‘Tis the season! Our beloved Holiday Seasonal is here. Made with Maui grown fresh Hashimoto Farms Persimmon balanced with organic Fuji Apples and a touch of Cinnamon to enhance the holiday cheer.
Let’s be real: the true beauty of using real fresh pressed ingredients extends far beyond the flavor. It’s about the direct connection it provides us with local farmers in Hawai’i. Persimmon, the key ingredient of Pearl, is locally grown at Hashimoto Persimmon Farm located on the slopes of Haleakala. The farm spans six generations and has supplied the Maui community for over a century, making it Hawaii’s largest and oldest persimmon farm.
We recently visited the farm to pick up our fruit directly and talk story with Clark and Jackie Hashimoto. Their great-grandfather, Shinichi Hashimoto, first brought kaki, as it’s known in its native Japan where the fruit was cultivated for over two thousand years, to the Islands in 1915.
At the time, the ten-acre farm land he had purchased only had a small access road and the ground was steep and rocky. Aware of the perfect climate and soil on the volcanic slopes, Shinichi planted five hundred Japanese persimmon trees. “It was a hobby for my great-grandfather,” says Clark, “he missed eating persimmons in Japan so he planted a few trees, planted the seeds from the fruit and grafted them. Who knew it would be so popular today?”
Indeed! What began as a small farm started by a Japanese immigrant, is now hundreds of flourishing fruit trees and the strengthened bond of six generations united for a common purpose: cultivating persimmons and honoring Shinichi’s memory. The farm now grows a variety of the fruit, including Mary, Fuyu and Hachiya.
With an incredibly short two-month season, Persimmon is usually harvested in October and November. As the seasonal fruit ripens and turns to a bright orange, so do the leaves of the many more than a hundred year old trees. Each fruit is handpicked at the peak of ripeness, hauled and hand sorted with the help of several generations of family members.
Let’s celebrate the holidays with this magical blend of Maui Hashimoto Farms Persimmon + Fuji Apple + Cinnamon.
Make sure to treat yourself to our ‘Pearl’ craft kombucha before it’s gone till next year!
Now on tap and - for the first time ever - in cans exclusively in our Booch Box!
