Coffee Trees arrived in Hawaii in the early 1800’s. The British warship H.M.S. Blonde brought coffee trees, to Hawaii, from Brazil in 1825. Chief Boki, Governor of Oahu, had acquired coffee trees in Rio de Janeiro, on his way back from London.

The coffee was planted in Manoa Valley on Oahu, and from a small field, trees were introduced to other areas of Oahu and neighbor islands. Reverend Samuel Ruggles moved trees to Captain Cook, Kona in 1828. Hanalei Valley on the North Shore of Kauai was home to the first coffee plantation. Coffee was established in the valley in 1842, but was wiped out in 1858 by coffee blight, a scale insect.

In the late 1800s efforts to establish coffee plantations were defeated by economics. Small farms averaging less than 5-acres in size replaced the Kona coffee plantations.

By the 1930s there were more than 1,000 farms and as late as the 1950’s there where 6,000 acres of coffee in Kona. At the turn of the last century there was coffee on all the major Hawaii islands, and now 100 years later, there is once again coffee on all the major islands.– Hawaii Coffee Association

On the Kona side of the island of Hawaii, the Coffee Festival is a highly visible event — it’s in the tourist heartland, after all, in Kona Village. There’s live music, a pageant, a parade, dancing, food, contests, crafts, and, of course, plenty of coffee tasting. There’s lots of interesting history related to coffee in Hawaii and odds are high that you can find someone to tell you about their family’s history with the crop. Some years back, I met a woman who told me that her grandfather jumped ship because he was fed up with being mistreated as a sailor and decided the life of a coffee plantation worker was a better way to go.

The spring cousin of the Kona Festival, on the other side of the island, has all this too, but it’s easy to miss unless you know where you’re going — it’s in the little town of Pahala, mauka (inland – learn it, use it!) from the main highway. The Kona Festival is a weekend street fair, the Ka’u festival feels more like a small town agricultural event. And yes, it’s got its pageants and contests, but it’s also got the mellow vibe of a windward town. You might find yourself sharing a bench with the plantation boss who went from coffee to sugar to coffee again, or the guy who runs the local radio station, or one of the biggest names in Hawaiian music. You can spend as much time as you like talking coffee, but you can also eat a giant serving of fish BBQ and then shop for cute totes made from repurposed coffee bags while listening to local boys tear it up on the ukulele.

There are lots of plantations to visit so you can see the crop grow — there’s the well known Ueshima Coffee Estate in Holualoa, but it’s also fun to drop in at the grower stands around Ka’u — call ahead if you want to take a tour. I visited Aikane and got to see the pulper in action — I understand a lot more about the crop now. On Moloka’i and Kaua’i there are visitors centers right on the edge of the plantations — you can get your latte, pick up some beans, and learn about the crop all at once.

On a final, personal note, as a Seattle-ite, I’m kind of snobby about coffee, I like it a certain way. My favorite coffee on the Hilo side of the big island came from Sharky’s at a tiny espresso counter just off Kamehameha. Blink, you’ll miss it. Stop for coffee, you’ll be eyes wide open all day. Yum.

• Kona Coffee Festival: November
• Ka’u Coffee Festival: May

Henry Kapono is creating new rock and roll in the Hawaiian language. Nesian 9 is making reggae beat backed sweet soul with wow, those are great harmonies. And Anuhea, well, she’s kind of a big deal, it turns out, taking home two Na Hoku (Hawaiian Academy of Recording Arts) awards for her accomplishments in Hawaiian music.

If you want to get a preview of what’s making air time on the islands, here’s a guide to Hawaii’s radio dial, by island. Click through — lots of the stations are wired so you can listen to the live broadcast from wherever you are. It’s not quite the same as listening while  sitting on the H1 in traffic, but you’ll get a sense of  that new Hawaiian sound, sweet voices, reggae beats, political rhymes… it’s all there and it’s all Hawaiian.  Tiny Bubbles need not apply.

Fresh Paint by love♡janine via Flickr

Not everything happening in the state of Hawaii has been change for the better. But some things — a revival of local food and a real solution to health care — have put Hawaii out in front on quality of life issues. And there’s Hawaiian culture, still in revival, still growing in strength.

Thirty or so years ago, a Hawaiian Cultural Renaissance got under way as Native Hawaiians, joined by others, made a bid to reclaim their culture and take pride in it. Fruits of this movement are now evident. Once, the number of people who spoke the Hawaiian language was in steady decline and extinction of native speakers was a genuine fear. Now, the number of people who speak Hawaiian is actually growing.

Read more of this Hawaii expat’s thoughts on changes to his former home on Crosscut.

Aloha: Welcome to Hawaii via MPD01605 on Flickr

When we first arrived many people said to us, “Well, if you got here the island must want you.”  ”If things work out easily once you’re here, like finding a car easily, you’ll know the island wants you.”  ”If the island doesn’t want you here, you’ll know- stuff will happen to you and you’ll leave.”–The Little Travelers

The bill creates a complex federal framework under which most of the nation’s approximately 400,000 ethnic Hawaiians can organize themselves into one vast Indian tribe. It endows the tribe with the “inherent powers and privileges of self-government,” including the privilege of sovereign immunity from lawsuit. It also by clear implication confers the power to tax, to promulgate and enforce a criminal code, and to exercise eminent domain. Hawaii will in effect be two states, not one.

