The moment you step off the plane on the Big Island, something shifts. The air smells different. There is a sweetness layered with volcanic mineral notes, and if you are visiting during harvest season, the faint aroma of ripening coffee cherries drifts down from the hillside farms above Kailua-Kona. You have landed in one of the most agriculturally rich places on earth, and the question every traveler eventually faces is this: how do you take a piece of it home with you? This hawaiian snack guide covering what to bring home from the Big Island exists to answer that question the way a local would, not the way a gift shop brochure would.
We are the team at Buddha's Cup, a working Kona coffee farm tucked into the village of Holualoa at roughly 1,400 feet above sea level on the western slope of Hualalai. We grow coffee here. We cultivate mamaki tea. We bake rum cakes. We host visitors on farm tours that change how people think about food and where it comes from. Every recommendation in this guide comes from that lived experience on this land, not from a press release or a sponsored partnership.
What you will find here is a complete picture of the Big Island's edible culture. We cover the classic snacks that locals grew up eating and that every visitor should taste at least once. We cover the farm-fresh, terroir-driven finds that reflect what makes this island's agriculture genuinely irreplaceable. We spend serious time on Kona coffee, because it deserves its own category and its own conversation. We cover mamaki tea and Hawaiian herbal drinks, because these are some of the most underappreciated bring-home treasures on the island. We walk through sweet treats and baked goods that you simply cannot find anywhere else. And we close with a practical section on how to pack everything, clear USDA inspection, and shop smart so you do not lose your best finds at the airport.
Pack an extra bag. You are going to need it.
Why Big Island Snacks Deserve a Spot in Your Luggage
The Big Island Is Different From the Rest of Hawaii
People sometimes treat Hawaii as a single culinary destination, as if Oahu's shave ice shops and Maui's upcountry farms and the Big Island's coffee belt are all variations of the same thing. They are not. The Big Island is the youngest island in the chain geologically, and that youth translates into some of the most mineral-dense, biologically diverse agricultural land anywhere on the planet. When you eat something grown here, you are tasting soil that is still, in geological terms, being formed.
The island spans multiple climate zones within a drive of a few hours. The Kohala Coast in the north is dry and sun-drenched, more reminiscent of the Southwest than a tropical island. Hilo on the east side receives over 120 inches of rain per year and grows orchids and anthuriums commercially. The Kona coffee belt on the western slope sits at elevations ranging from roughly 500 to 2,500 feet, where morning sun, afternoon cloud cover, and well-drained volcanic soil create conditions that produce one of the world's most prized coffees. Holualoa, where our farm sits, occupies this exact zone. The elevation moderates the temperature, the clouds protect the cherries from too much direct sun in the heat of the afternoon, and the volcanic soil drains perfectly after rain.
Mamaki, the native Hawaiian herbal plant whose leaves are dried and brewed into tea, grows both wild and cultivated across the island. It thrives in higher elevation forest environments and benefits from the same volcanic soil that gives Big Island crops their distinctive character. We grow mamaki here on our farm, and we have watched visitors discover it for the first time and become genuinely surprised that something this good exists outside of a specialty health food store.
Macadamia nuts have been grown commercially on the Big Island since the late 19th century, and the island still leads the world in production. The combination of tropical warmth, reliable rainfall, and nutrient-rich volcanic soil creates conditions that macadamia trees love. What you buy here, especially from smaller farm operations, reflects that specific terroir in ways that mass-produced versions simply cannot match.
All of this is to say: the Big Island is not just a pretty backdrop for snack shopping. It is the reason these snacks exist in the first place. The island's full-circle farming practices connect what grows in the ground to what ends up on your plate, and when you bring something home from here, you are carrying a piece of a genuinely rare agricultural environment with you.
Authentic Versus Tourist-Trap Snacks: How to Tell the Difference
Not everything wrapped in a palm tree graphic and sold near a hotel lobby is actually from Hawaii. This is a real issue, and it catches a lot of well-meaning travelers. Some products labeled "Hawaiian style" are manufactured entirely on the mainland using mainland ingredients, then shipped to Hawaii for sale to visitors who assume they are buying local. We are not exaggerating. Read the labels carefully.
