weather in Hawaii is perfect for growing almost anything, it can sometime be difficult to farm because of the lava rock that covers most of the land.  Plants that do very well in Hawaii have extremely strong root systems that can actually break through the rock or grow within cracks a crevasses in the rock.  (Like coffee, cacao and pineapple).

It’s a baby pineapple!  It’s one of the only plants, where if you plant any part of the pineapple it is capable of growing a new one.

This may look like a cucumber, but it is actually a plant that grows bath loofahs.  Yep, for real.

See!?!  I didn’t make this up.

During the 4 month harvesting season, the Ushida men would wake up at 2:30 to start harvesting and finish after sunset.  The women would wake up at 4:30am.  The entire family, including small chilren, would harvest the beans.  The most difficult part of the process was removing the skin and flesh from the beans.  It is only since WWII that most farmers had a mechanized process to do it.  For centuries it was done by stomping on them with your feet.  Like grapes.

Once the beans are removed from the berries, they need to be dried, which can take up to 10 days.  The Ushida’s would leave them out in the sun to dry and bring them into the shed when it rained and at night.  At any given time there would be over 1000 pounds of beans drying.  (On average, an adult could pick 150 lbs. a day).  In the 1940 the Ushida’s developed a brillant idea to create a drying platform on the top of the barn/shed that had a sliding roof, so that they could cover the beans at night or during rain and not have to carry the beans in.  Genius.  This is the original roof and the sliding mechanism still works perfectly!

Kona coffee is still an institution in Hawaii.  Descendants of the Ushida family lived in the original house until 1994.  (They never modernized the house, it still had a wood burning stove and outhouse/outdoor bath house)  The historical society bought it and preserved it.  It is still a working farm today.

Lunch

L&L Barbeque is Hawaiian fast food institution.  I stopped here for lunch and was not disappointed.  Many of the things on the menu reflect the Asian and Japanese heritage of the island.  I ordered the chicken lovers platter, BBQ chicken,  Chicken katsu and...something else delicious.

Chicken Lovers Plate

Bees

My last stop for the day was Big Island Bees.  A bee apiary.

Big Island Bees, Kona

I have always been obsessed with bees (and colony animals in general, like ants) so I was SO EXCITED about this.  I have probably told many of you this, but the U of M refused to let me volunteer at their bee lab and I am still really bitter about it.

Kim, the master Bee keeper, gave us free samples and showed us the hives.  They have several sites across the island that produce different kinds of honey.  There are two ways to get flavored honey.  One is to infuse a flavor into already created honey, like pepper or cinnamon.  The other is to place the hives in a area where they have access to only one or prodominantly one kind of flower.  Their bees make three kinds of honey.  One from Macadamia Nut trees, one from the Wilelaiki blossom on theChristmasberry tree (introduced in Hawaii from Brazil) and the rareist type, the Lahua blossom honey, which comes from the Ohi’a trees.  Ohi’a trees are found only on Hawaii and grow out of lava rock.  The honey is naturally white.  (Apparently you can buy Big Island Honey at costco!)

So I learned a lot of cool stuff about bees.  I could write for hours about it, but I’m just going to give you my favorite fun facts.  If you want to know more, let’s hang out!

Fun fact 1: Queens can live for 1-5 years, where as the rest of the bees in the hive only live 4-8 weeks.

Fun fact2:  All of the worker bees in the hive are female.  The only male bees in the hive are called Drones.  Their only job is to mate with the Queen, so when the food is scarce or the hive is in trouble, the female workers bees evict the Drones by biting off their wings, pushing them out of the hive and leaving them on the ground to die.  Sorry fellas, they don’t have time for freeloaders!  I love bees!

Fun fact 3:The worker bees go through four different jobs in their short lives 1) Take care and feed of the baby bees, which hatch in the cells in the hive, feed and take care of the queen, protect the hive, and forage for pollen.

Fun fact 4: Bees are super ruthless, if the queen is not doing so hot, the hive releases special pharamones (sp?) so that the queen will give birth to her own replacement and then they will kill the queen once she’s born.  Total mutiny.  

Not so fun fact 5: Bees are in trouble because of a small hive mite that has starting taking over the hives, laying eggs in the cells and eventually forcing the bees out of the hive.  Hives have to be checked and treated regularly to keep from being infested by these small invasive beetles from Asia.  Boo!

Beekeeper Lisa

One hive.  It contains both the cells for honey and for making baby bees.  This hive has no drones, because it is a slow honey producer, so they opted to kill all of the drones until they have more honey.

The queen is in here somewhere..

Lastly, bees can make art.  Their so cool and talented.  I am ecited because my goal for this spring and summer is to plant a pollinator friendly yard.  I applied for a grant to do, I will know shortly if I got it.  My eventual goal would be to have a hive in my yard, but it is really hard to overwinter bees in Minnesota, so I might have to work up to this.  Future goals...

