'Awa cafe Hale Noa turned 6 years old last month as quietly as it opened. No one, save for regular patrons, really knew. Owner Keoni Verity didn't advertise the landmark date.

Not that another year of life for Hale Noa wasn't cause for celebration. It's just that any party with noise levels registering louder than Ernie Cruz Jr.'s sweetly rough-hewn singing voice would've gone against everything Hale Noa's patrons love about the place. A half-decade and change after Verity first opened Hale Noa's doors, there still isn't any post-sunset gathering place in town like it.

Cruz totes his acoustic guitar in and plays Tuesdays, when not working the night shift of his "day job." Hapa's Barry Flanagan, who first dropped in to play the week Hale Noa opened, joins Cruz on occasion. When neither is there, you'll likely find Cruz siblings Tiffa, Guy or John playing solo or with friends.

Hale Noa's five other nights of the week follow accordingly. Musicians virtually unplugged. No microphones. An interior so relaxingly dark, votives almost seem intrusive. Inspired works by gifted local artist Solomon Enos lining a new gallery. A quiet and respectful crowd.

And of course, there are bowls of Verity's surprisingly smooth 'awa brew — made from fresh-ground organically grown Moloka'i 'awa. Consumed properly, each promises natural muscle-relaxing, stress-reducing, mind-stimulating psychoactive effects.

Confessed Flanagan while tuning up on the Tuesday night I stopped by, "We can't drink when we play. Otherwise, we'd take 20 minutes between songs."

Verity opened Hale Noa in September 1999, four years into pursuing a Hawaiian-language teaching degree at the University of Hawai'i-Manoa. As with all of his final-year students, language instructor Laiana Wong asked Verity how he was planning to continue his education beyond the classroom. Verity emerged from three days of self-imposed bedroom exile with plans for the 'awa bar.

Much of Verity's deep 'awa knowledge has come from exhaustive study since opening Hale Noa. Ask him about 'awa and he'll happily chat up its ceremonial history, its growing commercial consumption, its genetics, and offer guidance for a positive 'awa drinking experience.

"I always wanted this to be a creative space," said Verity. "I wanted it to (encourage) ... the things that 'awa does — being creative and finding modes or ways of living that are harmonious for everyone.

"Drinking 'awa is a very socially conscious thing. And it is a means of inspiration."

Over the years, musicians such as Amy Hanaiali'i Gilliom, Willie K, Fiji and Jake Shimabukuro have dropped by to perform, inspired by Verity's humble ethos and Hale Noa's cozy confines. Live music goes down nightly.

A handful of the 40 or so mostly twenty- and thirtysomething patrons calmly listened and were even inspired enough to sing along as Ernie Cruz Jr. and Flanagan ran engagingly through local classics, Hapa faves and chugging country blues jams.

Verity smiled and raised his bowl of 'awa to mine.

"Just another Tuesday night."

Reach Derek Paiva at dpaiva@honoluluadvertiser.com.