Hawaii Part 1 - A Chocolate Farm

Looking back, our first port of call in Hawaii, via tender boats, is the one that was the most memorable and enjoyable. 

The US state of Hawaii is not a single island. It is an archipelago of 132 volcanic islands, of which only eight are inhabited. But the youngest and largest of these islands is called Hawaii and also the ‘Big Island’. We were visiting Kailua Kona, simply known as Kona, which is on the drier side of this island. 

I was lucky enough to be in a small group that travelled up the slopes of a volcano to visit three specialised small farms that use the rich volcanic soils to produce the most wonderful chocolate, coffee and soap. Our driver-guide was terrific - full of stories and information. 

In this post I will talk about the first farm we visited - the ‘Original Hawaiian Chocolate Factory’. The drive up to this farm was very picturesque, with many huge trees and great vistas along the way.  When we arrived we were enthusiastically greeted by one of the staff and given samples of the chocolate they produce. As he said, most chocolate produced across the world comes from cacao beans that have a variety of sources. The most delicious and unique one they produce comes solely from their own trees. It has now gained such a reputation that even Swiss and Belgian chocolate manufacturers have visited their farm and are now importing their cacao beans. 

The farm was only established a few years ago by the very entrepreneurial owner, and has its own micro-plant for producing chocolate. We walked amongst the trees and were amazed to see the huge pods that grow out of any part of the tree - directly out of the wood, at the end of branches, and so forth. On the one tree different pods were at different stages of maturity. All are hand-picked when ready. 

We were shown what it is like inside one of the ripe pods and the different stages of preparing the beans, then the equipment used to produce the chocolate. You can see this in my photos. Inside the shop we met the proud owner. It had been such a fascinating tour I bought a DVD of the whole story behind their chocolate, and of course some chocolate to take home to my family to try. (As a guest in a country, one should support the local economy! That is my belief, anyway.)  

A beautiful tree growing in the gardens on the farm.

See one pod growing along a fork in the tree and another hanging from a branch.

Inside a pod - the sticky white 'balls' contain the cacao beans. 

Inside each 'ball' are two beans. The 'balls are placed in a barrel out in the heat for several days, during which the white oily substance ferments and falls away, repeating the beans.

A curious lizard had to be part of the demonstration. 

After their sticky coating is removed, the beans are dried for some time out on racks to develop their full flavour. 

There were many racks of cacao beans!

This is part of the machinery that removes the hard shells from the beans. The bits of shell are vacuumed away.  

The chocolate 'nibs' are then gently melted down and stirred.

The last stage is tempering the chocolate - bringing it down to just the correct temperature whilst stirring it in a special way to achieve the right crystalline structure so it melts at the temperature of your mouth - then placing it in moulds.

Some great wisdom seen in the small factory.

Our guide showing us some of their products.