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Kady Pascual

Hawaiʻi Scene on Social

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"We hope you get your boat one day!"}]

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Living.wit.sammy

<title>Hawai‘i Scene on Social: When there’s a will, there’s a way</title>

Today’s social media find comes from @Living.Wit.Sammy, who really wants to catch fish.

Hawai‘i Scene on Social: When there’s a will, there’s a way

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Christian Shimabuku

Sports

Since breaking off from the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation in 2018, the six-team Big West Conference has been viewed as one of the toughest in collegiate men's volleyball from the very beginning. 

 in the conference are ranked in the AVCA national collegiate poll. 

With two full weekends remaining, the University of Hawai‘i men's volleyball team has a chance to rise from the gauntlet and win the Big West regular season title as soon as Friday. The Rainbow Warriors are currently 23-3 overall and 6-0 in conference play with series sweeps over 

Conference play for the 'Bows continues with matches at UC San Diego on Friday and Saturday, with first serve beginning at 4 p.m. HST for each contest. 

If UH were to win both matches, they would automatically clinch the Big West regular season title and top seed in the conference tournament regardless of what happens in its final home series of the year against CSUN on April 17-18. By virtue of their victories over Long Beach State (18-4, 4-2 Big West) and UC Santa Barbara (13-9, 4-3), the two teams beneath them in the conference standings, Hawai‘i has already clinched the tiebreaker over both squads. 

"It's not a place where you really go and think about but I like 6-0 better than 0-6 for sure," Hawai‘i head coach Charlie Wade said when asked about the team's favorable position in the standings. "We've been pretty consistent. There's been some peaks and valleys, but at the end, before the night's over, we've found a way to win. And that part, we've been consistent."

UH's road series at UC San Diego will serve as the second consecutive week the 'Bows have been on the road. After its most recent series against UC Irvine ended last Saturday, the UH returned home to O‘ahu, with Wade placing value in his players sleeping in their own beds and attending classes in person during the first half of the week. 

Another trek to Southern California means another opportunity for the program's Mainland fans to support the 'Bows, which Wade says has come in bunches. 

"It really is pretty special. I wouldn't say we expect it, we're really appreciative of everybody coming out, more so on the West Coast, but even when we get all the way to the East Coast and different places, there's a lot of lot of people wearing green in those crowds," Wade said. "And it's pretty awesome."

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UH men's volleyball 040926

<title>Hawai‘i men's volleyball closes in on Big West regular season title</title>

The Rainbow Warriors could see themselves clinch the top seed in the conference tournament as early as Friday.

Hawai‘i men's volleyball closes in on Big West regular season title

Stephanie Salmons Headshot

Stephanie Salmons

Business & Tourism

Food & Dining

[{"type":"text","text":"Looking for a jolt of java? You're in luck."}]

Honolulu has been ranked the No. 7 on a list of the 

. The annual awards "celebrate the best in culinary travel around the world."

More than 400 chefs, travel experts, food and travel writers, and wine pros from around the world were polled "for their top culinary travel experiences," and the results were then turned over to a global advisory board who ranked the top nominees in each category.

"Hawaiʻi has grown coffee for over 200 years, and maintains a deep love of the drink," the ranking reads. "In the capital city, coffee shops are almost as plentiful as palm trees. On the second floor of Ward Center, in the creative community space BoxJelly, find 

 for a focus on brewed coffees and classic espresso drinks from a wide variety of sources. ... 

’s Mānoa honey iced latte is a must-have. The extensive pour-over menu at 

 features categories like fruity and floral or adventurous, including Kona-grown Geisha that goes great with a kinako cinnamon roll."

[{"type":"text","text":"Austin, Texas, took the top spot on the 10-best list. "}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Coffee first arrived in the Islands in the early 19th century."}]

 in Hawai‘i, published by Honolulu Magazine in 2014, 

 first planted coffee on O‘ahu in 1813. More than a decade later in 1825, Chief Boki, governor of O‘ahu, brought plants from Brazil, which were then planted in Mānoa Valley.

In 1828, the Rev. Samuel Ruggles planted cuttings from Boki's coffee in Kona, and less than two decades later, in 1845, Hawai‘i began exporting coffee.

The Hawai‘i Coffee Association also provides a history of the crop in Hawai‘i 

Coffee production continues to play an "important role" in Hawai‘i's economy "by contributing to employment, tourism, cultural heritage and the livelihoods of small farmers who make up the majority of coffee growers," a 

 on coffee production, exports, and labeling and blend requirements, shared by the state Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity, notes.

According to that paper, coffee was cultivated on about 1,000 farms across 7,400 acres on five islands in the 2023-2024 season, accounting for 4% of Hawai‘i's total crop land.

"Green coffee production totaled 3.4 million pounds, valued at $67 million, with an average price of $19.50 per pound," the paper states. "In 2023, Hawaiʻi exported $5.8 million worth of green coffee beans and $3.8 million worth of roasted coffee to the international market, making coffee Hawaiʻi’s top agricultural export commodity in terms of total dollar value.

