You'll want to book accommodations on Hawaiʻi Island’s west side. I recommend Mauna Kea Resort. It is centrally located, home to one of the culinary experiences in this itinerary and about 40 to 45 minutes from the other two.

Mauna Kea Resort was Hawaiʻi Island’s first resort property when it opened in 1965. Set along the soft sands of Kauna‘oa Bay on the Kohala Coast, the resort was developed by Laurance S. Rockefeller, who was inspired by views of Mauna Kea — the tallest mountain on Earth when measured from the seafloor — while swimming in the bay’s turquoise waters. The resort has recently completed a major renovation, unveiling refreshed and spacious guest rooms along with updated golf, tennis and beachside dining options.

If the island’s scenery and slower pace have not already eased you into a restful state, Mauna Kea Tea certainly will.

Head to ʻĀhualoa along Hawaiʻi Island’s agriculture-rich Hāmākua Coast. The tranquil drive winds through time-weathered eucalyptus and ʻōhiʻa lehua groves, until you arrive at a mailbox painted with a tea kettle. This is the entrance to Mauna Kea Tea's farm.

Local tip: Hosts recommend following Google Maps, which is more accurate than Apple Maps in guiding drivers to the farm.

Owners Kimberly and Taka Ino have lived and worked here for 20 years. Everything is done onsite by the Ino family, from planting and propagating tea to packaging the final product.

Taka leads the tour, which begins with a meander through tea groves surrounded by tall ʻōhiʻa lehua and fruit trees. He studied tea in his native Japan and earned a degree in environmental science with a focus on alternative agriculture from the University of California, Berkeley. The couple uses natural farming practices — a chemical-free, sustainable approach that works with nature rather than against it. “Nature takes care of everything,” Taka explains.

A subtle, familiar fragrance of tea wafts through the air as Taka describes the growing, harvesting and processing involved in tea making. He explains the teas produced on the farm, including green, black and oolong, and the techniques used to create each variety.

Taka picks fragrant tea buds to smell and pass around, along with leaves that will be processed into drinkable tea. He also plucks ripe tangerines, lilikoʻi and loquats for tasting.

Along the way, four-legged companions appear. Cookie — a curious cat — and several sheep that live on the farm accompany guests to a small wooden tea house tucked among the trees. Inside, surrounded by large picture windows, Taka performs a traditional tea ceremony, offering a chance to taste what was just seen growing in the grove.

Taka prepares several varieties of tea and light snacks as guests settle onto a bench and quietly take in the room’s Japanese art and pottery. A small sign requests that visitors refrain from taking photos during the ceremony.

The movements that resemble sleight of hand while preparing and serving the tea are ceremonial gestures meant to mirror nature and cultivate mindfulness. The Way of Tea, as described in Zen Buddhism, engages all of the senses. Each tea is impeccably crafted and delicately flavored, some with toasty notes and others slightly herbaceous. All are among the cleanest, purest-tasting teas I have ever experienced. Guests are encouraged to linger in each moment, though little encouragement is needed. I left the tea house with a deep sense of calm I wanted to hold onto as long as possible.

Book the Mauna Kea Tea Farm Tour

Tea ceremony at Mauna Kea Tea. Photo by Natasha Bourlin.

Things to know:

• Tours generally accommodate up to five people

• Tea and curated tea accessories are available for purchase after the tour

• Not recommended for children. While the farm tour is educational, the quiet and stillness of the approximately 30-minute tea ceremony may be challenging for younger visitors

• Duration: 2.5 hours

• Price: $70 for ages 13 and older, $35 for ages 6 to 12

• Tours are offered Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays year-round at 10:30 a.m.

Spend the afternoon relaxing by the pool, swimming in the ocean or engaging an any number of the amenities the resort offers. If you are looking for lunch, there are plenty of options for ocean view dining.

Located inside the Hapuna Golf Course Clubhouse at Mauna Kea Resort, Islander Sake Brewery is an 8,500-square-foot facility where Dr. Chiaki Takahashi and Tama Hirose brew and bottle authentic junmai sake.

Before turning her focus to sake, Takahashi was a winemaker. She learned the craft while studying at the University of Yamanashi in Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan’s wine country.