Honeycomb sculpture (Real honeycomb that the bees constructed over a metal frame)

That’s it for the day.  Tomorrow: Travel along the southern coast of the island to visit the Place of Refuge National Historic Park and one of only 4 green sand beaches in the world.

[sxftrxchxe]

written on these walls-rt

AN-merry chrysler!

SONG: story of my life

WARNINGS: none 

FANDOM: it 2017

WORDS: 2122

SUMMARY: theres a secret santa and yn recieves a really special gift

yn-your name

nn-nickname

"I don't know why we even bother doing secret Santa. We all know we have presents for each other already." Eddie stated slapping a piece of red ribbon away and rolling his eyes. Currently all eight members of the losers club were gathered in Bill's bedroom with a small Christmas tree by the door. Each were surrounded by a huge pile of wrapping paper and ribbons and just general Christmas left overs. yn picked up a ribbon and grinned.

"It's tradition Eds." She stuck it to his forehead and giggled as he attempted to swat it off. "Plus you know you loved your Christmas themed inhaler. Whoever thought of that was a genius!" Eddie sighed and stopped trying to peel the decorative sticky off of his head. If the inhaler covered in red glitter with a pretty bow stuck to the top said anything about the quality of the other gifts he was in for a proper laugh. Plus ever since his mom started actually letting him do things he might as well stay till morning.

Beverly ignored the grumbles from the short boy and rubbed her hands together declaring it was her turn to open something. Soon enough everyone except yn had opened a gift. Bill got a pretty new sketchbook with expensive looking pencils and watercolors clearly given to him from Stan if the handwriting was anything to judge by. Ben received a new kids on the block album he didn't have and a pretty framed picture of him and Beverly. It wasn't quite clear who gave it to him but yn had her suspicions it was Eddie due to his awkward wiggling as Ben tore the paper open. Eddie himself of course had the 'Christmas inhaler' from Beverly that yn had helped decorate. What Eddie didn't know was Beverly was also hiding a fanny pack for him for later she just didn't want him to get all soppy on her in front of the others. Beverly was given a small pile of chocolates, a gold bracelet and a new chain for her key. yn didn't have to guess who got it for the redhead since it was her. Mike had gotten a farming handbook and Polaroids from his recent photography phase. Bill himself had blurted to yn he got Mike weeks ago meaning she only smiled and shrugged when Mike asked her if she knew. Stan had been bought an entirely new camera and updated bird book. yn didn't really know who who given the curly haired boy such a meaningful gift but from the pretty wrapping paper alone she had her money on Ben. Richie had been given a gift that the buyer would surely regret. A blow horn, joke handbook and a new Hawaiian button up. yn saw Mike physically cringe when Richie told a joke making yn giggle at the irony. After all wasn't it Mike who had given the boy the gift?

Bill strode over to the tree and picked up the last gift. A small rectangular shaped object wrapped in shiny light blue paper. It had her name written on it but in such weird handwriting that it almost seemed like the person was trying to hide their identity. yn chuckled and smiled at her friends. Each of them urged her to open it, Beverly even saying she'd do it herself if yn didn't. So rather slowly she began tearing the wrapping paper, starting from the side.

At first her present seemed like just a notebook and she smiled despite knowing she had a pile of empty notebooks at home. Then the paper ripped more revealing pretty painted wooden letters spelling out 'the losers club'. The girl gasped and quickly tore the rest of the paper off in a moment of giddy ness. Then her hand flew to her mouth as she gasped. The rest of the losers crowded around to see what the girl had been so taken back by only to gasp or make some noise too.

In front of them was a pastel pink notebook yes. But the wooden letters that spelt 'The Losers Club' were painted white and had each of their names in it. In the middle was a picture Mrs Denbrough had taken in 1990 of all eight standing by the quarry, arms around arms and faces beaming. "Holy fuck that's adorable. Open the first page nn I want to see what this is about!" Beverly begged her friend, her green-grey eyes gleaming as her they glided across the cover.

yn didn't fight back and instead opened the first page. Tears already flooded her eyes a picture of the original five was stuck to the inside. They were dressed as members of the Scooby gang with Georgie joining them to be Scooby Doo himself. The picture was captioned with 'Making new friends never meant losing old ones to you. 1883-∞'. The impact was only worsened seeing Georgie's face smiling up at him since he disappeared a little over three years ago. yn stroked the picture as a tear fell off of her face and onto the page.

No one spoke as the girl went from page to page, taking her time to take everything in. There was pictures of her with everyone. A picture of her and Beverly blowing kisses to the camera with their arms linked captioned 'True friends aren’t the ones who've always been there. It's the ones that come and say "Hey I love you" and prove it'. Several of her and Bill though the years with captions a mixture of 'someday you'll thank yourself for not giving up' and 'here's to the months that turned into years and friends that turned into family'. A dozen of her and Mike at his farm with different animals each time. Mikes favorite was the one ynwas laughing as a mischievous sheep rammed her back and he was laughing more than her as he tried to steady her. Loads with Ben but her favorite being one at the river taken from the back where she had her arms in the air as he pointed at her laughing. New kids on the block was a crazy drug according to the caption. She couldn't count the amount with Eddie on both hands. Eddie had began to cry when he saw a photo the night he told yn about his dirty little secret. He remembered Beverly taking it as his eyes stung and his face was blotchy. The camera flash hurt his eyes. Yet he didn't feel sad during that photo since yn had a tight grip around his neck and was holding his hand with her other hand with such comfort he couldn't possibly feel uncomfortable. yn was crying too, her face covered in streaks and clothes wet yet she was smiling. Pride Eddie decided it was as he nuzzled his nose on yns shoulder. The girl patted his head reassuringly before flipping to the next page.

