| yee |
per Rod
Frozen Durian & Champagne... It's divine!
Anyway, I know I'm not really a part of the Kava Festival committee, but just thought I'd share an idea. Aside from Kava, another one of my passions is ukulele. Recently here in Southern California we had a Ukulele Festival. It included lots of Hawaiian Cultural events and workshops. Most of the Ukulele people (including haoles) believe in aloha spirit and love all things Hawaiian. In my opinion Ukuleles & Kava are a perfect match. Somehow tying in ukuleles, or introducing Hawaiian Kava to the ukulele crowd seems like an intro into an untapped market. Inviting ukulele people to kava events or bringing kava to ukulele events seems to make good sense.
Just a thought.
Aloha
Hawaiian Kava Center, LLC
http://hawaiiankava.com |
| yee |
Whenever I present durian, it seems to polarize people. Kava is the same way. Sulferous, agreed. Cat urine perhaps allegorical. Any hints on harvesting? I've been recommending that it's best not to let the fruit drop, but to pick it once the stem starts separating. And gladly I don't harvest them as I think it is quite a liability just standing under a tree, though supposedly the fruit only falls at night.
Here's some indicators I've been using to work with the fruit:
1. Overripeness is a darkened flesh, that gives to easily, tastes bitter.
2. Thick rinds indicate young trees
3. No smell, green. Moderate smell, ripe. Smelly, overripe.
4. Pick once the stem starts to separate from the tree.
5. Relative degree of spine separation.
6. Yellow, tending to overripe.
Any pointers or ways of better telling about the characteristics?
Mahalo,
Jonathan
-----Original Message-----
From: Edward Johnston
Sent: Wednesday, October 29, 2003 8:27 AM
To: yee@hawaiiankava.com; 'Will McClatchy'; 'Alan Teramura'; 'Bruddah Sam and Lina-Girl'; 'Daren Kimura'; 'Donna Schultz'; 'Jeri Ooka'; 'Jerry Konanui'; 'Kamana'opono Crabbe'; 'Kana Naipo'; 'Kawika Winter'; 'Kumu Lake'; 'Matthew Kaopio'; 'Michael Thomas'; 'Sam Gon - weekend email'; 'Scott Kekuewa Kikiloi'; 'Skip Bittenbender'; 'Trevor Yee'; 'Rainer Bussmann, a director at Lyon Arboretum'
Subject: Durian
The D-123 I planted in 1992 at my Alia Point farm is a durian selection from Thailand. It smells wonderful and has a marvelous flavor. It now yields 100's of fruit per year (Dec-March) and brings in thousands of dollars wholesale. I had 9 cultivars and now have chosen 4 which are good bearers (Chanee, Gom Pun, 123, and 132). The cat urine/rotten descriptions are bizarre and foreign to me, I don't know where your getting that.--Ed
----- Original Message -----
From: Jonathan Yee
To: 'Will McClatchy' ; 'Alan Teramura' ; 'Bruddah Sam and Lina-Girl' ; 'Daren Kimura' ; 'Donna Schultz' ; 'Ed Johnston' ; 'Jeri Ooka' ; 'Jerry Konanui' ; 'Kamana'opono Crabbe' ; 'Kana Naipo' ; 'Kawika Winter' ; 'Kumu Lake' ; 'Matthew Kaopio' ; 'Michael Thomas' ; 'Sam Gon - weekend email' ; 'Scott Kekuewa Kikiloi' ; 'Skip Bittenbender' ; 'Trevor Yee' ; 'Rainer Bussmann, a director at Lyon Arboretum'
Sent: Tuesday, October 28, 2003 12:02 PM
Subject: RE: Rambutan (RE: Kava Festival Mt. on 10/28/03: planning for '04, new forum)
You touched a raw olfactory nerve with the cat urine. =)
That is why I can't have cats... I guess those durians you
had were way past ripe (rotten?). I'm still working with
the farmers to tell how ripe it should be before harvesting.
