What Do People in Hawaii Do on New Year's Eve?

It really depends. With the diverse ethnic mix here in Hawaii, there are a lot of different traditions.

One of the most popular activities to do on New Year's Eve is light fireworks. Aerial fireworks are illegal in Hawaii for the general public. Naturally, professionals can get special permits to set off fireworks for special events.

Take a look at these videos to see what can be found in "normal" neighborhoods on New Year's Eve.





Please keep in mind the following points:

• Any fireworks that fly more than 5-6 feet off the ground are illegal in Hawaii


• None of the fireworks displays in the videos are being set off by professionals. In fact, the first 90 seconds of the 2nd video appear to be coming from the SAME house.


• Despite the legality/safety of these videos, fireworks "shows" like these are quite common on New Year's Eve and July 4th.


• Hawaiian Isles Kona Coffee Company has no relation to these videos nor the individuals involved with the fireworks. We do not condone the use of illegal fireworks, we would just like to show you a segment Hawaii that many visitors are unaware of.

Hawaiian Videos: What to Do In Hawaii

If you've never been to Hawaii-here is a small sampling of the many things available to do in Hawaii.

What is Labor Day?

To be clear, the Labor Day that we are talking about is a U.S. Federal Holiday. This means that virtually all United States Federal Government employees take the day off (many privately-owned companies also give their employees the day off on Federal Holidays).

Labor Day is celebrated on the first Monday in September. Labor Day is a yearly national tribute to the contributions that workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of the United States.

Internationally, May 1st is known as International Worker's Day and is celebrated as a national holiday in over 80 foreign countries. International Worker's Day celebrates the social and economic achievements of the international labor movement.

Hawaiian Videos: How to Open a Coconut

Hawaiian Music Videos:Have You Seen These Islands-Danny Couch

Definitely an Island favorite!! and many visitors go home remembering this beautiful song.

Hawaiian Recipe Videos-Making Garlic Shrimp

Hawaii is known for its white sand beaches, tropical climate and fun water sports. But any food lover wil tell you that the real draw on Oahu is the fresh garlic shrimp, served at roadside shrimp trucks along the North Shore-although lately,I have seen several others operating in town. When you do make this-you DO cook the shrimp in the shells. And YES,it does get a little messy while eating the shrimp from the shells,BUT it is SO worth it!!

Hawaii Video-Swimming with Great White Shark

Jimmy Hall swims with the first ever documented Great White Shark in Hawaiian waters.

Hawaiian Videos: Bruddah IZ-"White Sandy Beach"

Such a peaceful video clip from one of the best ever Hawaiian musicians.

Hawaiian Videos: It's ALOHA Friday!!

a fun little video for this beautiful ALOHA Friday!!

Hawaiian Videos: Slack Key Master... Makana

Hawaiian slack key guitarist Makana was born on the island of Oahu. He began singing at the age of seven. At nine, he took up the ukulele, adding the slack key guitar when he was 11 and studying with Sonny Chillingworth. He had already turned professional by the age of 14. His debut album, Makana, was released in 1999; it won the Best World Music Album Award at the Hawaii Music Awards. It was followed by Koi Au in 2002 and Ki Ho'alu: Journey of Hawaiian Slack Key in 2003. In 2006, Makana contributed to the Grammy-nominated album Hawaiian Slack Key Kings. The same year, his fourth album, Different Game, was released. He has opened for Andreas Vollenweider and Sting, shared the stage with No Doubt, Bruddah Iz, Keali'i Reichel and Clay Walker, and performed at the WOMAD Festival in Reading, England.

Hawaiian Videos: Music of Gabby Pahinui & Peter Moon

2 of Hawaii's BEST EVER musicians!!

Hawaiian Isles Iced Kona Coffee

1 (12) cup Pot of brewed coffee, We use Hawaiian Isles Kona Coffee-any flavor,BUT Hazelnut is VERY good!
7 individual packets of Sweet ‘n Low
1 12oz can evaporated milk (chilled)

Brew coffee as usual and add the Sweet ‘n Low. Place in refrigerator and chill overnight. When cold, add evaporated milk to the coffee and serve in a tall glass over ice.