Congress Tries to Break Hawaii in Two: A racial spoils precedent that could lead to new ‘tribal’ demands across the U.S. — WSJ

Honolulu City Lights by Dan Zen via Flickr

“If I were a tourist, I’m coming here for the weather, the culture, the sightseeing. But one night I might go to the casino, because what other entertainment is there to do at night?” said James Boersema, an investor of a Waikiki nightclub and restaurant. — MSNBC: Is Hawaii gambling with paradise?

That quote is from an article about the islands considering — again — adding gambling as a source of much needed revenue. Gambling might be a path towards income, surely, but it’s a willfully naive response to the question of what to do after dark in Hawaii.

For starters, there’s a staggering array of music options, and lots of them are free. Waikiki’s Kanikapila Grill hosts the stars of Hawaiian music — hang out poolside at the Outrigger and hear the sounds of island music for the price of a cocktail. You can do this at the Marriott, too, and a number of other places. The Royal Hawaiian has a newish entertainment series — it’s great fun to catch a show in this grand pink hotel by the sea. There are loads of nightlife tourist traps along Kalakaua Ave., discos and kitchy luaus, or you can book a package that includes transportation to and from the Polynesian Cultural Center to catch their big cultural showcase.

In the confines of Waikiki, it’s easy to forget that Honolulu is a real city with a university and residents that work in industries other than tourism, a place where people live and work and play after dark just like any other city. Crack a local paper — one that’s not labeled “Top 100 Things to Do on Oahu!” and you’ll find loads of other options.

There’s a burgeoning foodie scene in Honolulu — try Town in Kaimuki or, if you’re feeling flush, Chef Mavro’s. You can attend a food event like Dining in the Dark where you’ll give up vision for taste. If you’re looking for alternative entertainment there’s Art after Dark at the Honolulu Academy of Arts and there’s Chinatown’s revival with bars and nightclubs and the First Friday gallery walk.

Admittedly, things slow down a little on the neighbor islands, but you can still dine in an amazing array of restaurants in Maui’s county seat, Wailuku, catch a jazz show at the historic Honoka’a theater on the Big Island or hear local music at the Hotel Moloka’i on, you guessed it Moloka’i.  There are nature activities too — star gazing and flashlight tide-pooling and night diving… it’s not over just because the sun is down.

What is there to do at night? Really? Pick up a local paper or look online and find out.

• Big Island Weekly Events Calendar
• MetroMix Honolulu
• Maui Weekly
• The Garden Island

“The Hawaiian culture that tourists see is very tourist-oriented,” according to an unidentified Native Hawaiian who was quoted in the study. “Tourists don’t see the authentic culture. They put on leis and sing Tiny Bubbles” —Don Ho’s famous tune. — USA Today

Ouch. That quote cuts straight to the heart of the matter while also painting all of Hawaii’s visitors with the same ugly brush. It’s true, some tourists do put on leis and sing along with the trademarked song. Culture in Hawaii is a commodity, even while it’s a way of life. In the same USA Today article, Native Hawaiians said that the tourism “industry has a bad reputation for presenting Hawaiian arts authentically and accurately.” After all, real culture is kind of messy and doesn’t sell vacations.

Alternative Hawaiian Flag by Ki'i Girl via Flickr

Great cultural sites aren’t far from the glitzy shopping of Waikiki — the spectacular Hawaiian Hall at the Bishop Museum and ‘Iolani Palace are both excellent places to learn a little history and the trolley that serves most of Oahu’s tourist sites will take you there. The Place of Refuge is a must see on the Big Island — with its scowling ki’i carvings (we often call them “tiki” — that’s not their correct name)  and beautiful setting, it’s an amazing place to learn about Hawaii’s traditions. Limahuli Garden has living kalo (taro) patches, as does the ‘Iao Valley State Park. All these sites offer insight into Native Hawaiian culture and history, and they’re great places to visit.

But they don’t create human connections. Sure, you can visit a museum and learn about Hawaiian culture and you can educate yourself beyond that Don Ho listening lei wearing mainlander, but does this change your sense of who Hawaiians are today? And while there are lots of volunteer opportunities, most of them are nature focused, not human focused. Certainly there’s nothing wrong with making life better for turtles, but do these activities ease the tensions between the day trippers on the road to Hana and the people who have made Hana their home for three, four, more generations?

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs maintains a Native Hawaiian owned business directory — there’s a small section called travel and tours and while it’s enough to find a few activities for your trip, it won’t help you find a Native Hawaiian owned hotel* and there are only six restaurants listed. It’s no wonder the two populations — tourists and Native Hawaiians — don’t have a lot of understanding for each other — places where we can come together over common ground are rare indeed. Ecotourism, oh Hawaii has that, but cultural tourism? Unfortunately, most of what Hawaii offers visitors is history or commodity, leaving curious visitors hungry for more.  And the not so curious? They’re perfectly content with leis and Tiny Bubbles.

Related: Hawaii Tourism Authority awards $600K for programs perpetuating Native Hawaiian culture

*There are two, Uncle Billy’s in Kona or Hilo. If you know of more, please leave that information in the comments.

Queen Liliuokalani Statue by JMCD via Flickr

After a recent visit to Hawaii, KUOW’s Amanda Wilde has a new connection to an old melody. The last of the Hawaiian monarchs penned this tune. It was inspired by a poignant moment on top of a mountain on the Island of Oahu. Amanda spoke with KUOW’s Dave Beck about a classic tune that Sounds Familiar.

Falling in love with Hawaii will change how you feel about the iconic Hawaiian farewell tune. My friend Gregg supplied the sample tracks for this radio story. You can listen here.