8. Eat 50 Flavors of Onopops

Complete: 10/31/2012

Courtesy of OnoPops

This bucket list item evolved from my original intention to select one bakery/ice cream parlor/Cheesecake Factory and try every flavor or dessert they offered. But after giving some thought to the cost and feasibility of accomplishing such a feat (I wanted to pick someplace that had a significant variety of desserts/flavors to make this attempt worthwhile), I finally settled on Onopops. I first read about in Honolulu Magazine and subsequently found at various farmers markets and outdoor events around the island.

You may be wondering what made me pick this of all possible food businesses on this island. Well, as meaningless as it is to try all the offerings of a particular food place for fun, I tried to add to the significance of this achievement by making a conscious choice on the kind of place I would be giving my business to. In addition to the criteria of offering a multitude of flavors (the owners are quite creative in the kitchen and have come up with lots of unique flavor combinations), what appealed to me about OnoPops is that they promote sustainability in Hawaii by using local or organic ingredients in their naturally-flavored pops. Their vision, taken from the company website, sums it up quite nicely: "OnoPops envisions a self-sustaining Hawaii, where people value local goods and the people that produce them. We will showcase this in flavor after flavor, in new and exciting ways, bringing awareness of endless sustainable, local possibilities for Hawaiian tastebuds."

 Free cooler when I officially decided to pursue this quest. I think it was a sign :)

My first taste of OnoPops (the lilikoi cheesecake flavor) happened at the first Eat the Street event in Kakaako that I ever attended. Accomplishing this goal would span the next few months, since flavors are contingent on availability of the ingredients in season, so I had to wait a while to come across new flavors that I hadn't tried. One inadvertent outcome of this task was my being introduced me to the world of farmers markets. I've been to several different ones now, including in Kailua, at Kapiolani Community College, and Blaisdell. While I get my fix of pops, I've gotten to try other delectable food concoctions, and support other local businesses through my  patronage as a result. Win!

Savoring the 50th OnoPop (hopefully not my last)

Flavors tried: azuki green, blue cheese double star (aka blue cheese and starfruit jam), butter mochi, cacao nib crunch, caramel shoyu, cherimoya crema, chocolate apple banana*, chocolate peanut butter fantasy, crackseed lemon peel, cucumber yogurt shiso, dark chocolate Chinese five spice, dragonfruit chamomile, ginga-tanical orange, ginga-tanical yellow, guava tamarind, honeydew mint, honeyed tropical apricot, horchata, jaboticaba lemonade, kabocha pumpkin brown Betty, kalamansi coriander, kona latte, kooky azooky (aka rocky road to Tokyo)*, Kula strawberry Maui goat cheese, lilikoi 50/50, lilikoi cheesecake, lime soda, lychee, mac nut brittle, mango habanero lime, mango honey cream*, mango magma, mango strawberry, Maunakea green tea, Mexican chocolate, mountain apple rose, pickled green mango, pineapple li hing, pineapple rhubarb, pineapple vanilla, pink lemon cream, plantation iced tea, salted watermelon cream, starfruit lemongrass**, strawberry beet lavender, Surinam cherry clove, tropical sundae, ume Thai basil**, varietal mango blend, virgin Bloody Mary, Waialua estate mocha, watermelon feta pepper**, and watermelon hibiscus.
* = personal favorites; ** = especially ono (delicious)