Hawaiian Videos: Music of Sonny Chillingworth

Sonny Chillingworth was regarded as one of the most influential slack key guitarists in history. Sonny began playing at the young age of 12,while living on Molokai with his grandfather,Harry Purdy. One day his father brought him a Victrola and some records. One of them was Hi'ilawe by Gabby Pahinui. Chillingworth was inspired. When Chillingworth was fifteen, he visited Honolulu and his mother arranged a meeting with Pahinui. After high school, Chillingworth moved to Honolulu and joined Pahinui, Andy Cummings and others at clubs, lu'aus and all-night jam sessions. Chillingworth helped lead a revival of the slack key guitar style in the 1980s as one of slack key's elder statesman.

Hawaiian Videos: Star Spangled Banner - Ukulele Style

Happy 4th of July. Please don't forget that we will be closed on July 3rd in observance of Independence Day. All coffee orders received after 10 am on July 2nd will be processed on Monday, July 6th.

We're posting our Friday video a little early this week.

If you have never heard of Jake Shimabukuro, you are in for a treat. At just over 30 years old, this island musician has an unforgettable ukulele-playing style.

Here is Jake Shimabukuro playing the Star Spangled Banner at Wrigley Field, opening for Jimmy Buffet for his Labor Day 2005 concert.

Hawaiian Videos: Music of Bill Tapia

Bill Tapia is 101 years of age. He is still making performances at home in Honolulu and at venues on the mainland. At age 10 he was already a professional musician while playing for World War I troops stationed in Hawaii. Tapia is often credited as the first musician to play jazz on the ukulele.

How to Make a Great Pot of Kona Coffee

1. Put water in coffee pot; on most coffee pots a “cup” is 5 ounces- so plan accordingly. Of course filtered water is best to use. If you do not have filtered water from the faucet, you can buy coffee machine water filters that sit on top of coffee in the basket as it is being brewed. My Mr. Coffee has a “holder” for this filter that sits over the grounds-if you do not have a Mr. Coffee coffee maker –you could still place this water filter over your coffee in the basket-you just have to remember to not throw it out with the grounds-because they last for up to 30 pots of coffee. Place paper coffee filter in basket. Then add your ground coffee- I use our Hawaiian Isles Kona coffee scoop- 1 scoop per cup and then add 1 more to the basket. (for example- if I fill water reservoir to 8 cups- I put 9 scoops of coffee).
   
2. Depending on your coffee maker model-just sit back and wait a few minutes for that fresh-brewed coffee smell- to overtake your senses and then just enjoy!! The Hazelnut flavor at Hawaiian Isles Kona Coffee is the most aromatic coffee I have ever tried!!

Coffee DOES Have Health Benefits and an Affordable Luxury to Boot!

Coffee is said to have been discovered around 850 A.D. after a goat herder noticed his goats got unusually lively after eating the bright red berries. Today, with more than 400 billion cups of coffee being consumed yearly, its no wonder that it has become the world’s most popular beverage!

Coffee has been studied for more than a century and claims a number of healthy benefits. Your daily cup of coffee may reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, and more. It also packs a powerful punch of antioxidants. In fact, Americans get more antioxidants from coffee than from any other food or beverage. Consider this-blueberries contain a thousand times the antioxidants found in coffee, however, the average American drinks 44 gallons a year compared to an average of 1 pint of blueberries a year!

With a calorie count of less than 10 in a 8-ounce cup (black, no cream/sugar) coffee is definitely a guilty-free boost to your health. Just don’t overdo it-more than 2 to 3 cups a day may increase blood pressure. Also a U.S. survey revealed that 69 percent of American coffee drinkers consider coffee to be an "affordable luxury." It is the most inexpensive of all beverages-based on 8 ounce servings-bought for home consumption.

