O'o Farm — Attraction in Maui

The whole experience here was amazing and absolutely astonishing! This will definitely be one of the best highlights, and be something I keep looking back on from my trip to Maui!

Being on the farm observing all of the greenery and life, and over looking the island from up-high is a beautiful experience in itself. Then having a gourmet, 5-course lunch, freshly made with all the luscious vegetation which you were just touching. The same plants you were looking at. The same vegetables you were taking pictures of. Then, the same greens that you walked past. All of that combined, makes a perfect farm to table experience which you can't forget.

Starting from the beginning, you start the tour off with about an hour of exploring the farm, and getting familiar with the place. The whole tour of the farm was very educational and enriching, and our tour guide seemed very knowledgable and passionate on what he did. We learned so much about the land, the crops, and what they stand for. The most interesting part was probably learning about their coffee, and what was even better was getting a chance to try real coffee beans fresh, straight from the source! I never knew that coffee beans were basically a seed, and they grow inside what looks like a cranberry! If you compare the coffee seed to an actual roasted coffee bean, you probably wouldn't even think they are the same thing. The fresh coffee bean-seed itself was pretty hard and kind of bitter, but the fruit around it was pretty sweet, and tastes just like a bell pepper.

Then, as we came around, we walked through the whole environment passing by so many different plants and crops. I love how our tour guide called some sections "scratch-and-sniffs." For the most part though, a lot of the crops were edible. It's pretty cool to be able to eat flowers too. They even had finger lime trees, and we were even able to try finger limes fresh straight from the source as well! Finger limes are pretty expensive, and look like caviar, but green, but pack A LOT of flavor! They are sweet, but also sour... just like a real lime, and they kind of pop in your mouth. I definitely tried to savor the moment trying the finger limes.

A brief overview of all the dishes is that they were all fantastic! I'm not just going to leave it there but, you could really taste the freshness of each dish having each component of the dish freshly picked from the farm you just walked in. Also, each dish was so insanely vibrant in color, and in flavors. The dishes were also pretty filling, so you better bring your appetite! My favorite dish was probably the tofu dish, or the chicken dish. The tofu dish (Course #2) was probably the most vibrant color-wise, and that is because of the luxurious, luscious, deep, sexy pink puree. But also the dish packs a lot of good flavors. I'm not a fan of tofu, but man, this tofu was insane! It was so crisp on the outside and had such a nice sear and made it even more delicious. On the other hand, the chicken dish was close to flawless. At first glance, I wasn't sure if the chicken would have that good of a cook on it, but I was wrong, it was perfect. When cutting into the chicken, it was glistening in the sunlight while juices oozed out of it. I don't think I have ever had chicken cooked to the perfection the chicken I had that day was. It was so tender, so juicy, and so good. It also had a nice rub and sear on the outside as well. Then, being paired with the rich root vegetables and the bright luscious puree it elevated the dish even more.

(p.s.~ I actually reached the word limit a few times on this review and actually cut out a lot of what I originally had... full review on my Yelp page!...

O’o is a small sustainable, regenerative farm located about 3500 feet up on the slopes of Haleakalā. We went on the Seed-to-Cup Coffee and Brunch Tour, and it was one of our favorite experiences on Maui. The tour began with a snack (a crispy, swirl pastry with tropical preserves/jams) and a coffee tasting - 100% Estate, a blend of 75% Colombian and 25% Maui, and a 100% Colombian - really interesting to taste everything side by side. The guide explained that due to the fires on Maui and a shortage of labor, their production has really suffered. Afterwards, you get a tour of the farm and learn about the various stages of coffee growing and production, but also get to see the wide variety of other produce that’s being grown on the farm. Our tour guide was incredibly knowledgeable and passionate about farming and really shared what made O’o Farm special. Afterwards, they explained the process of how to make a pour over coffee (this time using Ka’anapali-grown Mokka) and then sat down for brunch. And wow - the three course meal was awesome. Pretty much everything was from the farm, so it was super fresh and delicious. It began with a frittata and a green salad, followed by local marlin with black quinoa and assorted vegetables, and ended with a fruit medley and chocolate truffles with honey. The food was delicious and plentiful - go hungry.

Just some words of advice…

If you go during the week, assume that you will run into some traffic around Pukalani, and there are several schools along the way, so it may take a bit longer than you expect.

It’s 3,500 feet up, so you will use more gasoline that you would expect getting there - so don't go there with a quarter tank thinking, "hey it's only 15 miles away..."

Also, given the altitude, it may be a little cooler than you expect, especially if it’s cloudy - bring some layers to keep warm.

The only facilities are port-o-potties (albeit super-clean), so take that into consideration.

If you are the celebratory type, bring a bottle of sparkling wine/champagne (they provide wine glasses). It made our brunch that much more special. We lined a hotel garbage can with a clean plastic bag, put the bottle in, and then filled the bag part way with ice. Just had to make sure it didn’t tip over on the way there. You can then dump the melted ice out of the bag before you leave.

Not sure if they have corkscrews, so you may want to bring a screw cap wine if you decide to go the...

Gourmet lunch and farm tour today at one of our fave hidden foodie spots. Perched at 3,500 feet on the slopes of Haleakala in the misting forest of Waipoli in Upcountry is a 9 acre mini farm that grows their own coffee and veggies. Always a fun climb from the mid-80s to the upper 60s temps to cool off.

Such a unique tour combined with culinary delights. Starts with a rebuilding of our connection to the land as we check out the producing grounds of their boutique farm, pick coffee cherries that marks the beginning of the journey of the elixir that starts our days, and harvest the veggies that'll end up in a gourmet lunch prepared in an outdoor wood oven with all the fresh natural products you just harvested. It's truly a unique and hidden gem I dug up in my research a few years back. We did the breakfast tour last trip. This time, did the lunch one.

Amazingly 20 tons of food is produced in 9 acres, with 60% consumed here. The rest goes to their seed-to-table restaurant in Lahaina. Also cool, the original plot that started their dream ("A") is still here and producing.

Their olive orchard produced a whopping 350 lbs this year and they proudly note everything is done with zero machines... all by hand. picking, tilling, etc. Even pressing olive oil is done with MacGyverized car jack.

As usual, lost track of everything seen and eaten but there were finger limes, fresh all spice leaves (OMG), pea flowers, aubergine/eggplant, pomegranate, lemongrass, tuscan kale, maui onion, fennel, parsnips, sorrel, salsafy, purple Osaka mustard greens, roasted tofu with tangerine and beet puree.

Aubrey was an amazing guide thru the gardens and orchards that led to Chef and his creations. Fresh Ono hauled in this morning, off-the-hook salads, fresh tofu... everything was lick-the-plate but the sour orange orange turmeric chicken, eggplant, tuscan kale, maui onion, dusted with fennel flower pollen... oy. Dessert was freshly rolled dark chocolate truffles with dried coffee fruit, Amazonian chili pepper, turmeric, and all spice... paired with the coffee.

The coffee was off the hook... a $120/lb single site estate coffee that's won them all kinds of awards. Didnt have to pay that, but drank my way thru a 64oz press of...