The words you want to see are specific and verifiable. "Made in Hawaii" is a legal designation that means what it says. "Estate-grown" means the product comes from a specific farm, not an aggregate of suppliers. "Single-origin" means the same thing in the coffee and tea world. "Farm-direct" means the person selling it grew it or made it without an intermediary chain diluting the story. These terms are not marketing fluff when they appear on products from legitimate farms and local producers. They are promises you can hold them to.
The words you should approach with more skepticism include "Hawaiian flavor," "inspired by Hawaii," and "tropical blend" with no geographic specificity. These phrases often appear on products made in California or even overseas, designed to look like souvenirs without actually being rooted in Hawaiian agriculture.
Where you shop matters as much as what you read on the label. Farmers markets, farm stands, and estate shops are your best sources for genuine authenticity. The Kona Farmers Market in Kailua-Kona and the Hilo Farmers Market on the east side both host vendors who grow or make what they sell. Farm shops like ours at Buddha's Cup sell products we grew and processed ourselves. Airport gift shops are the most convenient option, but convenience often comes with the least traceability. If you do end up shopping at the airport, you will still find legitimate products there, but spend a few extra seconds reading the back of the package rather than just the front.
Knowing where authentic Hawaiian gourmet snacks come from is half the battle. The other half is simply being curious enough to ask the person selling them where the product originated. At a farmers market or farm shop, that person usually knows exactly which field it came from.
Budget Reality: What to Expect at Different Price Points
The Big Island offers snacks and food souvenirs at every price tier, and knowing what to expect keeps you from either overspending on something you could have bought cheaper or skipping something genuinely worth the investment.
At the impulse-buy end of the spectrum, roughly $5 to $15, you will find single bags of local chips, small packs of crack seed or li hing gummies, individual chocolate bars from local confectioners, and small bags of macadamia nuts. These are good stocking stuffers and easy grab-and-go gifts. You can find them at convenience stores, Longs Drugs, and local grocery chains throughout the island.
The mid-range tier, from about $15 to $35, is where most people spend the bulk of their souvenir budget. This covers quality macadamia nut assortments, local honey jars, bags of 100% Kona coffee (though prices have climbed in recent years), Hawaiian sea salt sets, and mamaki tea samplers. This is also the range where you start finding gift sets from farm shops and specialty food producers.
The premium tier starts around $35 and can reach $75 or more for estate-grown Kona coffee, aged or specialty honey varietals, rum cakes from local bakers, and curated multi-item gift boxes from farm-direct sources. These are the gifts that people remember. They are also the ones most likely to spark a conversation about where they came from, because the story behind them is worth telling.
One consistent truth about Big Island food souvenirs: the best value usually comes from buying direct at the source. When you purchase from the farm that grew the coffee or the beekeeper who keeps the hives, you skip the retail markup and often get a fresher, more carefully handled product. Plan your snack shopping as part of your itinerary, not as an afterthought at the airport.
The Classic Hawaiian Snacks Every Visitor Should Know
Salty, Savory, and Crunchy: The Island's Best Snack Staples
Hawaiian snack culture is a genuine fusion story. Native Hawaiian food traditions met Japanese plantation worker flavors, then Chinese, Filipino, and Portuguese influences layered in over generations, and what emerged is a snack landscape that you genuinely cannot find anywhere else in the world. The salty and crunchy category is where this fusion is most obvious and most delicious.
Mochi crunch, also called arare, starts the list. These are small Japanese-style rice crackers that come in dozens of varieties, seasoned with soy sauce, furikake, nori, sesame, or combinations of all of the above. They are airy and crunchy, addictively savory, and they travel beautifully because they are shelf-stable and lightweight. Buy a large bag and you will still be working through it three weeks after you get home. Brands like Kameda and Furuyama are widely available, but local versions from island producers have a freshness advantage.
Hurricane popcorn is a local invention that consistently surprises visitors who have never encountered it. The base is popcorn, which sounds straightforward enough, but then it is tossed with mochi crunch pieces and seasoned nori, creating a mixture of textures and flavors that is simultaneously salty, umami-rich, and satisfying in a way that plain popcorn simply is not. Some versions add butter and sugar to create a sweet-savory contrast. It is the kind of snack that disappears faster than you expect.