And, when you stop to consider the social aspect of one of America's most popular beverages – friends and family conversing other over mugs of delicious, fresh-brewed coffee – the value of coffee takes on an even greater meaning.

Anti-oxidants in Coffee

Many of you have heard of anti-oxidants and know that they are good for you. You may even know that blueberries and other fruits have very high levels of anti-oxidants.

BUT, did you know that coffee is the number 1 source of anti-oxidants for Americans?

"Americans get more of their antioxidants from coffee than any other dietary source. Nothing else comes close" says Joe Vinson, PhD, a chemistry professor at the University of Scranton, in a news release.

Although many fruits and berries have much higher levels of anti-oxidants per serving, how many servings of fruits do you have every day? How many cups of coffee do you have every day?

According to Jennifer Warner of WebMD: "Your morning cup of coffee may provide more than just a caffeine jolt — it could be your most valuable source of disease-fighting antioxidants."

Hawaiian Videos: Music of Keali'i Reichel

Keali'i Reichel has dedicated his life to the study and promotion of Hawaiian culture. Expanding beyond just Hawaiian music, his accomplishments include being a bestselling singer, songwriter, choreographer, dancer, chanter, scholar, and teacher.

Hawaiian Videos: Music of Amy Hanaialii

Another excellent female vocalist.

Hawaiian Videos: Music of Israel Kamakawiwo'ole

Also known as "Iz", this Hawaiian musician has had a great influence on the Hawaiian music genre. His rendition of Over the Rainbow can be heard in a number of movies: Finding Forrester, Meet Joe Black, 50 First Dates, Fred Claus and Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing and Charm School. It has also been used in an episode of ER, Cold Case, Jon & Kate Plus 8, and the final episode of the BBC program Life On Mars.



Note: This video has been on YouTube for nearly 2 years. Other versions of this video have been removed due to copyright issues with Warner Music Group.

Hawaiian Videos: Music of Jake Shimabukuro

Born in 1976 in Honolulu, Hawaii, Jake Shimabukuro is a local musician well-known for his rapid finger-work. Not the usual sound that you would expect to hear coming out of a ukulele.

Lei Day In Hawaii

May 1st is known as Lei Day here in Hawaii.

The first Lei Day was celebrated on May 1 in 1928. In 1929, Lei Day was made an official holiday (Hawaii was still a territory of the United States). Since then, Lei Day has been a day to celebrate native Hawaiian culture.

Festivities center around Queen Kapiolani Park in Waikiki. Tourists and locals gather to enjoy live music, lei-making contests and workshops, and various local crafts.

The Honolulu City & County's website maintains a picture gallery and schedule of the events that take place in Kapiolani Park on May 1 every year.

For the May 1, 2008 festivities, the City & County of Honolulu made plans to assemble the longest lei (flower garland) in the world. With a Guinness World Record Adjudicator on site, the City & County succeeded and an enormous 5,336 foot (1,626 m) lei was declared as the longest Fresh Flower/Garland Lei in the world.

If you have plans to travel to Hawaii on May 1st, we encourage you to spend some time in Kapiolani Park to enjoy the Lei Day festivities.

Hawaiian Videos: Hawaii Five-O Intro

Welcome to a new weekly features on the Hawaiian Isles Kona Coffee Blog. We'll be scouring the Internet to find interesting videos for you. They will not always be related to coffee, but all of the videos will have something to do with Hawaii.

Our first video is from one of the most famous tv series to come out of the islands: Hawaii Five-O.

Hawaii Five-O intro on YouTube.

Blueberry Coffee Cake Recipe

Coffee Cake Ingredients:

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup sour cream
• 2 Eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 (21-ounce) can blueberry pie filling**

Topping Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans (or your favorite nut)
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3 tablespoons butter

Pre-Heat oven to 325°F.