"Despite accounting for 0.1% of global coffee production, Hawaiʻi coffee holds a prestigious position in the international market due to its high quality, unique flavors, and limited supply."

But for those looking for a quick cup, Honolulu has a number of spots. Among some of the newer shops, Kooks Coffee 

 last month. You can find more from Aloha State Daily's Food and Dining Reporter

Unsplash generic coffee mike kenneally 040826

<title>Honolulu named one of the best U.S. cities for coffee</title>

Hawai‘i's capital city was ranked as part of Food & Wine's 2026 Global Tastemakers Awards.

Honolulu named one of the best U.S. cities for coffee

Kelli Shiroma Braiotta Headshot

Kelli Shiroma Braiotta

Dani and Nick Mitchell, husband-and-wife owners of 

, love surfing. Their favorite spot is Canoes, according to Dani Mitchell.

“We’re not very good,” she says. “It’s (Canoes) the best place for the low rollers, nothing crazy. 

“A ‘kook’ is a newbie surfer, someone a little goofy and inexperienced on the water,” she adds. “Many people avoid surfing because they don’t want to look like a kook, so they never start. The truth is, being a kook is a universal equalizer — everyone starts somewhere. We want to encourage people to make the jump and embrace the journey, just like we did when opening up Kooks.”

The Mitchells used to make and try different coffee recipes as a hobby, according to Mitchell.

“We have such a passion for coffee,” she says. “When we both worked at corporate jobs, we would go to local coffee shops in our area; we love checking them out. It would be our favorite part of the day; we would make and try (coffee) recipes. We were like, ‘How can we turn this into a living?’ We started experimenting with all the flavors and came up with these unique flavors we wanted to share with everybody.”

Kooks Coffee opened its first location last March on the University of Hawai

i at Mānoa campus. It’s located near Campus Center — “on food truck row, under the banyan tree; there are a lot of food trucks there,” Mitchell says — and is currently open from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Mondays to Fridays. 

To celebrate its first year of business, Kooks Coffee recently opened its second location in Kaka

“This new spot has been much more accessible for non-students and has given us an opportunity to really connect with the community off-campus as well,” Mitchell says. “It’s been open for three weeks now.

“This location is relatively close to our other location, so we love that about it,” she adds. “We’ve grown so much at UH — we love the community there — but we have a lot of people who wanted to try us, but haven’t been able to get on campus. This has been the best of both worlds.”

The menu comprises signature lattes and plant-based energy drinks. The menu at the business’s UH Mānoa and Kaka

ako locations is the same. All drinks are available as hot or iced options; hot drinks come in 12-ounce sizes and iced drinks come in 16-ounce cups.

The names for the drinks are mostly based on surf terms, according to Mitchell.

“Dawn Patrol is a surf term,” she says. “Duke is for Duke 

. ‘Loco Mocha’ is a play on words for the classic dish, the loco moco. That drink is our chocolate and coconut.”

The Nanner — the business’s housemade banana milk latte — Dawn Patrol (toasted macadamia nut latte with vanilla) and Ubae Watch (ube latte) are the top three bestselling drinks, according to Mitchell. She says the ube latte was featured on the business’s summer menu last year, and it was so popular that it was added to the regular menu. 

“We focus on creating unique flavors with housemade syrups using as many locally sourced ingredients as possible,” she says. “The Dawn Patrol features our toasted macadamia nut and vanilla syrup, using fresh 

 vanilla beans. We use the Lokahi blend (from Honolulu Coffee Co.); they’re great to work with.”

The business’s white cap ($1) — a dairy-free coconut cold foam made with coconut milk, cream and housemade toasted coconut syrup — is a popular add-on for many lattes. The business also offers plant-based energy drinks called Rockers.

“They’re going to be made with lotus, which is a plant-based energy concentrate,” Mitchell says. “We get that imported from the Mainland and we combine it with fresh juices, housemade syrups and club soda. They’re bubbly and refreshing, like an alternative to Redbull.”

Other drink options include Gnarly Chai, party wave (‘Ōhia Lehua honey and cinnamon), and Kooky monster (mocha and fresh mint).

Partnering with local businesses is important to the Mitchells. So far, the business partners with Mānoa Honey & Mead, Honolulu Coffee Co., Hawaiian Macadamia Nut Co. and Mānoa Chocolate, to name a few.

i, it’s really important to us to support local and build relationships within our community,” Mitchell says. “We love working with farms on island and learning how and where our ingredients are made. We try to use as many locally sourced vendors and ingredients as possible. We’re always open to partnering with more local businesses and creating new drink flavors.”

Open 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Mondays to Saturdays

Kooks Coffee owners 040626

<title>Kooks Coffee opens second location in Kakaʻako</title>

The business opened its first location about one year ago at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Now, you can find its blue coffee trailer on Cooke Street in Kakaʻako as well. Kooks Coffee offers signature lattes with names inspired by surf terms.

Hawai‘i Scene on Social: When there’s a will, there’s a way

Kady Pascual

Social Media Editor

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Hawai‘i Scene on Social: When there’s a will, there’s a way

Authors

Kady Pascual

Social Media Editor

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