Anyways, I would like to mention these are no ordinary rambutan.
The farmers feel compelled to sell what can be considered off-grade
and rejects to the mainland and Chinatown. You plainly cannot buy
them in the supermarket. For this harvest, only 1 out of 10 made
it to this "gourmet" grade.
Mahalo,
Jonathan
)-----Original Message-----
)From: Sam Gon
)Sent: Tuesday, October 28, 2003 6:15 AM
)To: yee@hawaiiankava.com; 'Will McClatchy'; 'Alan Teramura';
)'Bruddah Sam and Lina-Girl'; 'Daren Kimura'; 'Donna Schultz';
)'Ed Johnston'; 'Jeri Ooka'; 'Jerry Konanui'; 'Kamana'opono
)Crabbe'; 'Kana Naipo'; 'Kawika Winter'; 'Kumu Lake'; 'Matthew
)Kaopio'; 'Michael Thomas'; 'Sam Gon - weekend email'; 'Scott
)Kekuewa Kikiloi'; 'Skip Bittenbender'; 'Trevor Yee'; 'Rainer
)Bussmann, a director at Lyon Arboretum'
)Subject: RE: Rambutan (RE: Kava Festival Mt. on 10/28/03:
)planning for '04, new forum)
)
)
)Which is why some hotels where durian is indigenous have the
)signs posted: "No Durians in the Lobby!" I have not had a
)"perfect" durian yet, but even the flawed ones I've had from
)Chinatown were delicious, but getting past that initial
)sulphur/cat urine smell is really hard! ; ) Very tempting to
)lure us to meeting with rambutan. I have a definite weakness
)for those... Sam
)
)------------------------------------
)The Nature Conservancy of Hawai`i
)Dr. Sam Gon III
)Director of Science
)sgon@tnc.org
)923 Nu`uanu Avenue
)Honolulu, HI 96817
)tel: (808) 537-4508
)fax: (808) 545-2019
)------------------------------------
)
)
)-----Original Message-----
)From: Jonathan Yee [mailto:yee@hawaiiankava.com]
)Sent: Tuesday, October 28, 2003 9:26 AM
)To: yee@hawaiiankava.com; 'Will McClatchy'; 'Alan Teramura';
)'Bruddah Sam and Lina-Girl'; 'Daren Kimura'; 'Donna Schultz';
)'Dr. Sam Gon III'; 'Ed Johnston'; 'Jeri Ooka'; 'Jerry
)Konanui'; 'Kamana'opono Crabbe'; 'Kana Naipo'; 'Kawika
)Winter'; 'Kumu Lake'; 'Matthew Kaopio'; 'Michael Thomas'; 'Sam
)Gon - weekend email'; 'Scott Kekuewa Kikiloi'; 'Skip
)Bittenbender'; 'Trevor Yee'; 'Rainer Bussmann, a director at
)Lyon Arboretum'
)Subject: Rambutan (RE: Kava Festival Mt. on 10/28/03: planning
)for '04, new forum)
)
)
)Reminder for today...
)
)I am also a seasonal fruit trader. Today we should have some
)gourmet quality Hawai'i rambutan. I was going to serve some
)durian. However, I noticed my van really has a strong smell.
)And last night I had a one seed-segment. It was a little
)over-ripe but I ate it and this morning I smell like it. I
)cannot say if it is a good or bad smell. Like kava, perhaps it
)is an acquired taste... Just that I have to get some Body
)Mints if it doesn't wash off.
)
)The rambutans should be delicious.
)
)Mahalo,
)Jonathan
)
Hawaiian Kava Center, LLC
http://hawaiiankava.com |
| yee |
per Will
Jonathan, I am not much of an expert on growing these, however, the one from yesterday was a but green on the inside (e.g., not quite fully ripe. ) with the Aril still firm at the distal end. I am not sure how to measure this internal character from the outside but would say that dark green at the bottom end seems to often point to one that is not quite ripe yet.
Hawaiian Kava Center, LLC
http://hawaiiankava.com |