O’o Farms

Save your money and skip this one. Tour was long and boring and unless you are seated right in front of the chef’s area you are treated like a second-​class citizen (our family was seated at the third table toward the back with a few other patrons). After walking around in the mud for about an hour being bit by mosquitos the group lined up like a production line to pick their one leaf of lettuce and one bean for the lunch salad. After picking our one leaf and one bean the group headed toward the picnic tables to eat. Once seated, Tables No. 1 and 2 were served bread, salad and their chef-​prepared lunch while our table (Table No. 3) sat with our heads in our hands waiting for food. Once the other tables finished eating their lunch our lunch finally arrives, however, instead of it being given to us like the others with the bread and salad first like an appetizer we were given everything at once and on the same plate (no bread), with the salad consisting of a couple pieces of lettuce and no veggies (the salad with the veggies was reserved for Table 1 and 2). Did they run out of food and forget Table No. 3? After we choked down our dry fish and chicken the bread finally arrives and our table was told the entire basket was for us to share and enjoy. Not. A couple minutes after our table received the long-​awaited basket of bread, which was given to us right before our dime-​sized piece of chocolate and paper thin piece of pineapple O’O Farms called dessert, the farm manager took the bread from our table and gave it to coveted Table No. 1. What? Didn’t we all pay the same price? Oh, did I mention you need to bring your own drink to this «tour»? If not, the only thing you get is a tiny cup of water. Frustrated and still hungry we left and went to the local bistro to get something to eat. I would give it only one star but the focaccia bread was delicious (what we were able to taste of it anyway). Not worth the price of admission.

Had an awesome time on the farm tour. Fantastic views and a great meal. Would definitely recommend! Want to come back and try the coffee tour.

Amazing farm to table experience. This is a must do for anyone visiting Maui who loves fresh, healthy, organic food and care about where their food is coming from — not many people are in touch with that these days so I was thrilled to see the tour was full and that everyone was so engaged. We picked the ingredients for the salad we had with lunch. The chef prepared a delicious lunch and coffee, grown and roasted at the farm, was incredible. They are doing great work! Overall, one of the highlights of our whole trip. Highly recommend!

Rename: Passion Farm! OH! MY! This is the BEST tour experience EVER! I have to take a deep breath just to think about where to start. There really is no way to start except to say, «Just do it!» It is extraordinary! We did the Coffee tour, which included coffee tasting and breakfast by amazing Chef Daniel! The tour was conducted by Wisconsin transplant, Ancil, who was so so knowledgeable about the entire operation! And it would take me pages and pages to illustrate that! My Gosh! It still takes my breath away just reminiscing in my mind, and this is now 4 days following my return to California.
This is a very small operation. 8 ½acres, with about 1 acre in coffee plants, in varying ages from baby plants to productive 5yr old plants. There are many other fruit bearing trees (loquats, lychee, finger limes, cherimoya, among others) and lush, veggie gardens for Daniel to create his mystical feats. They also have about 20 gorgeous chickens and one rooster. We got to walk all through the orchard and up to the beautiful, serene area that is home to the setting where we sat for our first coffee tasting and Daniel’s most incredibly delicious, «cinnamon-​style» rolls and a multiple fruit preserve, including the coffee cherry skin and pulp. I only wish that was available to purchase! Then their is the table and bench, where we sat! (see it on the website) And the brick oven, where the rolls and focaccia are born. Right there! Andi continues with stories about what all goes on around the farm. He is quite fun in telliing and answering all our questions! Then our breakfast! Made right there, under a tent canopy, it is set before us. Splendorous! After this, a short walk up to the small shed that houses the coffee roaster and a wonderful $$$ coffee bar. We see the seedling plants, the innovated dehydrator (they converted from an old …). I’m not telling the entire story. Just treat yourself O’o Farms on your next visit to Maui. And residents too! The biggest impression for me was how they make use of everything and the loving inspiration that is evident in all the resourcefulness that abounds! Just amazing and will linger in mind until I can return. Thank you so much!!! Wish you much success!

Such a beautiful location and chance to see the farm in action. A great learning experience for our kids. The lunch was outstanding. We didn’t want to leave.