A picture of her and Stan as they sat in his bird watching tree. It was taken from below meaning you could see their dangling legs and hair blowing behind yn much better than Stans or hers faces. Yet there was something about the way yn had her legs kicking out and Stan was steadying her back you could tell neither minded. Especially since the photo on the other page was still taken from below only behind too. The sun was beginning to set and yn had dozed off on Stans shoulder. He was making sure she didn't fall with one arm whilst the other was holding up his binoculars. yn choked on her tears and Stan barely held back his own. Pages and pages covered in more photos each meaning a lot to someone or everyone. Beverly and her holding hands and eating ice cream during the summer. Bill, Beverly and her lying in a row tanning as Stan set upright at the end scouting for birds. Mike, Richie and yn having a bike race as Eddie ran after them, clutching an inhaler. The whole group laughing so hard they were crying in Bills room during a rainy October. Even Georgie was there usually accompanied by a younger looking Bill and yn as they all grinned at the camera, teeth missing and innocence gleaming in their eyes. It was all there and it was yns.

She finally flicked to the last page. A collage of her and Richie every year since they were five in kindergarten. Each year they were in a different pose and wearing different clothes but they still always smiled and stood in the same spot. yn closed the notebook and hugged it to her chest as she sobbed. The losers pulled her into a group hug rubbing their eyes and noses on each other's shoulders and promising to always love each other.

• 

Night had fallen completely over Derry. The electric clock on Bill's bedside table told yn it was 3:15 am as she flicked to the another page with Eddie. He looked concentrated as he braided her hair into daises. She was rereading her secret santa again, tracing each page and wiping her wet eyes, perched on Bills windowsill as to use the moonlight to be able to see. Behind her was a mess. Wrapping paper no one was bothered to tidy up after their emotional evening, bits of ribbon and glitter everywhere. On Bill's bed was Bill himself lying with his legs over Stans chest as Ben curled up on his pillow like a kitten. Eddie and Mike lay on the same blanket though Eddie kept twisting and kicking Mike in his sleep making him grunt. Beverly has chosen a whole spot for herself before Richie invaded it bringing a huge fluffy blanket and pillows by the Christmas tree. yn was lying with them at one point but then gave up since Beverly kept kicking Richie and calling him a useless yo-yo. The windowsill was much more beautiful and peaceful anyway.

Just as she flicked to a picture of her Richie and Bev who were both holding up middle fingers as she scolded them the floorboard behind her creaked. The girl squeaked before relaxing when she recognized Richie. She smiled softly at him before turning back to the book, stroking the picture gently. "Hey" Richie whispered sitting under the windowsill.

"Hey." yn replied back reaching one hand down to stroke his curls as she continued to flick through the book. They sat in silence for awhile, the only noise being Eddies breathing and the occasional page turning. yn tried to subtly sniff and hide her tears knowing Richie would probably tease her about it. It was only when she got to the collage of her and him she choked up more and he noticed. "Sorry if I seem like a baby." The girl told him wiping at her face and coughing slightly. "I guess I am a baby anyway."

Richie blinked in shock before sitting on his knees. yn looked down at him and sniffed, hoping he wouldn't notice the mess she currently was. "You're not a baby," Richie promised. yn scoffed and kept sniffling. Richie sighed and stood over her. The girl looked up and his eyes met hers. "You're the strongest person I know".

"Well that's a fat lie." yn laughed aloud before remembering the others were sleeping.

"What do you mean?"

"You know yourself so how can I be the strongest? Anyway it doesn't matter I just want to know who made me the scrapbook." Richie laughed and yn moved over so he could squeeze beside her on the windowsill. She lay her head on his chest and closed her eyes listening to his heart. Richie rubbed her hair gently. "Hey Chee?" Richie hummed in a reply and yn yawned "who did you get for secret santa?"

Richie paused before replying. "Beverly. Thank god she liked it she probably would kill me if she didn't." yn froze before pulling away. Richie blinked before yn leaned in. Next thing he knew the girl was on his lap, his hands were in her hair and her lips were on his. Neither complained of course since they had a massive crush on each other since they were fourteen. yn pulled back after a minute or so, red cheeked and out of breath. Richie lay his head on hers and pulled her close. "W-Why?"

