ally.” Currently, tours visit Blue Dragon Farm, owned by Bennett Dorrance Jr., who also owns the Blue Dragon Restaurant in Kawaihae, and Lokahi Garden Sanctuary, a 10- acre farm owned by Dr. Richard Liebmann and Natalie Young. A rare Bodhi tree, usually planted in close proximity to every Buddhist monastery, brings a Zen-like quality to their orchard. If not eaten whole, fruits found in the orchards are o en prepared into juices, sauces, salads and sorbet served at local restaurants. Mamey sapote – a sweet, salmon-colored tropical fruit that resembles a papaya – is the main ingredient in a creamy milkshake popular in Cuba, according to Nate. e lush Kohala countryside is home to a wide variety of crops that thrive on the rich volcanic soil. White pineapple, apple bananas, dragon fruit, mango, papaya, lilikoi, lychee, Longan and star fruit are some of the fruits to name a few. Cacao, coffee, avocados, asparagus, taro, kale, chard, pumpkins, okra, eggplant, cucumbers and tomatoes are also grown in Kohala. According to Nate, asparagus shoots grow so fast here they have to be harvested twice daily. Herbs and spices range from two types of cinnamon to ashwaghanda – a tonic herb that can help relieve stress and anxiety in adults – tamarind, allspice, basil, ginger and curry leaf. Miracle berries are a tour highlight. When sucked on for several minutes, a natural chemical component dramatically changes the taste buds so lemon juice tastes more like lemonade. As Nate explains, all of the fruits and vegetables grown on Hawaii Island originated elsewhere, rst brought here by original settlers traveling in canoes from Polynesia. Later, additional plants were brought from Central and South America, Asia, the Caribbean, Mexico and the Yucatan Peninsula by Spaniards, Asians and from elsewhere. A er touring the rst farm, tables are set up – complete with table cloths, plates and napkins – where hungry visitors sample juicy, tropical fruits picked just feet away, along with fresh coconut water as a thirst quencher. Tourists from as far as India, China, Chile, the Philippines, Switzerland and Ethiopia have taken the tour. A er visiting the farms, visitors experience a farm-to-table lunch at Sushi Rock in Hawi, utilizing produce seen that morning used in sushi rolls, sandwiches and salads. “One day, a sustainable shi will happen when people eat less wheat and rice and more local produce,” Nate remarks. “Kohala is a little hidden gem.” e Kohala Grown Jaboticaba fruit grows at Blue Dragon Farm in Hawi, one of the many exotic fruits that visitors have the opportunity to see and taste during the Kohala Grown Farm Tour. (PHOTO BY ANNA PACHECO |SPECIAL TO NORTH HAWAII NEWS) Farm Tours are $125 per adult and $60 for children 12 and under. Locals receive a 20 percent kam’aina discount. Reservations can be made at www.kohalagrownfarmtours. com/. For more information call 937- 4930.- GROWN Continued from page 3 | TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2015 5 About Us Landry Fuller, Editor [email protected] 930-8675 Kelly Bolyard Advertising Director [email protected] Find us on Facebook. e North Hawaii News is distributed free to North Hawaii residents. www.northhawaiinews.com VOL. 15 • NUMBER 36 WINE UNDER STARS THE MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 7 Join us for a very special evening with live jazz under the open sky. Valued patrons: we will be closed starting Sept. 13 — Check out our new Fall menu, starting Oct. 15th, when we reopen! BLUEDRAGONHAWAII.COM KAWAIHAE HARBOR, HWY. 270 RESERVATIONS & HOURS: 882-7771 Our award-winning cuisine will be paired with Buehler wines of Napa Valley. Don’t miss this special night! Tickets are $65. Call 882-7731 for reservations. Seating is limited.
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