POG aka Passion Fruit-Orange-Guava Juice

POG stands for Passion Fruit, Orange, and Guava! It's a chilled fruit juice that was invented on the island of Maui, and is now popular worldwide.

Homemade POG juice

What Is POG?

POG stands for Passion Fruit, Orange, and Guava. It's a drink made of three fruits, served chilled.

People often call POG, Hawaiian juice because:

1. POG was created in Hawaii.
2. POG is made mostly from tropical fruits.

Note! In Hawaii, we call passion fruit by the Hawaiian name, lilikoi.

Aloha Maid POG

Where Did POG Come From?

The signature POG blend of three juices was created by a food consultant for Haleakala Dairy (Maui) in 1971. 

Haleakala Dairy eventually sold to Meadow Gold in 1998. And today, Meadow Gold produces POG juice by the carton.

Aloha Maid POG juice

Is POG Actually "Juice"?

It's called juice. But I don't classify it as a juice. It's more of a sweet beverage. If you read the can carefully, you'll see that most POG brands are 10-12% fruit juice. There's nothing wrong with that as long as you are aware of it (same way you know you're not drinking sodas for health). Just don't go around thinking this is a healthy fruit drink ^_^

Cans of Aloha Maid POG (plus other flavors) at Whole Foods

Pogs, The Game

Do you remember the "Pogs" game from the early 1990s? Pogs centered around collecting milk bottle caps (they were flat discs). It was a huge fad.

I remember collecting binders full of plastic inserts that were designed to hold Pogs. Each insert could hold 20 Pogs, and you'd carry the binder around school, and play/trade Pogs with friends. I even sold some of my collectible Pogs to the local comic book store in Kaimuki. What a time to be alive ^_^

The Pogs game was invented on Maui in the 1920s. It was forgotten about for a long time, but got re-popular and then commercialized in the 1990s when an Oahu school teacher introduced Pogs to her elementary school kids. It took off from there and became a worldwide craze.

Right as the Pogs game was getting popular, the marketing manager for Haleakala Dairy order a ton of milk caps with POG (the drink, which was then Haleakala Dairy's best selling juice) printed on the milk caps. This was to promote the drink. It worked! This was how the game of POG got its' "official" name. So random. But also very cool.

Cans of Hawaiian Sun POG at Long Drugs, Kahala Mall location (Oahu)

POG in Hawaii

If you keep your eyes open and alert, you'll start to see POG everywhere in Hawaii. You can find the canned/bottled juices at all markets including Whole Foods, Longs Drugs, and Costco Hawaii. The main brands are Hawaiian Sun (both canned and powder mix), Aloha Maid (canned), and Meadow Gold (64 ounce carton).

Visit any local food place, and you'll see POG listed on the drinks menu, right alongside sodas and other juices. 

POG as a syrup offering (top right of the menu board) at Waiola Shave Ice (Oahu) 

You'll see POG as a syrup option at many shave ice shops, including Waiola Shave Ice. 

POG pie at Hawaiian Pie Company

Local bakeries and sweet shops make POG-flavored treats like POG pies!

POG on a Hawaiian Airlines interisland flight

You'll even see POG offered to passengers on Hawaiian Airlines! They serve small POG cups on interisland flights, and whole cans (Aloha Maid brand) on mainland flights.

Hawaiian Sun's powdered POG mix

POG Juice Recipe

Fyi, I’ve included affiliate links below. I may earn a small commission (at no cost to you), if you purchase through the links.

There are many recipes for POG juice. Most use a ratio of:

• 2 cups passion fruit pulp (or purée)
• 1 cup orange juice
• 1.5 cups guava juice

These natural, homemade versions taste great (especially if you add rum or whiskey, and super especially if you add rum/whiskey + blend it with lots of ice to make a slushy!), but don't make those thinking that you'll replicate the commercial canned versions we grew up with. 

If you want to capture that signature commercial POG flavor (which has so many other things in addition to actual fruit juice), best to either:

• Order the actual drink which is surprisingly easy to find online. Hawaiian Sun and Aloha Maid are the two main brands that offer canned POG juice. 
• Made the drink with the Hawaiian Sun Pass-O-Guava mix.

POG Outside Hawaii

As Hawaii culture and food spreads outside the islands, we've seen everything from poke in Paris to spam musubi in NYC, and even POG in San Francisco! Boba Guys makes a seasonal POG drink using a housemade marmalade of passion fruit, orange, and guava. It's a super refreshing relief on hot summer days.

You'll also randomly see canned POG drinks (either the Hawaiian Sun or Aloha Maid brands) on the shelves of Asian supermarkets on the mainland...it's always such a random, happy surprise of home.