"I know you got me the scrapbook Richie. I had Beverly you absolute idiot it literally said my name on the bracelet." They were silence for a minute before they both busted into laughter. They laughed so much yn fell off the windowsill and then they laughed more. The other losers awoke and complained but couldn't help but smile when they noticed the kids slightly puffy lips.

[bigboxochristmas]

Yuletidings 2009: The Secret Santa Signal

01 White Christmas - Bobby the Poet.mp3 02 Santa's Shop (An Elf's Lament) - Mr. Zee 03 Must Be Santa- Bob Dylan 04 Santa's Blues - Charles Brown 05 Christmas Cha Cha - The Merry Macs 06 Frosty the Snowman - Loose Ties 07 Skater's Waltz - Roland Kirk with Jack McDuff 08 Deck the Halls - Brian Wilson 09 Christmas Train - Carey Bell 10 Frank the Christmas Turkey - Antsy McClain and The Trailer Park Troubadours 11 Chocolate Christmas - Trout Fishing in America 12 Hot Chocolate - Tom Hanks ('Polar Express' Sndtrk) 13 Stay a Little Longer, Santa - Shemekia Copeland 14 Born in Bethlehem - The Blind Boys of Alabama (Feat. Mavis Staples) 15 We Four Kings - The Blue Hawaiians 16 Honorable Congratulations - The McGuire Sisters 17 Jingle Bells - Tenchi Muyo 18 'Twas the Night Before Christmas - Swingerhead 19 Gettin' In the Mood (For Christmas) - The Brian Setzer Orchestra 20 I'll Be Home for Christmas - B.B. King 21 Everyone's a Kid at Christmas Time - Stevie Wonder 22 Winter Wonderland - Wurlitzer Band Organ

----------------------------

This is the first collection since the original one to have no particular theme or genre.  Thanks to the rise of various music-sharing sites and blogs I had stockpiled a lot of holiday tunes which didn’t lend themselves to any particular concept, or which belonged to categories I’d already covered and didn’t want to re-visit.  So I decided to just be eclectic and try to put together a compilation of music from various genres and time-periods, but do so in a way that was fun to listen to, regardless of the listener’s usual musical preferences. After this I would return to themed compilations for a few more years but this was a harbinger of things to come.

2009 was the year that Bob Dylan, from whom you can generally expect the unexpected, released a holiday album, Christmas in the Heart.  And when the forthcoming release was first announced, it tickled something in my memory: in 1966 and ‘67 there were a couple of novelty records attributed to “Senator Bobby”, featuring a voice impersonation of Senator Robert Kennedy.  The first imagined him trying to speak/sing his way through “Wild Thing” by the Troggs, and the second did the same thing with Donovan’s “Mellow Yellow”.  The B-side of this second single, however, was attributed to “Bobby the Poet” and imagined Bob Dylan singing “White Christmas”, more or less in the style of “Like a Rolling Stone” (with commentary from “Senator Bobby” and a “weatherman” reading over the end in the style of Simon & Garfunkel’s “7 O’Clock News/Silent Night”).  And that’s the track that leads off this collection.

Of course, back in 1967 people thought the idea of “protest singer” Bob Dylan performing a Christmas song was hilarious.  So when Dylan announced his actual Christmas album more than 40 years later, it got me thinking, what if he’d really put out a Christmas single back then?

So I found a really good karaoke version of “Maggie’s Farm”, revved up my best mid-’60s Dylan impersonation and recorded “Santa’s Shop (An Elf’s Lament)”.  Dr. Demento was kind enough to play it on one of his Christmas shows that year, and I think It fits very nicely between “White Christmas” and Dylan’s own version of “Must Be Santa” from Christmas in the Heart on this compilation.

Other highlights include: for the second year in a row, a Christmas cha-cha record; a very nice bluegrass arrangement of “Frosty the Snowman” by a group called Loose Ties; a pre-’Rahsaan’ Roland Kirk, with the mighty Jack McDuff on Hammond organ, with a grooving “Skaters’ Waltz” from 1961; blues-harp great Carey Bell with a driving “Christmas Train”; the sad story of “Frank the Christmas Turkey; the wonderful folk/childrens-music duo Trout Fishing in America, dreaming of an all-chocolate Christmas, followed by Tom Hanks’ jazzy “Hot Chocolate” from the soundtrack of The Polar Express; Shemekia Copeland with a seductive plea to “Stay a Little Longer, Santa”; the gospel-funk of “Born in Bethlehem” by the Blind Boys of Alabama, featuring the iconic Mavis Staples; the somewhat cringe-y “Honorable Congratulations” by the McGuire Sisters, about a Japanese Santa who’s collecting money to feed orphans, which leads, in turn, into an actual Japanese version of “Jingle Bells” from the anime series Tenchi Muyo; and the Brian Setzer Orchestra’s swinging big-band/rockabilly holiday adaptation of Glenn Miller’s “In the Mood”.

I believe the cover art was a cartoon I found online, the caption of which I swiped for the title of this compilation.

