When her favorite sourdough baker left Oʻahu, Christine Acohido — owner of Wahiawā-based micro-bakery Blossom & Rhyze — decided to try making sourdough herself.
“After making my first successful loaf, I started making all types of pastries with sourdough,” she says. “What started as a fun hobby blossomed into something so much bigger than I had ever thought.”
When the demand for her breads and sourdough-based pastries grew, Acohido officially opened her business last January. She says her business name is inspired by both, a family name, and the names of her two boys.
“Blossom is a family name that my mom, my oldest and youngest sister carry,” she says. “‘Blossom’ means so much to me. The name alone means to grow well or to get better. I’ve watched my mom and sisters overcome many things and never let anything get in their way. They always grew better from any situation; that’s exactly what this was built from.
“‘Rhyze’ came from my two boys, Rhyder and Rhyzen,” she adds. “They are my reasons for everything. I wanted to create something that would allow me to be with my boys every day and not miss a beat.”
The business offers plain sourdough bread ($10), along with flavors like cheddar jalapeno ($12), lemon white chocolate ($12) and ube cookies n creme ($15). Acohido says the sourdough cookies are a fan favorite; they come in flavors like white chocolate mac nut ($5) and mochi chocolate chip ($5).
“Our s’mores cookie is a brown butter base with mini chocolate chips, graham crackers and mini marshmallows,” she says. “Our chocolate chip is made the same way, but stuffed with soft mochi. The sourdough gives the cookies a subtle tang, and helps balance out the sweetness.”
While sourdough was foundation of her business, Acohido added specialty coffees because “coffee goes so well with baked goods.”
“I decided to start making my own coffee, but not just any coffee,” she says. “I wanted to create drinks using real ingredients, so you could taste the true flavors.”
The kūlolo crunch latte ($9 for 16 ounces, $11 for 24 ounces) and banana chantilly matcha ($10 for 16 ounces, $12 for 24 ounces) are the business’s bestselling drinks. The kūlolo crunch latte is made with ChadLou’s Coffee Roasters beans, homemade brown sugar syrup and condensed milk, poured over the customer’s choice of milk. It’s finished with a homemade haupia cream top, real kūlolo bits and homemade macnut shortbread crumbles.
Meanwhile, the banana chantilly matcha features housemade chantilly and banana syrup that’s paired with oat milk, organic Uji ceremonial matcha and topped with a creamy chantilly cold foam. The result is a “creamy, buttery, banana profile,” according to Acohido.
“All of my syrups, purees and pastries are made from scratch,” Acohido says. “I like knowing I can control the sugar amount.
“What makes my business unique is that I have created this business from being self-taught, with no background in baking or having any barista experience,” she adds. “I enjoy creating in the kitchen, and knowing that my food and drinks make others happy is what keeps it alive.”
The biz also offers bottled coffees to-go.
Blossom & Rhyze usually posts its schedule and pop-ups on social media. The biz tries to open every other Saturday; for updates, follow its Instagram.
“Blossom & Rhyze can mean anything from the roots of my family to simply blossom and ‘rhyze’ up to the day with a great cup of coffee,” Acohido says. “My goal for my small business is to have a cafe on wheels in the near future.”
Kelli Shiroma Braiotta can be reached at kelli@alohastatedaily.com.
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