Wonderful experience. As a family (three children included) we did the organic farm tour and lunch.
You are greeted by a beautiful view and well thought out tour through a sustainable organic farm. We harvested our salad for lunch with tastings on the way. Outlet children enjoyed the interaction with the garden.
The chef explained the Delilah meal to us and then served us lunch in a fabulous setting. Wonderful flavors and experience. A must visit.

Combine the beauty of a winery with the passion and talents of a certified international arborist turned farmer and coffee geek, and a world class chef and you have one wonderful afternoon ahead of you.
O’o Farms is a gem tucked up in the hills of Maui. As a culinary farm, they produce fruits and vegetables for the chefs at their Pacifc’o restataurant, Feast at Lele, and on the farm during these tours. Having this culinary farm insures that the produce served at these outlets is the peak of freshness and 100% seasonal. It also allows the chefs to make special requests, which the orchard manager can accommodate too, given the right amount of time.
Ansel, the Orchard Manager, was our tour guide, and began by explaining why this beautiful place exists, followed by a walk through the orchard to see the variety they produce and hear a few fun stories along the way. One story involved planting about 20 olive trees in the hopes of producing olive oil. After several years, the were able to produce… 500ml of olive oil! That’s farming for you.
But seriously, the knowledge right at your fingertips is incredible, and had I known more about gardening, I’m sure I would’ve been asking questions non-​stop!
Following the intro we met the farm chef who shared the daily harvest basked with us and explained the menu we’d enjoy later that afternoon. His knowledge was equally impressive, and he offered tasting notes of each fruit and vegetable that were delivered in the over dramatized chef speak foodies like us love!
We then went into the raised beds of the gardens to collect greens for our salad of the day, a highlight of the visit. We all got to pick things that ended up in the bowl at lunch time, and the best part was tasting the purple osaka, a mustard green varietal with a surprisingly spicy, sinus clearning, wasabi like taste!
We then toured their coffee roastery and went back for lunch. The menu consisted of our fresh salad with a vinaigrette made from citrus and fruit grown on the farm, a wood-​fire oven baked King Richard Leek focaccia, roasted O’o farms root vegetables with seared tofu that tasted like bacon, pan seared chicken breast in a luscious, creamy rutabaga pan sauce that surprisingly had no cream, oven roasted hebi (Hawaiian short billed spearfish) over a bed of sauteed shredded daikon and purple osaka. Dessert service followed with fresh pineapple, cherimoya (custard apple) and dark chocolate truffles made with the fruit of the coffee tree, and a cup of their freshly roasted red catuai coffee!
The afternoon was absolutely stunning, with light breezes and lots of sunshine. Beautiful vistas everywhere, and lots of lively conversation. Certainly a highlight of our trip to Maui and something any food lover would enjoy!

On my 10^th trip to Maui, we finally discovered this farm tour with a gourmet lunch. Ancel (the coffee roaster, orchard manager, farmer) was an energetic and insightful tour guide, from showing us how to harvest coffee beans, to picking our own lettuce for the salad. Our chef prepared a fabulous chicken/​fish lunch with root vegetables and outdoor oven baked focaccia served at one tree hewed table. Dessert with truffles and award winning French pressed coffee was a nice ending to our meal. There was an assortment of odd characters on our tour from babies to seniors, at the farm located on the slopes of Haleakala. I recommend it for an unique side trip from the sunny shores of Maui.

Our experience here was one of the highlights in our trip to Maui! This tour really was amazing if you’re into food, farming or both. It takes you through an organic small farm and really lets you get into the details of how its run on a daily basis. You taste lots of fresh ingredients and even help pick items for your salad.
The chef really works to prepare a meal to remember using the salad you picked along with other farm fresh ingredients. The setting is something that appears almost right out of a picture. Don’t miss this if you’re ever in Maui!
Oh, and if you go, remember to bring your own bottle of wine. They don’t sell any, but do let you bring your own.

What a highlight to our trip. We took the coffee tour «seed to cup». Our tour guide/​coffee farmer/​barista Ansel was great! The chef that prepared our breakfast did a spectacular job. You could tell the passion is to make great food. Learned a lot about coffee and the special place Maui has in that industry. The quality of the coffee was some of the best. Keep up the great work and quality of all your farmed goods. Mahalo!