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[socialbrewcoffee]

Unleash the Paradise: Unveiling the Allure of Pure Kona Coffee

Imagine: volcanic slopes bathed in sunshine, mist swirling through lush coffee trees, and the promise of a cup so smooth, it feels like a tropical caress. This isn't a daydream, it's the essence of pure Kona coffee, a liquid embodiment of Hawaiian paradise. But what exactly makes it so special? Is it worth the hype surrounding Kona coffee beans? Let's delve into the world of this legendary brew and see if it deserves a place in your cup.

A Taste of Paradise:

Grown exclusively on the Big Island of Hawaii's Kona district, Kona coffee beans thrive in unique conditions. Rich volcanic soil, consistent rainfall, and ideal sunshine create a symphony of flavors that dances on your tongue. Expect delicate notes of fruit and citrus, mingling with hints of caramel, chocolate, and even floral whispers. Unlike some bold coffees, Kona boasts a smooth elegance, a true reflection of its island home.

Purity Matters:

Not all coffee labeled "Kona" is created equal. Look for 100% Kona coffee to ensure you're experiencing the true magic. This means the beans are single-origin, grown exclusively in the Kona district, with no fillers or blends compromising the taste. Certifications like the Kona Coffee Council Seal of Approval and USDA Organic further guarantee authenticity and ethical sourcing.

Brewing Paradise:

Unlocking the full potential of your Kona coffee beans starts with freshness. Grind them just before brewing and use filtered water heated to around 200°F. A pour-over method or a French press can help extract the full spectrum of flavors, but even a simple drip coffee maker can do wonders. Remember, buying Kona coffee is an investment, so treat it with care!

Ready to experience the paradise in every cup?

Start your Kona coffee journey with Social Brew. Visit our website to discover a variety of 100% Kona coffee beans, each sourced directly from Hawaiian farms and roasted to perfection by our passionate artisans. From the delicate fruit notes of Kona to the smooth elegance of Kauai, explore the diverse flavors of the islands.

At Social Brew, your coffee purchase goes beyond a delicious experience. We are committed to ethical farming practices, sustainable agriculture, and social responsibility. With every cup, you contribute to our mission to combat human trafficking through our 50% profit donations.

[celestianvices]

Fullmetalia: Main

[tag: fullmetalia: main]

Name: Ciavera/Húlí  (Eastern Islands) Age: Roughly 2500 Height: 5’6 Weight: 135lbs Hair: Long, straight, and inky black Eyes: Jade green Skin: Light

Background: Very little is known about this land or the Lady associated with it, and she seems to prefer this. She keeps herself secret from most everyone, save for the nation of Xing.

Because she is surrounded by water, there are a few speculations that can be made, such as her main diet consisting of seafood. She also seems to have a peculiar fondness for foxes, and fairy tales involving foxes of the magical variety. There is rumored to be an entire island dedicated to them within her borders.

Huli isn’t exclusively interested in her own foxes however. She seems to want to collect some from every corner of the world.

Other than these however, almost all of her lore is centered around water, from sea dwelling dragons to imps that live in rivers (and eat both children and cucumbers). Tales of water ladies and snow maidens abound as well.

Huli has known Xing for most of her life. He discovered her when she was very young, and since then she has rarely strayed from his side. Her attachment to him was strong from the beginning, and has only become more so as time went on. To say that she loves him would almost be an understatement. At the very least, it barely scratches the surface. She’s shares much of her lore with him, and seems to come up with new things at random even now. They have a shared love of harmless mischief as well, and it’s unclear how much of that she learned from him, or vice versa.

Spending so much time together, it should be no surprise that their cultures (what is known of Huli’s that is) and their languages are very similar.

While her “true” name as the personification of the nation is Ciavera, no one seems to call her as such. Instead referring to her as Huli. The woman seems to prefer this and never corrects the mistake.

Skills: While not widely known, Huli’s skills in martial arts and swordplay are nothing to be scoffed at. While she has learned much of her abilities from Xing, she has put her own touch to many of them, and with swordplay in particular she has come a long way in developing her own style of combat.

She is creative and inventive as well, although her mysterious nature means that very few people have seen what she can do in this area.

Nation: Huli, aka The Eastern Island Nations (The plural being a misnomer as the Isles are in fact one nation collectively), The Isles

Language: Hulinese (similar in sound and structure to Japanese, also has a bit of a Hawaiian flavor to it)

Currency: Zenny (unabashedly plucked this from Breath of Fire xD)

 Exports:

Cocoa beans, cocoa powder, chocolate

Pearls

Sugar

Fish (dried, smoked, or otherwise preserved)

Pineapples

Imports (from Xing):

Rice

Silk

Gunpowder

Precious Metals (mainly gold, silver, and iron)

Common Hobbies/Occupations:

Swimming

Fishing

Metalworking (particularly the art of sword making)

Surfing

Sailing

Agriculture

Pearl diving

Recreational diving

Luau

Clothing: The Hulinese people in general wear clothing that is simple and made for a life in and near water. Comfortable fitting pants, and light jackets for men, often without undershirts, and simple sarong style wraps that can be worn as either skirts or dresses, and equally simple tops for the women who work out on the water. In the same vein, there are lengths of cloth that can be used as either sashes or simple tops (usually for women). Inland the clothing becomes a bit more concealing, consisting of yukata and other, similar styles of clothing, with the elegant and more ornate kimonos reserved for those living in the royal palace and other upper class areas.