Taro chips deserve more attention than they typically get from first-time visitors who default to potato chips out of habit. Taro root is a Native Hawaiian staple, one of the most culturally significant plants in the Hawaiian tradition, and chips made from it have an earthier, more complex flavor profile than anything you will find in a standard snack aisle back home. The texture is firmer and the flavor lingers in a satisfying way. They pair particularly well with the kind of bold coffee you will also be bringing home.
Kona Chips in furikake flavor come up consistently in discussions among local snack enthusiasts as a must-buy that many visitors miss. They are thin, crispy, and coated in that savory-sweet-salty furikake seasoning that shows up throughout Hawaiian snack culture. The furikake format in particular has built a devoted following. If you see them, buy more than you think you need.
Hawaiian Beef Chips occupy a category of their own in the dried meat space. These are distinct from mainland beef jerky in texture and seasoning, with a thinner, crispier profile and island-influenced flavoring that makes them genuinely worth seeking out for savory snack lovers. They make an excellent travel companion and an easy gift for anyone who appreciates bold, protein-forward snacking.
The full range of Hawaiian gourmet snacks in this savory category is broader than most visitors realize, and exploring it is one of the genuine pleasures of snack shopping on the island.
Sweet and Tangy: Crack Seed, Li Hing Mui, and Candy Traditions
If you have never encountered crack seed, you are about to have a flavor experience with no easy mainland equivalent. Crack seed is a preserved fruit tradition brought to Hawaii by Chinese plantation workers in the 19th century, and it has since become so thoroughly woven into local food identity that generations of Hawaii residents grew up with crack seed shops as neighborhood institutions. The flavor profile is startling in the best way: salty, sweet, sour, sometimes spicy, often all at once. The name comes from the cracked seed inside the preserved fruit, which absorbs all the seasoning during the curing process.
Li hing mui is the most recognizable flavor within the crack seed family. It refers to preserved plum with a distinctive pinkish-red coating that is simultaneously salty and sour with a slight sweetness. It is sold as whole preserved plums, as a powder used to dust other foods, and as a flavoring for everything from gummy candies to fresh fruit to shave ice rims. If you visit any shave ice stand and see "li hing" as an add-on, say yes. The experience of cold shave ice with li hing powder is a genuinely Hawaiian sensory moment.
Li hing gummies are the easiest format for bringing home as gifts. They are shelf-stable, lightweight, and immediately popular with people who have never tried them before, partly because they look like ordinary gummy candy and then deliver something far more complex. They are equally beloved by kids and adults, and they travel without any special handling requirements.
The cultural significance of these flavors extends beyond taste. Crack seed shops have historically been neighborhood gathering places, particularly in communities with large Asian-American populations. When you bring home a bag of li hing gummies or crack seed, you are carrying a piece of a food culture that reflects Hawaii's multicultural history in a very direct way. That story is part of what makes the flavor worth tasting.
Where to find the best crack seed: local convenience stores like ABC Stores carry it, but dedicated crack seed shops and farmers market vendors who specialize in preserved fruit and candy offer the widest selection and the most authentic versions. Skip the airport kiosks if you can, because the selection is narrower and the prices are higher. Plan to pick these up at a local market earlier in your trip and you will be much happier with what you bring home.
Macadamia Nuts: Hawaii's Most Iconic Portable Snack
The Big Island was home to the world's first commercial macadamia nut farm, established in the late 1800s, and the island has maintained its position as a leading producer ever since. This is not incidental history. It means that when you buy macadamia nuts here, you are buying from a place that has spent well over a century perfecting how to grow and process them. The difference between fresh-roasted local macadamia nuts and the shelf-stable versions you find in mainland grocery stores is significant, and it is worth seeking out the fresher option while you are here.
The variety of macadamia nut formats available on the Big Island is impressive. Plain raw is the purest expression of the nut itself, creamy and subtly sweet with a buttery finish that needs no embellishment. Dry-roasted brings out a deeper, nuttier flavor that works particularly well as a standalone snack. Chocolate-covered versions range from milk chocolate to dark chocolate to flavored varieties like macadamia with Kona coffee chocolate, which is a combination that makes obvious sense once you try it. Coconut-crusted mac nuts add a tropical sweetness that plays well off the nut's natural richness. Kiawe-smoked versions use wood from the native kiawe tree, which burns with a sweet, mild smoke that pairs beautifully with macadamia's buttery character.
