Oh poi! This month’s online exclusive takes us inside the kitchen of Seattle Poi Company. Culture, food, and community mash together to create the story of a small business making big waves. By bringing fresh poi to the continental United States, the folks at Seattle Poi Company have made a name for themselves in a variety of communities.
When was the last time you looked into your breakfast bowl of yogurt and sighed out of boredom? Maybe never, but once you try it with poi, a traditional Hawaiian taro dish, you may not want to go back.
Dana and Palika Lastimado started Seattle Poi Company in 2017. When they moved to Seattle from their hometown in O‘ahu in 1995, there was nowhere for them to get poi, which is not only a vital aspect of Hawaiian culture but a favorite in the Lastimado household.
Photo Courtesy of Dana Lastimado
Taro is integral to Hawaiian culture and is seen as part of Hawaiians’ DNA, according to Dana. Access to fresh poi, which is made by mashing cooked taro and combining it with water, provides a connection to their heritage that can only be found in the comfort of food.
“Every time I would go back [to Hawai‘i], I’d bring a few bags up so we could freeze it and everything,” Dana says.
The poi that Dana was bringing back and freezing was mass-produced. Uwajimaya, a chain Asian supermarket in Seattle, also started carrying mass-produced poi, which significantly cut the travel time for Dana to get poi. Then, around 10 years ago, while visiting Hawai’i for her uncle’s funeral, she made and ate fresh poi for the first time.
“I was amazed at the difference in taste,” Dana says. “Every time I go back at this point now, I’m going to the farmer’s market, because that’s the only place I can get it fresh.”
Dana and Palika made their debut as Seattle Poi Company at the 2017 Live Aloha event in Seattle. They had 100 pounds of poi and a dream.
“I was totally terrified but I was fully committed; I’m in it,” Dana says. “We completely sold out in just a couple of hours. [We] realized that there’s a market for this.”
Photo Courtesy of Dana Lastimado
Poi is made by combining equal parts mashed taro and water to create a pudding-like texture. Seattle Poi Company currently works with one farmer based in Kaua‘i, who provides them with around 400 pounds of taro each month. The farmer must harvest the taro by hand, replant the top of the corm, pressure wash and remove the roots from the taro to adhere to the guidelines of the Department of Agriculture, and prepare everything for shipping.
It’s not just the growing and shipping either; the production of poi is a bit more complex than mashing and mixing. Raw taro contains calcium oxalate crystals, which can cause mouth and throat irritation and damage to the kidneys. Taro must be boiled for 45 minutes to an hour to be safely consumed. Next, the skin and the first couple of layers of the taro are peeled off, and the taro is ready to be mashed and combined with water to create poi.
Along with the Hawaiian population who have rallied around Seattle Poi Company, there is also a group of people looking to reap the health benefits of the Hawaiian superfood. Poi has probiotic properties when it ferments, it’s full of nutrients, and it’s easy on the stomach.
“There are a few people who have had different illnesses, especially chemotherapy or any type of stomach issues. For some reason, poi is very soothing on the stomach and they’re able to keep it down,” Dana says. “That’s why it is also our babies’ first solid because it’s something that’s easy on the digestive system.”
Because of the variety of taro Seattle Poi Company receives from the farmer they work with, the color and even flavor of their poi can vary from batch to batch.
“We don’t have control over what [the farmer] sends us,” Dana says. “We take anything he sends because that’s what he’s growing.”
Seattle Poi Company has a symbiotic relationship with the Kaua‘i farmer supplying them with locally-grown taro. Before Hawai‘i was colonized, over 300 varieties of taro were cultivated in the widespread lo‘i, which are irrigated fields used for growing taro. The varieties of taro and lo‘i fell drastically after colonization, and support and demand on the scale of Seattle Poi Company helps to keep the varieties of taro and the use of the lo‘i alive.
“It’s just him and his wife who farm his lo‘i,” Dana says. “It allows him to expand and add more patches and turn that land that sometimes just sits back into a lo‘i field.”
Dana and Palika did poi-making demonstrations during AAPI Heritage Month, where participants could buy cooked taro and use Seattle Poi Company’s tools to make poi themselves.
“Sometimes to get your hands and get in there you know, it’s connecting people,” Dana says.
Seattle Poi Company is currently operating through pop-ups and catering. You can stay up-to-date on their events by following their Facebook and Instagram.