While early on the soldiers used to wear attire similar to that of the Samurai, they have since moved toward clothing designed more for stealth and with speed and ease of movement in mind. (It should be noted however, that in battle Huli herself will often still dress in the older style of clothing, or more often in a kimono, with her katana and wakazashi ever at her side.)

Terrain: The landscape of Huli is quite diverse despite being a collection of islands. Most of the lands near the ocean are green and humid, with tropical rain-forests dotting the land, however there are also a few mountain ranges scattered over the Islands, as well as steep sea cliffs, long stretches of beach, and beautiful hilly regions which are covered in flowers for most of the year.

The land is spread out into a mainland with several smaller island both to the north and south. Huli’s home is located on a small northern island, near the isle of cats, and is easily distinguished from most of the surrounding islands not only by the fact that her home is the only piece of housing there, but by the distinct black sand beaches located there.

Climate: Mostly tropical and humid, snow is not unheard of but it is incredibly rare in the lower regions of the mainland and it’s surrounding islands. It’s much more common the farther up into the mountains you go, and the highest peaks spend most of the year in ice and frost. There are also a few small areas on the mainland and a few larger islands where the temperature is more temperate and mild, and these tend to be the places where the flowering hills are located.

Civilization: The Capitol City is the most developed area of the mainland, and has the largest concentration of people living in Huli. It’s called Kitsu, and like many things relating to Huli as a person, It’s name was inspired by a fox. There are a few larger towns scattered across the isles, but mostly the land is taken up by a combination of small villages, farms, and wilderness.

The capitol is landlocked, keeping it away from the ocean and [relatively] safe from all but the most brutal of ocean storms and hurricanes. The next largest town is the port of Oinari, which is located on the straight between Huli and the larger continent. It is here that trade ships from Xing bring in goods and news from the rest of the world.

Government: Being raised by Xing and influenced heavily by his culture, Huli’s government has developed into one which is lead by and Emperor/Empress, who is usually (but not always) chosen by rite of succession. The Empress/Emperor is assisted in governing the land by a counsel of advisers, usually older than him/herself.

Before she met Xing, when the land and the woman were both very young and new, there was no unity in the nation. Rather, there were a myriad of tiny regions, each controlled by a lord who employed his or her own soldiers to protect and enforce and on occasion, to fight against other Lords warriors in order to settle disputes. It was a bit of a mess, and reflected the unruly and easily distracted mind of a child with no parents to guide them.

When Xing found her, he was cutting a path across the land, exploring and conquering wherever he went and eventually crossing the small straight of water between her lands and the main continent. With such disorganization he could have easily taken her land and absorbed her fledgling nation into his own, but instead he decided to take her and raise her, to protect her rather than conquer her. Perhaps it was that he could see a small reflection of his own family in her strange and jumbled regions, though the truth of it is unclear.

Before his arrival, she did not even have a name for the land or herself. It was Xing’s observation of the little child’s fox mask and mischievous nature that prompted him to call her Huli, the Xingese word meaning ‘fox’. With this first, crucial step, her land slowly moved toward unification, as trades and alliances began to absorb other regions into one another, until eventually her nation was completely unified under the rule of he first Hulinese Empress. While it was Xing who gave her land it's name, it was the first empress who named the girl. Becoming a mentor figure to her in those first early years. Originally spelled Xiavera; meaning Bright and Splendid, the name has changed over time to it's current form.

The Emperor/Empress is allowed and even required to choose their own spouse before the time of their ascension to the throne. If they do not choose one before that time, a lottery is held of all the eligible men or women in the nation and the name that is pulled is to be their emperor/empress. Often times those seeking to climb the political ladder will bring their son or daughter to meet the young heir, having their children spend time with them in hopes that a bond will form and their child will be chosen.

Until recently, the nation of Huli had no formal military, instead employing a royal guard arranged in much the same way that the regions of the past had their warriors. This likely would have changed much earlier, during the first attack on her lands, which left Huli herself gravely injured and caused the beginning of their seclusion, if it had not been for the fact that support from Xing’s military allowed them to succeed without taking such measures.

During the time of their seclusion, the warriors of Huli continued in the state they had been up to that point as far as organization, but thanks to encouragement from Xing, her peoples focus shifted a bit from simple martial arts, to a focus on stealth, silence, speed, and agility. They also benefited from Huli herself learning the ways of the sword and developing her own style, which she passed on to her people over the years.

During the time of seclusion, as Huli and Xing’s relationship began to shift from the child/guardian dynamic they’d had since he took her in, Huli’s people became divided for a time between those who were happy to be receiving the protection of the larger nation, and those who believed they were too dependent on Xing, and who felt that they should distance themselves from the larger nation a bit and begin trade with other lands again. These disputes reached a boiling point resulting in the only civil war Huli has ever known, and the woman suffered greatly from the conflict within her borders.