We were lucky enough to snag the last few spots on this tour yesterday and boy am I glad we did! The view, the fabulously informational farm tour, the coffee tasting-​these things were only eclipsed by the truly farm to table gourmet lunch served at the end. This was a wonderful experience in the upcountry of Maui-​something that even our friends who have visited the island 20 times had not done before. Our group had small children, grandparents, and honeymooners and everyone enjoyed it. Foodies or just those interested in the logistics of natural farming will find this to be a wonderfully unique experience!

Yes, you could do the stereotypical thing to do on the islands (i.e. luaus, beach trips, tourist trap shopping) But if you want to see another side of Maui, then check out O’o Farm in UpCountry. Food has a great story, and you may want to learn about the in’s and out’s of the farm to table movement in Maui.
The manager Richard gives a great tour and talk about this amazing private culinary farm for Pacific’O Restaurant. The farm is pretty amazing, and epic. The variety of fruits and vegetables that the farm grows is quite awe inspiring.
We got to taste, and sample a lot of the veggies being grown. We even picked veggies for the salad we ate for lunch. The prepared lunch is classic farm to table fare, and should cost twice as much as what is charged.
Highly recommended for locals, tourists, children alike.

November 16, 2015 Monday — 11 AM for lunch
4 adults
Atmosphere — 5 star
Food — 5 stars
Service — 5 stars
Background — One of the few items we had planned out in advance for this vacation, and glad we did this in advance. The space is limited and fills up fast
Atmosphere — A farm bought to help with their restaurant food needs. The farm is not a huge operation as it only serves their restaurant and tour groups. They are on the side of a hill so make sure you bring the right shoes and they will get dirty.
Food
Drinks — Water for me, we forgot the wine and beer.
Main course — Everything is so fresh. As a group we picked the greens for the salad today. It was also served with fish from the restaurant that they brought up. They also provided us with some chicken and bread.
Service — The tour was all about the details of each crop. They had trees with two special plants at the trunk to help it grow better without chemicals. Richard guided us through the farm field by field, and even their small chicken operations and coffee roasting process. Even the tour of their outdoor kitchen was interesting. Clearly this is all about being a foodie and the new surge of farm to table.
Future — Love to come back, maybe their coffee tour next. We got a small look into it.

By far, one of the coolest experiences I have ever had!
We were met by our tour guide, Richard, right by where we parked. He was super friendly, knowledgeable, and passionate about what they were doing at the farm. He escorted us through different areas of the farm showing us all of the different items they were growing.
We started at with olives and coffee plants and I have to say being able to pick a coffee cheery off of the plant and sample the juice reminded me a bit of rhubarb. Richard encouraged us to touch, smell and taste the different plants. The tour continued through the farm and he spoke of why they grow the different items. (They are owned by Pacifico restaurant in Lahaina and are a culinary farm, All of the items they grow is to supply the restaurant and also support the lunch tours at the farm.)
We traveled up to their outdoor kitchen and met Chef Daniel Eskelsen. He was one of the most passionate chefs I have ever met. He took his time with the harvest basket explaining each item, how it was going to be used in his creations, and the health benefits of how they grow each component. His enthusiasm made me even more excited to eat his food.
Then it was off to gather items for our group salad. Each area of the farm had different items and Richard was more than happy to explain some of the veggies we were unfamiliar with. It was great to have an education and compile one of the most amazing salads i’ve tasted.
We then went back to the outdoor kitchen and they took our salad fixings and washed them and we had an excellent meal:
Fresh pineapple and persimmon
Tofu with oven roasted vegetables and herbs from the garden
Kaffir lime fresh catch, sizzling lemongrass oil and O’o Farm vegetables
Wood oven-​roasted organic rosemary chicken
O’o farm greens with lemon vinaigrette
Hawaiian sea salt and herb focaccia bread
Espresso chocolate truffles with fresh fruit
To say this has been the highlight of our vacation would be a gross understatement. I will come back every time we come to Maui!