Today, Takahashi is Hawaiʻi’s only sake brewer, using traditional Japanese techniques recognized by UNESCO and a classic four-ingredient process that includes koji, sake rice, yeast and volcanic-rock-filtered soft water. Some batches also incorporate small amounts of mineral-rich deep-sea water, similar to what is used at Kona Sea Salt Farm. She also produces flavored sake using local tropical fruit.

Dinner + Sake Tasting

Adjacent to the brewery is the duo’s restaurant, Engawa. Tokyo-born Takahashi learned to cook from her mother, who prepared daily meals for monks at the Buddhist temple where Takahashi’s father was a priest. Here, Takahashi prepares a six-course omakase dinner paired with a bespoke sake-tasting experience led by Hirose.

Both the Classic Dinner Experience and the Premium Sashimi Experience showcase the flavors of Japan using seasonal, local ingredients. Traditional Japanese courses, which change seasonally, may include grilled local kampachi, Waimea greens salad with local tofu and housemade amazake panna cotta. Each dish reflects the care and precision Takahashi brings to her cooking.

The Premium Sashimi Experience includes an upgraded sashimi course featuring additional varieties of seasonal, freshly caught seafood. Dinner experiences include one glass of the brewery’s award-winning sake, with an option to upgrade to three paired sakes.

Book Islander Sake Dinner and Sake Tasting

Sake Tasting (without food)

For a more casual introduction, tastings without food offer the simplest way to sample three to five unfiltered sakes while learning about the 2,000-year-old art of sake making. Tastings are offered every afternoon except Sundays.

Brewery Tour

Guests can also take a deeper dive into the technical and sensory aspects of sake production with a 25-minute brewery tour followed by a tasting of three to five sakes for an additional cost.

Chirashi is one of the dishes commonly prepared at Engawa. Photo by Sarah Burchard.

Islander Sake Brewery: Things to know

• Tastings last about 30 minutes

• Reservations for all experiences must be made in advance

• Engawa can accommodate parties of up to 16

• In addition to sake, guests can purchase sake glasses, teacups, T-shirts, shoyu koji (for cooking) and other items in the gift shop. Prices start at $8

• Hours: Tastings run Monday through Friday from 1 to 3:30 p.m. Dinner reservations are available Monday through Saturday at 5:30 and 7:30 p.m.

• Location: From Mauna Kea Resort, turn left onto Mauna Kea Beach Drive, then right onto Queen Kaʻahumanu Highway. Turn left shortly after onto Kaunaʻoa Drive and follow it through the guarded entrance for 0.9 miles to the Hapuna Golf Course Clubhouse parking lot. Engawa is on the second floor to the right

Located along a striking stretch of coastline, long plastic salt-drying tubes flutter in the ocean breeze. They are surrounded by solar panels, greenhouse-style structures used for drying and miles of open land.

On a tour of Kona Sea Salt, visitors learn how 900-year-old seawater, untouched by human hands or pollution, is harvested from a depth of 2,200 feet and transformed into nutrient-rich salt. The experience also explores Hawaiian culture and history along with the area’s geology and geography. Guides explain the mineral and nutritional differences between surface water and the deep-ocean water used on the farm.

Salt production also creates mineral-rich byproducts, which are processed into magnesium supplements and soaking products that the farm packages and sells.

The tour concludes with a tasting of the farm’s gourmet sea salts — served with a plate of fruits and vegetables — all produced and packaged on site. Guests can purchase finishing salts and other products in the gift shop and continue the experience at home. A portion of proceeds supports the protection of critical habitats and culturally significant sites within the Papahānaumokuākea Marine Sanctuary.

After the tour and tasting, visitors can indulge in a Deep Ocean Water Foot Soak in a beachside cabana for an additional $20.

Book Kona Sea Salt Farm Tour

Courtesy of Kona Sea Salt.

Kona Sea Salt Farm Tour: Things to know

• Tours last one hour

• Tours generally accommodate up to 20 people

• Sea salt and related products are available for purchase after the tour

• Family-friendly experience

• Hours: Tours are offered seven days a week at 9 a.m., 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.

• Price: $27 for adults ages 15 and older, $17 for children ages 14 and younger