Poi is the primary traditional staple food in the native cuisine of Hawai'i made from the underground stem (corn) of taro (hawaiian: Kalo).

Traditional poi is produced by mashing the cooked corm  (taro root, either baked or steamed) on a papa ku‘i ‘ai, a wooden pounding board, with a pōhaku ku‘i ‘ai, a carved basalt pestle. Modern methods use an industrial food processor to produce large quantities for retail distribution. Freshly pounded taro without the addition of water is called pa‘i ‘ai and is highly starchy and dough-like. Water is added to the pa‘i ‘ai during mashing, and again just before eating, to achieve the desired consistency, which can range from highly viscous to liquid. As such, poi can be classified as "one-finger", "two-finger", or "three-finger" depending on the consistency, alluding to how many fingers are required to scoop it up (the thicker the poi, the fewer fingers required to scoop a sufficient mouthful).

Poi can be eaten immediately, when fresh and sweet, or left a bit longer to ferment and become sourer – it then develops a smell reminiscent of plain yoghurt. A layer of water on top can prevent fermenting poi from developing a crust.