Wow! This place is awesome; thank you to the «Best of Maui» guide I picked up because I would have never known about this place if I haven’t read about it. It was interesting, fun and we had a GREAT meal prepared for us. It’s in what they call «Maui upcountry» –a very beautiful place!
A few tips:
Bring sunscreen
Closed toe shoes
Gratuity is appreciated
Don’t leave valuables in your car
Arrive prior to the start time
Daniel, the chef really knows his stuff. He’s an amazing chef and really uses all of what the farm gives him. Truly excellent food preparation, taste and explanation of what he was going to make us. I wanted to keep him because I could get used to having a chef around all the time ;)
Richard the tour guide is very knowledgeable, takes the time to teach and answer questions. He does everything from give the tour to buss the dishes and wash them. He was open to answering all our questions so feel free to ask!
I will definitely be going again next time!

I did the lunch tour with my wife and her parents earlier this week. Whenever we first arrived I wasn’t really sure what to think of O’O Farms as I thought the tour was going to be rather small and there were quite a number of people waiting. As a matter of a fact the parking lot seemed to be too small for the number of people on the tour. However once our farmer came out and started talking to us I could tell that we were in for a good time. He was passionate about what he did and also was excited to share his passion with us. During this experience we got a good tour of the working farm and our guide encouraged us to try many different things. Many of the foods that we tried I didn’t even know were edible, such as the coffee berry and a bunch of different flowers. It made me wonder what items back at my home and in the woods were edible that I had no clue about. We also helped to pick the greens for the salad which the chef there was preparing for our lunch. Whenever we got to meet him, he told us in great detail about the meal he was about to prepare for us. Apparently he had been up since 6 AM that morning walking the field and picking fresh vegetables for us. How cool of job is that where he is a chef and gets to walk through fields and pick what he wants to make for the day? He was also very passionate about what he was doing and it showed. After we had picked our greens and returned them to our chef, our tour guide also gave us a tour of their coffee sorting and roasting facility. It was there that we learned that their specific varietal of coffee, moka coffee, cupped the best the previous year in all of HI. By the time our coffee sorting/​roastery tour was done our lunch was also prepared and ready to be eaten. It was served buffet style and consisted of the salad that we had picked, a focaccia, tofu scramble, mahi mahi and chicken, all with a ton of vegetables in each item. Wow was all of the food good! It sort of made me sad that I didn’t always have the bounty of vegetables available at my disposal. Of course I am sure that I would not be able to make all of it taste as good as the chef did but it certainly would be nice. Last but not least for dessert they served some of their award winning coffee, made French press style, along with some chocolate truffles.
The bottom line for me is that I would do this again in the future. It was really cool to head to upcountry and see the working farm and taste your way through it. It was also nice to see how passionate the people that were working on the farm were and I would highly recommend this to any food lover who has the time while in Maui.

We went with the 4-​hour farm tour + lunch package @ $ 58 /​person.
The lunch was great. The chef prepares everything in the outdoor kitchen /​wood-​fired oven. Everything they serve at lunch comes from the farm — except for the proteins (tofu, fish, chicken). All the dishes were vegan except for the fish & chicken dishes. The focaccia and tofu were wonderful.
Be warned: this meal is for foodies — leave the picky eaters at home. No chicken fingers, cheese quesadillas, or PBJ are served here. I’m told that the same goes for the breakfast tour. Grammie hated everything, even their wonderful coffee.
I also liked the tour portion, but mainly because our guide was so friendly. I was a little disappointed in the farm itself — much much smaller than I expected. And the «working in the fields» part of the tour was really «pick 3 green beans and one leaf of lettuce». I had expectations that I’d be getting dirty and sweaty.
Conclusion: I’ll go back again next time we are on the island.

So I am giving this 2 stars with the understanding that if you are reading this you’ll want know why just two. Here is my caveat. There are a few people that lead these tours. The person who led ours was very knowledgeable and talked a lot. If you are a horticulturist or a gardener then this tour guide is for you. My problem is I don’t want to hear 20 minutes on composting.
The good parts were the few minutes we got to pick some veggies. We were told this would be an integral part and yet our tour guide didn’t really go for this hands on experience as much as we were led to believe. He liked to talk. And if he got a question he talked a lot more. Good information if you are into that sort of thing. I am a foodie and I want to pick my food, then watch as a master chef prepares what I just picked.
If you book this make sure you get the tour guide who gives you a hands on experience. We met a few couples who had this experience in, previous visits so its all about the guide.
For me $ 58. Per person was not worth it.
The food was excellent. Fresh fish, chicken, tofu, veggies, salad greens, focaccia, chocolates and great coffee.
If you want to do this as a foodie then the coffee tour might be better for you. Make sure you get to taste the coffee as it is very good and has a sweetness to it.