Hawaiian Host is the most widely recognized commercial brand and is available throughout the island, including at Costco Hawaii where you can buy in bulk at prices that make large gift purchases practical. For premium single-origin or estate-grown options, smaller farm shops and specialty food stores offer macadamia nuts where the traceability goes back to a specific orchard. These are the versions worth giving as gifts to people who appreciate food provenance.
Macadamia nuts travel exceptionally well. They are dense with calories, so a small amount goes a long way. The packaging on commercially sold versions is virtually indestructible. They are shelf-stable for months. And they carry an unmistakable Hawaii association that makes them one of the most universally recognized food souvenirs from the islands. Understanding how macadamia nuts pair with other local Hawaiian ingredients opens up even more gifting possibilities, particularly when you combine them with tea, coffee, or local honey in a curated gift set.
Farm-Fresh Finds: Elevated Snacks Grown on the Big Island
Hawaiian Sea Salt: A Pantry Staple Worth Every Ounce of Luggage Weight
Hawaiian sea salt is one of those ingredients that changes your cooking in a way you do not fully expect until you use it regularly at home. It is not just salt. It is salt with mineral complexity, with color that tells a story about where it came from, and with a flavor that lingers differently than the iodized table salt or even standard sea salt you buy at a mainland grocery store.
Pink Hawaiian sea salt gets its distinctive color from red alaea clay, a volcanic clay that is mixed into the salt during the production process. The clay adds trace minerals and gives the salt a mild, earthy undertone that works beautifully with grilled fish, roasted vegetables, and anything that benefits from a finishing salt with character. It is the salt traditionally used in Hawaiian cooking and ceremonies, and buying it here connects you to that history in a tangible way.
Black lava salt is the more dramatic option visually, coated in activated charcoal that gives it a stark, striking appearance. It is increasingly popular in gourmet cooking because it finishes dishes beautifully, both visually and in terms of flavor. The charcoal adds a subtle smokiness and a slight minerality that works particularly well with seafood and chocolate-based desserts. It photographs beautifully, which is a secondary consideration but not an irrelevant one if you are bringing it as a gift for someone who loves to cook and share what they make.
Both varieties are hand-harvested from solar evaporation ponds along Hawaii's coastlines, a process that is genuinely labor-intensive and produces small quantities relative to commercial salt operations. That small scale is reflected in the price, but it is also reflected in the quality and the specificity of what you are buying.
From a packing perspective, sea salt is heavy. We will be honest about that. But it comes in small pouches and jars that fit easily into checked luggage, and the weight-to-value ratio is excellent if you are comparing it to, say, a large bottle of hot sauce or a jar of preserve. Use it daily at home and you will be reminded of this trip every single morning for months. That is exactly the kind of bring-home purchase worth making. The traditional Hawaiian ingredients that make island food culture so distinctive often start with salt, and understanding its role here deepens your appreciation for everything else on this list.
Local Honey: The Perfect Companion to Island Flavors
Hawaii's geographic isolation has produced a remarkable diversity of honey varietals that simply do not exist anywhere else on earth. The floral sources available to Hawaiian bees are found nowhere outside these islands, and the honey they produce reflects that botanical uniqueness in flavor profiles that range from delicate and floral to rich and almost caramel-like in their depth.
Lehua honey, produced from the ohia lehua blossoms that bloom across Hawaii's forests, is the most celebrated and the most genuinely unique. It has a creamy, light color and a naturally crystallizing texture that sets it apart from most honey you have encountered before. Fresh lehua honey is liquid and mild, but as it crystallizes it becomes spreadable in a way that is almost butter-like, which makes it exceptional on warm bread or dissolving slowly into a cup of hot mamaki tea. The flavor is clean and floral with a sweetness that is elegant rather than cloying.
Macadamia blossom honey, produced from the flowers of the macadamia trees that cover so much of the Big Island, has a richer, slightly nuttier character that pairs intuitively with the nuts themselves. Christmas berry honey, from the invasive but prolifically blooming Christmas berry shrub that now covers large areas of Hawaiian hillsides, has a distinctive darker color and a more robust, complex flavor that some describe as having hints of molasses.
The practical case for bringing home local honey is strong. It is shelf-stable for an extraordinarily long time. It travels well in carry-on luggage as long as the container is under 3.4 ounces, or in checked luggage in any size. It makes an immediately impressive gift because the moment someone tastes it, they understand why it is different. And the experience of pairing local honey with Hawaiian herbal teas is something you can recreate at home indefinitely once you have both components in your pantry.