1. Cream 1 cup sugar and 1/2 cup butter in large bowl. Beat at medium speed until creamy. Scrape sides of the bowl as necessary
2. Add sour cream, eggs and vanilla. Continue beating until well mixed.
3. Reduce speed to low. Add 2 cups flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Beat until well mixed.
4. Spread half of batter into greased and floured 13x9-inch baking pan.
5. Spoon pie filling over batter.
6. (This step takes practice) Spoon remaining batter over pie filling; spread carefully. It is ok if the pie filling is not covered completely with batter. The batter will expand and should cover everything as it bakes.

Topping

1. Stir together 1/4 cup flour, 1/4 cup sugar, pecans and cinnamon in medium bowl.
2. Cut in 3 tablespoons butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
3. Sprinkle crumb mixture over batter.
4. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean and topping is dark golden brown. .

*You may substitute one can (21-ounce) of your favorite flavor pie filling

Waikiki Spam Jam 2009

Gilroy has the Garlic Festival, Hawaii, has the Spam Jam.

Although Spam is commonly referred to as "poor people food", the perception of Spam in Hawaii is quite different. We eat it all the time. There are at least 3 Hawaii cookbooks dedicated to Spam on Amazon.com.

Hawaii's Spam Cookbook

Hawaii's 2nd Spam Cookbook

Hawaii Cooks with Spam: Local Recipes Featuring Our Favorite Canned Meat


According to Wikipedia, Hawaii, Guam, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands consume the most Spam per capita in the United States.

Visit the Waikiki Spam Jam website to find out more information about this peculiar event. There's only about 1 month left, so hurry and make your your hotel reservations. You may be lucky enough to win free Spam for 1 year (365 cans).

Prince Kuhio Day

Today is Kuhio Day in Hawaii. Since 1949, the state of Hawaii has celebrated the birth of Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole on March 26. Born in 1871, Prince Kuhio was one of the best known leaders in Hawaiian history.

As a state holiday, many state offices and small businesses are closed. Federal offices remain open as do most popular tourist attractions. A list of what establishments are open can be found at StarBulletin.com, one of the state's largest newspapers.

To learn more about Prince Kuhio and what Kuhio Day is all about, please visit some of these links:

• Kuhio Day - Wikipedia
• Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole - Wikipedia
• What do People Do? - TimeAndDate.com
• Hilton Waikiki Prince Kuhio Hotel (hotel named after Prince Kuhio)

10 Things You Didn't Know Coffee Grounds Can Do

1. Deodorizer - Dry out your coffee grounds on a cookie sheet and put them in a bowl in your refrigerator or freezer. Rub them on your hands to get rid of food prep smells.
2. Insect Repellant - Sprinkle old grounds around places you don't want ants, or on the anthills. Used grounds are also said to repel snails and bugs.
   
3. Plant Food - Plants such as rosebushes, azaleas, rhododendrons, evergreen, and camellias that prefer acidic soils will appreciate the leftovers from your morning cup. Coffee grounds can also add nutrients to your compost bin.
4. Dye - By steeping grounds in hot water, you an make brown dye for fabric, paper and even Easter Eggs.
5. Furniture Scratch Coverup - Steep grounds in water and apply a bit of the liquid to furniture with a cotton swab.
6. Cleaning Product - Since grounds are slightly abrasive, they can be used as a scouring agent for greasy and grimy stain-resistant objects. Note: using this on porous materials may result in discoloration (see item #3 and #4).
7. Cat Repellant - To keeps cats from using your yard as a giant litter box, sprinkle grounds mixed with orange peels around your plants.
8. Flea Dip - Follow your pet's shampoo with a coffee ground rubdown, working the grounds down to the skin. Not only will fleas leave, but their hair will feel softer.
9. Dust Inhibitor - Before you clean out your fireplace, toss wet coffee grounds over the ashes to keep the ash dust under control.
10. Use coffee grounds as a cellulite reducer. Mix 1/4 cup warm coffee grounds and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Lay out newspaper or a dropcloth to avoid staining your carpet or floor. Apply the mixture to "problem areas", then wrap with plastic wrap for several minutes. Unwind the wrap, brush loose grounds off your skin and wash off the rest in the shower. For best results, it is recommended to repeat this procedure twice per week.