Honolulu Weekly

The number of cacao trees throughout Hawaii is slowly growing. Chocolate forests are lovingly cultivated on every one of our islands, and two growers now market chocolate bars and pieces under their name. On the Big Island, the Original Hawaiian Chocolate Factory is both growing and processing cacao on the Kona coast.

Here on Oahu, Waialua Chocolate, owned by the Dole Company, has 18 acres of cacao along the banks of the Kaukonahua stream. While this cacao is not organic, the trees are not sprayed, nor are the varieties grown genetically modified. These trees are a mix of Criollo, Trinatario and Forastero which produce a very high quality chocolate with great flavor.

Part of the reason that Waialua Chocolate is so good is that the beans are processed by Guittard Chocolate Company, a 135-year-old, family-owned San Francisco business. It’s important to have the right equipment, which isn’t inexpensive, and the expertise to process the cacao. Guittard got it right, and the resulting chocolate is smooth and rich.

Generally, dark chocolate like this has less sugar and more cacao in it. With less sugar and more cacao, the true chocolate flavor dominates the final product. Waialua Estate, the 70 percent cacao premium chocolate bars are for sale at Tamura’s (Aikahi and Kaimuki branches), Dole Plantation, Chocolate Gecko in Haleiwa, Island-X in Waialua and Whole Foods in Kahala. They are available in boxes that contain five 10-gram bars for $6.50.