Look for honey from local beekeepers at farmers markets and farm shops. Jarred honey with the beekeeper's name, the floral source, and the island of origin is what you want. Vague labeling about "Hawaiian honey" with no specifics should prompt the same skepticism we applied to other souvenir labeling earlier in this guide.
What "Farm-Direct" Really Means on the Big Island
The term farm-direct gets used loosely in food marketing, but on the Big Island it has a specific and meaningful application. When you buy coffee from a farm that grew it, processed it, roasted it, and is selling it to you directly, you are receiving a product whose full story you can verify. You can ask which field it came from. You can ask what the harvest date was. You can ask who picked the cherries. At a small working farm, those questions get real answers, and the product itself reflects that care at every step.
The contrast with retail distribution is worth understanding. When a coffee or tea product travels through multiple hands before reaching a gift shop shelf, each step in that chain adds time, handling, and margin. By the time it reaches you, the coffee may be months old, the tea may have absorbed ambient aromas from storage, and nobody in the retail space can tell you anything specific about where it came from beyond what the label says.
At Buddha's Cup, visitors who come to the farm can pick up coffee, mamaki tea, rum cakes, and other farm products directly from us, with full knowledge of exactly what they are holding. We know what elevation our coffee cherries were picked from. We know when each batch was roasted. We know how the mamaki was dried. That specificity is the definition of farm-direct, and it creates a product that carries more meaning than something pulled from a gift shop shelf.
If you are visiting the Big Island and you care about the provenance of what you bring home, build farm stops into your itinerary intentionally. The farm-to-table approach that makes Big Island products genuinely traceable starts with actually visiting the farms. And the experience of walking through a working coffee or tea farm before buying the product changes how you experience that product at home in a way that no amount of good packaging can replicate. If you want to understand what that experience looks like before you arrive, our guide on what to expect from a Kona coffee farm tour gives you a thorough preview.
Kona Coffee: The Big Island Snack That Deserves Its Own Category
Why Kona Coffee Is Worth Bringing Home Over Any Other
There are great coffees grown in many parts of the world. Ethiopia, Colombia, Guatemala, Kenya, and Sumatra all produce coffees that have devoted global followings. Kona sits among them not just as a good coffee, but as one of the few coffees in the world where every element of its production, the soil, the elevation, the rainfall patterns, the hand-picking tradition, is specifically and irreproducibly local to one narrow stretch of one island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
The Kona coffee belt runs for roughly 30 miles along the western slope of Mauna Loa and Hualalai, at elevations generally between 500 and 2,500 feet. The mornings are sunny, which the coffee trees need for photosynthesis and cherry development. The afternoons bring cloud cover that moderates temperature and reduces water stress on the plants. The nights are cool enough to slow the cherries' ripening and develop complexity in the bean. The volcanic soil drains well, preventing root rot, while delivering a mineral profile that expresses itself in the cup as a smooth, medium-bodied coffee with low acidity and a clean, bright finish.
Reading coffee labels here matters more than it might elsewhere. Hawaii law permits a coffee product to be labeled as a "Kona blend" if it contains as little as 10% Kona coffee beans, with the remaining 90% sourced from anywhere in the world. This is a legal loophole that has caused real confusion among visitors who buy what they believe is Kona coffee and are disappointed when they brew it at home. The label to look for is "100% Kona Coffee." Full stop. Products using that designation must back it up, and the difference in flavor between 100% Kona and a 10% blend is not subtle.
The price of genuine 100% Kona reflects the reality of small-scale, hand-harvested, locally processed production. You will pay more than you would for a bag of commercial coffee. That premium is real and it is justified. Understanding what nutrients are uniquely found in Kona-grown coffee gives further context for why this coffee is considered special beyond its flavor. And knowing what serious Kona coffee collectors look for when sourcing beans helps you apply a more discerning eye to your own purchase decisions.
Roast Profiles and Formats: What to Buy Based on Your Preferences
Kona coffee is available in a range of roast levels, and the right choice depends on who is drinking it and how they like their coffee. This is worth thinking through before you buy, particularly if you are purchasing as a gift for someone whose preferences you know.