In this, as with so many other aspects of her life, Xing proved to be a great help in settling the conflict before more blood was shed. By this time, he had been learning diplomacy and conflict resolution from his western neighbor Xerxes, and thanks to her influence he was able to relay such methods to Huli, and her land was able to return to peace because of this.

Huli was only indirectly affected by the fall of Xerxes, and the woman more than the nation, simply because she was the one who was there to comfort Xing as her [by that time] husband grieved over the loss of his friend. She did however benefit indirectly from his friendship with the Western Sage, learning Alkehestry from Xing and passing the skill on to her people as she had the art of the sword.

It wasn’t until more than 400 years after that event that the nation of Huli saw conflict inside it’s borders once again. With this most recent event, Huli finally organized it’s forces into a proper military, while keeping in tact the training she had perfected over the course of her more than 2000 year lifetime.

[yumi-tabinotane]

【豊かな香り 希少なコナコーヒーでハワイを味わうひととき -Hawaii Kona Coffee-】 . コーヒーは、お好きですか？ 今日は、ハワイ島にある「ロイヤルコナコーヒーセンター」と「ライオンコーヒー」をご紹介！ . ＜ハワイ島名物 #コナコーヒー とは？＞ コナコーヒーとは、その名のとおり、ハワイ島の西側、コナ地域で栽培されたコーヒー豆のこと。 . ブルーマウンテン（ジャマイカ）、キリマンジェロ（タンザニア）と共に世界三大コーヒーと呼ばれています。 しかし、生産量は世界のコーヒー全体のうち1%に満たない、希少なコーヒー☕ . . ＜ロイヤルコナコーヒーセンター＞ コナ・コーヒーの歴史や、コーヒー栽培に使われる道具などが展示されています。 ギフトショップでは、コーヒー各種、チョコレート、クッキー、Ｔシャツ、コーヒーグッズなど、種類豊富に売られています。 そして、なんと販売している全てのコーヒーを試飲できます🎶 実際に試して、お気に入りのコーヒーを選べるのは、嬉しい！  . 中でもおすすめは「ピーベリー」 ピーベリーは、通常2つあるはずのコーヒー豆が1つしか入っておらず丸い形をしたコーヒー豆。 収穫量の3～5％程度とごく稀✴️なので、農園でも取り扱いがないこともあるので、出会えたらラッキー！！😆 . ただ、どのコーヒーをおいしく感じるかは好みなので、試して、自分のベストワン！を見つけてください👍✨ . 純粋なコナコーヒーを味わいたい方は「100% KONA COFFEE」と記載のあるものを選んでくださいね♪ . ※こちらへは、JTBのハワイ島のオプショナルツアーで���内してもらいました♪ . ＜ハワイ発祥の「ライオンコーヒー」＞ 今回KALDIで購入した #ライオンコーヒーバニラマカダミア は、ハワイを彷彿させる甘く香ばしい香り♪ . 写真以外のフレーバーや、金色のパッケージの100％コナコーヒーなど種類も豊富です。 . ライオンコーヒーで、#おうちでハワイ 気分を味わうのはいかがですか？☕🎶 . . <What is Kona Coffee? > As the name implies, Kona coffee is coffee beans grown in the Kona region on the west side of the Big Island of Hawaii. Kona coffee is called the world's three largest coffees along with Blue Mountain (Jamaica) and Kilimanjaro (Tanzania). However, the production amount is less than 1% of all the coffee in the world. . <Royal Kona Coffee Center> The history of Kona coffee, and the tools used for coffee cultivation are exhibited. The gift shop sells a wide variety of coffees, chocolates, cookies, T-shirts, and more. And you can sample all the flavors of coffee you sell. So you can try it and choose your favorite coffee. . The recommended one is "Peaberry"! There are times when it is not available at the farm, so if you can meet, you are lucky! !! . Try and find the best coffee you like. . ＜"Lion coffee" originated in Hawaii.＞ Lion coffee is also available in a wide variety of flavors. This coffee smelsmells sweet and fragrant. . Why don't you spend your house time feeling the Hawaiian mood with it? . . +・+・+・+・+・+・+・+・+・+ ♕Yumi's Instagram♕ @yumi.tabinotane 日本、世界の旅のたね(travel information)をお届け♪ 旅の思い出を投稿しませんか？旅写真を投稿するときは、 #たびのたね を付けてね☺️🎶 +・+・+・+・+・+・+・+・+・+ . #hawaii🌴 #ハワイ島コナ #コーヒー農園 #konacoffee #kaldicoffeefarm #カルディ購入品 #hawaiitravel #SAGOjar #世界の看板 #おうちで旅行気分 #おうちコーヒー (Royal Kona Coffee) https://www.instagram.com/p/CAPkEK1AaXe/?igshid=1s80t7nrcf87r

[tealovers]

Premium Loose Leaf Tea | Available In Bulk - Tea Lovers

You can't go past TeaLovers.com.au's Loose Leaf Tea Store if you're looking for Australia's largest range of natural Loose Leaf Teas, Fruit Infusion Teas, and Organic Herbal Wellness Teas. Tea Lovers loose leaf tea store carries the widest selection of single origin and flavoured teas sourced from the world's best tea farms and manufacturers. Since 2001, Tea Lovers has been Australia's leading wholesale supplier of loose leaf teas, exotic tea wares, and specialty tea accessories. You can now purchase Tea Lovers products directly from their new online loose leaf tea store at www.tealovers.com.au.

