Fun Things to do on Kauai | Chocolate Farm Tours!

Aloha, and Welcome to our Maui Sights and Treasures Blog!

This post has been written specifically for our readers that are looking for Kauai Tours and Fun Things to do on the Island of Kauai. This blog post continues a series of articles on the Island of Kauai… Today’s topic is about  Chocolate Farm Tours; Written by Maui Sights & Treasures staff: Athena Walsh

 When i was on Kauai this past July, up on the North Shore of Kauai I found what look like 2 Cacao (Chocolate!!) Farms you can visit and tour. Farm Tours on Kauai are so fun now days and are the newest in Hawaii tours. Unfortunately by the time i heard about the Chocolate Tours on Kauai, i simply didn’t have the time to visit.

The historic & picturesque town of Hanalei recently hosted the inaugural “Chocolate and Coffee Festival” on Kauai. I was surprised to see just how many Cacao growers there are here in Hawaii. It is a new industry where top Chocolate makers like Guittard buy the beans for processing in San Francisco.

The Chocolate Tours sound like a lot of fun, not only do you get to actually see a Chocolate Tree (imagine picking a chocolate pod off a tree!) on the Chocolate tours, you also get to taste the finished product in the gift shop. “Home Made” Chocolate is actually healthy for you if it is not overpowered with sugar…Just a hint of locally grown Cane Sugar or Hawaiian Honey makes the Chocolate sweet and oh so good!

There are 2 Chocolate Farm ‘Tours’ on Kauai that i saw advertised. I am not sure at this time who was first, or who ‘perfected his craft’ first…Sounds like making Chocolate from Cacao is not as easy as one would think. After a bit of research i found growing Cacao has become quite popular! Some businesses take it a step farther and process the beans themselves and make their own (mostly) Organic Chocolates.

Princeville Botanical Gardens is a family grown and operated botanical garden, complete with exotic flowers, delicious fruit trees, healthy Hawaiian Honey Beehives and organic homegrown chocolate. Hidden away in the jungle valleys of Princeville on Kauai’s North Shore, the rain and Hawaiian sunshine have helped to create a sacred garden paradise. Supplementing the soil with organic fertilizers and homemade compost, organic and sustainable practices are a priority of the Robertson’s, the owners of Princeville Botanical Gardens.

Besides native and “canoe” plants, the Princeville Botanical Gardens are home to potent medicinals, rare and endangered flowers, and useful economic plants from around the world.  Princeville Botanical Gardens is proud to make and share their own organic chocolate, as well as delicious honey from on-site beehives. You can taste these treats and explore the rest of the gardens on a private tour offered 3 days a week. (808) 634-5505

I called and found out a local family owns Oganic ‘Garden Island Chocolates’:

You Have to Come Taste our Chocolate!

Says the owner: “ONCE I HARVESTED AND TASTED THE CHOCOLATE THAT WAS DONE RIGHT, I REALIZED I HAD BEEN EATING INFERIOR LOW GRADE CHOCOLATE MY ENTIRE LIFE.”

Quoting from his web site: “We are in a renaissance of chocolate making. The ancient Mayans and other Mesoamerican cultures were far more advanced in their understanding and use of cacao. We are just scratching the surface in terms of chocolate being used as a medicine and sacrament. After all these centuries we are just beginning to relearn the secrets of chocolate.”

During the tour you will be able to enjoy an extensive chocolate tasting to sample Hawaiian grown and made Chocolates. Garden Isle Chocolates likes to keep the percentages of cacao high (85%) to ensure the health benefits.  If you like dark chocolate, you will love this tour.

In the ‘all you can eat’ chocolate tasting you will get to sample over 20 types of Chocolates! Including Hot Chocolate made in the ‘Traditional Latin American’ style with fresh ground Chocolate liquor, fresh whole vanilla pods, fresh ground all spice, fresh Coconut meat and Coconut milk, and local Hawaiian Honey.  It all sounds so YUMMY! Tours are 3 days a week. (808) 634-6812

Ok, enough about Chocolate, you get the idea. Both Chocolate Farm Tours offer tours, samples and a gift shop. Organic Chocolate with Honey or Cane Sugar and limited Sugar at that, Sweet but not too sweet…

For more information on fun things to do on Kauai and Kauai Tours, call the ladies at Maui Sights & Treasures at 808-879-6260 Ext. #1.  You may also E-Mail us for more information. Mahalo for reading our Fun Things to do on Kauai (part 3) Blog Post.

Aloha Nui Loa