Light roasts preserve the most of Kona's inherent origin character. At this roast level, you taste the specific terroir of the coffee, the floral brightness, the hints of tropical fruit, the clean mineral finish that reflects the volcanic soil. Light roasts are the choice for coffee enthusiasts who want to understand what makes Kona specific. They can be a harder sell for people who primarily drink dark roast coffee, because the experience is so different from what they expect.
Medium roasts are the most broadly approachable and the most popular in terms of sales. The balance between origin character and roast development makes medium roast Kona accessible to a wide range of palates. It is caramel-smooth, comforting, and still distinctly different from mainland coffees of the same roast level. If you are buying for a group or for someone whose preferences you are uncertain about, medium roast is the safest and most satisfying choice.
Dark roasts produce a bold, full-bodied cup that espresso drinkers and those who prefer a strong morning brew tend to favor. Some coffee purists feel that darker roasting masks Kona's subtler notes, while others appreciate the way dark roast Kona maintains a smoothness that darker roasts from other origins do not always achieve. It is a legitimate preference, not a wrong one.
Formats matter for both freshness and convenience. Whole bean coffee is the freshest option because the grind exposes more surface area to oxidation, and keeping beans whole until brewing preserves flavor longer. For gifting, whole bean is a good choice because the recipient can grind to their preferred coarseness. Pre-ground coffee is more convenient for travel and for recipients who do not have a grinder, but it has a shorter peak freshness window. Single-serve pods are the most convenient gift for someone who uses a pod-based brewer at home, though the flavor experience is somewhat different from traditionally brewed whole bean coffee.
The experience of tasting different Kona roast profiles side by side is one we strongly recommend doing while you are on the island, before you buy. It will help you make a much more informed choice. And if you want to know which Big Island restaurants serve exclusive Kona roasts, that research can also deepen your appreciation for what you eventually bring home.
Buying Kona Coffee at the Source
Farm-direct Kona coffee is the highest expression of everything we have been talking about in this guide. When you buy from the farm that grew the coffee, you are getting the freshest possible product, the most transparent possible sourcing story, and often a price that reflects the actual cost of production rather than multiple layers of retail markup.
At Buddha's Cup, visitors come to the farm for tours and leave with coffee they watched being grown and learned about from the people who tend it. That experience transforms a bag of coffee into something more than a souvenir. It becomes a connection to a specific place, a specific harvest, a specific set of hands. That is the best version of what a Hawaiian food souvenir can be.
If a farm tour fits into your itinerary, we encourage you to plan for it deliberately. Many coffee farms on the Kona coffee belt offer tours, and the experience of walking through a working farm, seeing coffee cherries on the trees, understanding the processing steps from cherry to green bean to roasted coffee, fundamentally changes how you interact with the product afterward. Book in advance. These tours fill up, especially during peak season. And give yourself time to browse what the farm shop offers before you leave, because the best finds are often things you would not have discovered without the context of the tour itself. You can find out about our Hawaiian coffee tour experience to start planning your visit.
Mamaki Tea and Hawaiian Herbal Drinks Worth Bringing Home
What Mamaki Is and Why It Matters
Mamaki is a plant native to the Hawaiian Islands that has been used in traditional Hawaiian healing practices for centuries. It belongs to the nettle family, though it does not sting, and it grows naturally in the forest understory at higher elevations across the Big Island. The leaves are dried and brewed into a tea that is mild, slightly earthy, and deeply pleasant in a way that makes it immediately accessible even to people who do not typically drink herbal tea.
Beyond its flavor, mamaki has attracted increasing attention from researchers and health-focused consumers for its nutritional profile. The leaves contain antioxidants, rutin, chlorogenic acid, and other plant compounds that contribute to what many people describe as a noticeable sense of calm and well-being after drinking it. We are careful not to make medical claims about mamaki here, but the plant has a long and respected history in Hawaiian traditional medicine, and the contemporary interest in its properties as a healthy Hawaiian snack alternative is grounded in that tradition.
We grow mamaki here at Buddha's Cup on our farm in Holualoa. It grows alongside our coffee trees, benefiting from the same elevation, the same volcanic soil, and the same afternoon cloud cover that makes this microclimate so productive. Harvesting mamaki, drying the leaves, and blending them with other local botanicals is a process we approach with the same care we give our coffee. When visitors take mamaki tea home from our farm, they are taking something we grew ourselves, in