Best Chocolate Farm Tour on the Big Island, Hawaii

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When I thought of Hawai’i I thought of tropical fruit like pineapples and bananas. I did not think of them as one of the most luxurious chocolate producers. But in my research ahead of my island vacation, I found out about the cacao plantations that are growing in Hawai’i. My research led me to Hawaiian Crown Plantation and Chocolate Factory, and I’m sure glad it did. A chocolate farm tour was right up my street.

Why do a chocolate farm tour?

First question should be why not do a chocolate tour?! I was over the moon thrilled to find out this was an option. For anyone who has a sweet tooth like me, a chocolate tour is the best way to find out about your favorite food group. Sure, you can grab a Cadbury bar at your local 7-11, but how does that chocolate bar get made? Where does chocolate come from?

I had no idea the process that goes into making chocolate, so for me this tour was all about satisfying that curiosity. OK that was the second reason, I just wanted a good reason to try more chocolate and call it “learning”.

Can cacao plants really grow in Hawai’i?

They sure can. As we learned on our tour, the cacao plant can only grow within 20 degrees of the equator North or South. And it just so happens that Hawai’i falls just around that distance. That makes it the only state in the USA that cacao plants can naturally grow.

We found a number of farms are starting to jump on the cacao plant bandwagon, and these plantations are popping up all over the state. But Hawaiian Crown has one of the oldest cacao orchards in the state, and they are proud to tell you how they do it.

Where is Hawaiian Crown Plantation and Chocolate factory?

They are located on Hawai’i island itself, otherwise known as the Big Island. The chocolate factory where the magic happens is in downtown Hilo, on the Eastern edge of the island. The plantation itself is just outside of town, a few minutes North of Hilo.

We were staying in the North of the Big Island at the Fairmont Orchid. So for us the drive to Hilo was around an hour and a half drive. We decided to take the time driving through the island, stopping at some of the volcanic areas on the way. We even made a visit to Hawaii’s Volcanoes National Park.

The plantation was where we would start our tour though. This was a “tree to bar” tour so we had to start at the beginning. We would learn about the cacao plants themselves before we could get to the good stuff. The good chocolaty stuff.

Read about my experience at the Fairmont Orchid Resort in Hawaii

The basics on the chocolate farm tour

The tour runs three days a week (Monday, Wednesday and Friday). It’s an hour long tour starting at 2pm, although we ran about 10 minutes over. We also had time to buy some delicious products at the end.

The tour is $15 per adult with senior, military and Hawaiian resident discounts offered at $12. Child rate is $5.

Because the Big Island is so…well, big, you will likely need a car to get to the farm and to Hilo from wherever you are staying. The tour starts at the farm itself, in the orchards. After learning what goes on there, you make your own way to the chocolate factory in Hilo and rejoin the guide for the rest of the tour.

Tree to bar chocolate farm tour

Now you know where Hawaiian Crown is and the general info on the tour let’s get to the tour itself. We booked our tour a couple weeks in advance which is recommended. We thought we might have to change our plans and when we contacted Hawaiian Crown it turned out their cancellation policy is really good. They told us we could change the date or cancel with a refund if done with at least 48 hours notice. Luckily we were able to make it.

Getting to the plantation

After we booked, the email detailed the directions to the farm. But we had our Google maps to help us along the way. Turning into the road for the chocolate farm we passed signs saying “no trespassing” and other such warning signs. I started to get a little worried we were crashing someone else’s property. Just a couple of crazy tourists looking for a chocolate tour. But it turns out we were in the right place.

Parking is basically towards the top of the hill alongside the road, no official parking space. Since most people need a car to get around the island, it is pretty much expected you will be driving there.

Touring the cacao and banana orchards

Kenta was our amazing tour guide for the afternoon. He met us and introduced himself. His passion for his work shone through and we felt really lucky to have such a great host for the duration of the tour.

We started off at the orchards where Kenta told us about the apple bananas (so called because of their apple-like smell and sweetness). The chocolate farm produces bananas which are sold locally. We started by learning how they grow, and the ways to protect them and make sure the crops are perfect for selling.

Moving further into the orchard, we went in search of cacao. We found some of the 1000+ cacao trees with vibrant yellow and orange colored cacao pods hanging off of them.

It’s worth mentioning here that this being a veritable buffet of delicious grub for insects, we encountered a number of mosquitoes. Make sure you have thoroughly doused yourself in repellent prior to the tour. And you might want to wear longer clothing if the mosquitoes love you as much as they love me.

