Minneola Tangelo

E Komo Mai! Welcome!

I love orange juice. So much so, that when I met up with a friend who I hadn't seen in about ten years, one of the first things he asked me is if I still drank orange juice every morning.

The short answer was yes. But the longer answer is now dependent if I can get fresh tangelo juice or not!

A few years ago, I went to the Hilo Farmer's Market and bought a dozen or so tangelos. I hadn't had them before but they just looked so juicy and sweet. The woman selling them said they are for making juice as opposed to peeling and eating by the slice.

When I returned home, I juiced a couple of them into a glass. And from the first thirst quenching sip, tangelos became my new, favorite breakfast drink.

So of course we had to plant a couple of keiki (young) tangelo trees. That was about four years ago. Now, in 2022, the trees are mature and happy enough, and they are fruiting. We can't wait for them to continue growing and producing even more in the coming years.

Minneola tangelos are a cross of a Dancy tangerine and Duncan grapefruit and are mostly sweet with a hint of tartness. I was told that they ripen in the fall and winter months but my son just took this picture last week so I'm guessing we may get multiple harvests this year. I'm very excited about that!

I hope you are staying with us when they are ripe — and we look forward to your thoughts on their taste.

Finally, I want to leave you with a Hawaiian Place Name and its translation. Today's place name is "Pepe`ekeo" which is the name of a town just north of Koili Point. Pepe`ekeo translates to: "the crushed food, as by warriors in battle". For me that begs a few more questions to be explored down the road.

Aloha!

Check availability for both houses at: https://www.airbnb.com/p/oceanfront-ac-pool

If there are topics you would like to know more about in future blogs, kindly let me know at koilipoint@gmail.com. Mahalo! Len