For this year’s family vacation, O’o Farms was the hands-​down crowd favorite. We’re in unanimous agreement that it was the best part of our trip! If it was possible, O’o would get a minimum of AT LEAST ten stars.
Getting a sneak peek inside one of Maui’s private culinary farms is pretty much a dream come true for anyone who enjoys learning about their food and where it came from. Richard gave a great tour around the farm, encouraging us to ask plenty of questions and pick samples of foods along the way. I studied food production systems in college so of course, I had a bunch of nerdy questions. However, the tour was informative and captivating for all levels of food knowledge. For 2 hours, we wandered around the farm, learned about the farming process, and took in the beautiful views!
Lunch with Chef JJ was AWESOME — ohhhh, the things I would do for that focaccia bread recipe. Everything we ate was harvested from the farm just that morning, and we had actually even picked our own salad greens during the morning tour. My family skipped bringing our own wine (though I would recommend doing it next time!) and after a huge lunch, nommed on some delicious coffee and freshly rolled truffles for dessert. Holy cow. What I wouldn’t give to be back there again! Also, in my future dream home, I’m building an outdoor kitchen JUST LIKE CHEF JJ’S. There’s some serious kitchen envy going on here, my friends.
I really can’t say enough great things about this place. Next time I’m here, I’ll be back here for the farm AND the coffee tour!
Tip: Call the office for reservations; it’s way faster than email. Put on sunscreen. Bring your own wine. Come hungry!

Our visit to O’o Farms was one of the highlights of my trip to Maui. It combines a little outdoor activity with culinary interest at a working farm and it’s a fairly relaxing way to spend half a day.
For reservations, I called on the day I wanted go and it was not an issue. The phone number goes to some line in Lahaina. Simultaneously with my call, I emailed and that email didn’t get responded to until many days later. Obviously, if time is an issue for you, calling is a better bet.
O’o is a working, organic farm in upcountry Maui, kind of near the center of the island. It supplies some of the produce for Pacific’O and Feast of Lele in Lahaina, two of the better eateries there though much of its produce stays and gets used for the guests of the farms.
You start off with a 2 hour tour of the farm. Depending on the season, they’ll show you different things that are growing. Our winter tour highlighted coffee beans, lettuces, some citruses, and their newish coffee roasting venture. During the tour, you’re traipsing up and down hillsides and in and out of fields so it’s very moderately physical and your footwear could possibly get a little bit muddy. FYI: the tour seemed to be too much for some of the elderly, younger kids who got bored, and a pregnant woman who needed a 15 min break to deal with low blood sugar (me, sad face).
Our tour guide was Richard and he’s a serious dude who takes talking about composting and pests seriously. The tour is very honest, explaining how the farm was conceptualized and discussing how it has grown and progressed, explaining its watering mechanisms and interestingly, its mistakes and limitations. The highlight of this part of the tour was when Richard showed us the lettuces and let us pick some for our day’s salads. If you’ve never eaten the first cutting of arugula fresh from the garden, be prepared to have your taste buds blown!
After the tour, the entire tour group goes up to meet the farm’s chef and get treated to a farm fresh meal. The menu itself does not appear to vary much and typically includes:
— Fresh local fruit (strawberries & pineapple)
— Tofu with oven roasted vegetables and herbs from the garden — this was my FAVORITE dish. Firm tofu had been pressed and crusted with a wide variety of spices and herbs and panfried with a great assortment of oven roasted root vegetable and chard.
— A baked/​steamed fish dish with vegetables
— O’o farm greens with lemon vinaigrette
— Hawaiian sea salt and herb focaccia bread. On our visit, the Chef didn’t bake bread but we were still served bread.
— Espresso chocolate truffles with fresh fruit
— O’o farms coffee
— Roasted macadamia nuts (LOVED cracking them and popping the nutty bites)
You can bring your own wine to enjoy with your meal or they provide water. I really liked the tour and it was a great lunch. My only disappointment was finding out that the menu doesn’t change often so if you do the tour again, you can expect the exact same thing.