Tasting cacao straight from the pod

Kenta showed us how to crack open one of these giant cacao pods, holding up to about 60 cocoa beans.

They kind of look like an ear of corn when cut open but the cocoa beans are tightly held together by a white pulp. We pulled off the beans one by one and were able to taste it. It’s kind of a weird squishy texture, like an overripe banana but with a subtle chocolate like sweet taste. We were warned not to bite down on the bean itself. Mostly because they are pretty bitter until later in the chocolate making process.

Honestly I don’t really know if I imagined that chocolate started out as anything less than a foil wrapped bar. But here I was tasting the unprocessed seed of one of my favorite foods, straight from the plant. So you pretty much just pick the pods, take out the seeds, mash them up and make a chocolate bar, right? Not quite. Turns out there’s a lot more to it than that.

Fermenting the cocoa beans

Much like you don’t just mush up grapes, stick them in a bottle and call it wine, cocoa beans have a longer process to get to bar form too. Fermenting them was something I didn’t know actually happened. This is a rather small scale operation so bigger plantations probably have more tools than this. But at Hawaiian Crown plantation the cocoa beans, newly stripped from their pods are thrown into a tub. Essentially a plastic cooler like you would use for picnics. With all their pulpy, sweet goodness, they are locked in tight to sweat it out in the Hawaiian sun.

The pulp creates a type of alcohol that mixes with other natural chemicals. This ferments the beans to bring out the flavor. The process takes a few days with the beans periodically moved around by hand. This ensures the process keeps working and that they are all evenly fermented. We saw the mess of a mixture, and it still didn’t put me off chocolate, so you’ll be fine. The heat, vinegar like smell, and the swarms of flies trying to get to it were something else. Not what I would previously have associated with delectable chocolate.

Drying out the cocoa beans

After the fermentation is complete, the beans are taken into the greenhouse area. They are spread out to dry in the sun and heat. The greenhouse was ridiculously hot. I tried concentrating on what Kenta was telling us instead of the increasing temperature and overwhelming smell from the fermented beans.

The cocoa beans at this point resembled almonds a little bit. They looked a lot more chocolaty colored than they did before, and it was kind of mesmerizing looking at them all. We got to pick them up and when you smelled them up close you could almost get a hint of chocolate.

The drying out process usually lasts a few days and the beans are checked often to make sure none are getting moldy. The moisture content in the beans has to significantly reduce during this time so that the flavors can develop.

Roasting the cocoa beans

The chocolate farm part of our tour was complete. We all got in our cars and drove to meet Kenta in Hilo town at the chocolate factory. This also doubled as a cafe and shop for selling the finished product.

The roasting machine was a small machine that roasts at 400F, getting the beans to an internal temperature of 230F. The beans are rotated constantly in the roaster to make sure they are evenly cooked. We then saw the machine next to it which is the one that shells the cocoa beans. We got to see some of the roasted beans and shell them ourselves to taste.

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The beans (or nibs as they can be called at this stage) were still quite bitter. There was a definite cocoa taste though. What I did find cool was that every part of the bean is utilized. The shell can be used to make chocolate flavored tea. It was at this point we met the owner Tom who was walking by. He told us that they even sell it to a local brewery that uses it to make a chocolate beer.

Making chocolate at Hawaiian Crown

Now the beans are picked, fermented, dried, roasted and shelled, it’s time to make some delicious chocolate. Kenta took us indoors to the small kitchen in the shop/cafe. It is here the beans are first pulverized then ground again and again for days to make the sooth chocolate paste. They are mixed with cane sugars and milk (for the milk chocolate) and churned over to make sure the chocolate is incredibly smooth.

We also learned about the tempering and cooling process that gives the chocolate that irresistible looking shine to it. Next they showed us how they pour the chocolate into moulds to shape it ready for selling. We were given samples of both the dark and milk chocolate and I have to say it was incredible. Knowing how the process works and seeing it from start to finish is fantastic. It’s amazing that all this is accomplished by the hard working, passionate team of people at Hawaiian Crown.

Kenta was the perfect host for the afternoon, answering all of our questions and really making the chocolate process interesting to learn about. I bought some items from the shop including some chocolate turtle shapes, caramel filled chocolates, and a gluten free chocolate brownie. My only regret is that I didn’t buy more, because I would not hesitate to recommend this chocolate tour for anyone visiting the Big Island.

If you’ve enjoyed this post please leave a comment or share using the social media buttons below. Have you done this tour or a similar chocolate farm tour? What did you find most interesting?