The specialty tea market in Australia has becoming increasingly popular, particularly among younger consumers. With the increasing popularity and distribution of bubble tea stores such as ChaTime and GongCha, as well as specialty loose leaf tea store T2, Australia's love for tea and quality tea products is growing. This increased awareness for tea and tea products has also increased consumer awareness of different tea qualities, with consumers now preferring and seeking higher quality loose leaf tea varieties over traditional store-bought teabags.

Tea Lovers most popular flavoured black teas include; After Dinner Mint (dark chocolate & peppermint black tea), Sinful Liquorice Black Tea, Dark Chocolate Ginger Black Tea, Turkish Delight (chocolate & rose black tea), French Earl Grey (mango & bergamot black tea), Chocolate Chip Chai Black Tea, Sticky Honey Chai Black Tea, Café Latte (coffee black tea) & Raspberry Tart Black Tea… just to name a few. Tea Lovers most popular flavoured green teas include; Banana Strawberry Sencha Green Tea, Cream Caramel Green Tea, Japanese Lime Green Tea, Hawaiian Sunset (berry fruits green tea), Moroccan Mint Green Tea, Lime & Coconut Green Tea and Cherry Pie Green Tea… just to name a few.

Tea Lovers loose leaf tea store also sells single-origin teas from the world's best tea farms in Taiwan, Japan, China, India, and Sri Lanka. These natural single origin teas have consistent tea grade and can be traced back to a specific tea farm or tea estate within a particular growing region. To shop Australia’s largest range of specialty teas from around the world, Visit Tea Lovers loose leaf tea store at www.tealovers.com.au.

[socialbrewcoffee]

Beyond Luxury: 5 Reasons Why Kona Coffee Beans are Worth Every Sip and Where to Find the Best

Forget trendy lattes and fleeting caffeine kicks. We're diving into the world of pure Kona coffee beans, a realm where each sip transcends mere beverage and becomes an experience - a taste of volcanic paradise bottled in a tiny, aromatic treasure. But why, you ask, does this Hawaiian legend command a premium price tag? Let's explore 5 reasons why 100 Kona coffee beans are undeniably worth every splurge:

5 reasons why 100 Kona coffee beans worth every sip

1. Volcanic Kiss: 

Imagine sun-drenched slopes cradling coffee trees nourished by rich, mineral-infused volcanic soil. This unique terroir imbues Kona coffee beans with a complexity unmatched by any other region, boasting subtle notes of caramel, citrus, and even a hint of floral sweetness.

2. Hand-Picked Perfection: 

Forget mass-produced machinery. Single-origin Kona coffee beans are meticulously hand-picked at peak ripeness, ensuring only the best cherries make it to your cup. This dedication to quality results in a bean with unrivaled consistency and flavor potential.

3. Liquid Paradise: 

Beyond the buzz, Kona coffee beans offer a symphony of taste. Imagine smooth, velvety textures dancing on your tongue, releasing waves of complex flavors from buttery toffee to delicate fruit and a hint of dark chocolate. It's a sensory journey worthy of closing your eyes and savoring every drop.

4. Sustainable Soul: 

Ethical sourcing matters. Responsible Kona farms prioritize ecological balance and fair trade practices, ensuring your enjoyment of this luxury doesn't come at the cost of the environment or local communities.

5. Gateway to Hawaii: 

Every mug of Kona coffee is a mini vacation. It's a chance to escape the mundane and bask in the spirit of aloha. With each sip, you're transported to the sun-kissed shores, the scent of plumeria wafting on the breeze, and the gentle rhythm of the waves.

Where to Find the Best Kona Coffee Beans Online?

So, where do you find these exquisite gems? While many brands boast Kona blends, seeking pure Kona coffee beans requires discerning sources. Look for reputable, small-batch roasters committed to single-origin Kona and ethical practices.

And now, let's unveil the secret to unlocking the magic within every bean: Social Brew. Our passion lies in bringing you the finest single-origin Kona coffee, sourced directly from trusted Hawaiian farms. We believe in quality over quantity, offering ethically sourced, micro-roasted Kona beans that unleash the full spectrum of their volcanic-kissed potential.

Ready to experience paradise in a cup? Visit Social Brew and discover why 100 Kona coffee beans are beyond mere luxury - they're an island escape for your senses, a sip of paradise, and a story of aloha in every brew.