Waialua Estate Chocolate

We know you’re here because you love chocolate – Hawaiian Chocolate – so let’s get to it ...

Here at Waialua Estate, we operate the largest cacao farm in Hawaiʻi – on the North Shore of Oʻahu. It is our unique mix of cacao varietals that allows us to make the most amazing Hawaiian chocolate. But many of you already know that.
And we thank you for your many, many compliments that Waialua Estate makes the best chocolate you’ve ever tasted. We’re humbled.

And because you Love Hawaiʻi, you care about preserving it as much as we do!!
Waialua Estate chocolate bars feature native Hawaiian plants for four distinct reasons:

To bring awareness to the plight of Hawaiʻi’s exceptional natural resources; these stunning and important plants, in particular.
To feature our partner, Laukahi, and all the good work it is doing along with its member organizations, to preserve and conserve native plants and their habitats.
Offer our support – and yours – by donating 1% of proceeds from each chocolate bar sold toward these efforts.
It’s the kuleana (responsibility) of us all, residents and visitors alike.
To learn more about Laukahi, or further supports its efforts, buy more of our chocolate!! Or click the link to the website to learn more:
https://laukahi.org/

Our Chocolate and its finest features!

Waialua Estate chocolate is a tree-to-bar Specialty Chocolate. We grow the cacao; we make the chocolate. Specialty also means a commitment to quality, sustainability, and craftsmanship to develop and refine aromas and flavors. And creating a multi-layer, balanced flavor experience that highlights the inherent fruitiness of our cacao with its acidic nature.

Cacao genetics, growing conditions, soil health, and a whole host of additional variables also have significant impacts on the final taste and quality any cacao and therefore chocolate. Many people draw similar comparisons to growing grapes and making wine. At Waialua Estate, we have much more influence and control over these decisions as the farmer. Like, what varietals and how many of each make the best chocolate. The three main varietals of Theobroma cacao are: Criollo, Forastero and Trinitario, and their hybrids. In general, Criollo and Trinitario have the more interesting and complex flavors while Forastero is hardier, with higher yield of cacao pods.

Hail to our farmer crew!

We also thank our hard-working farm crew for all they do to tend, harvest, ferment, dry, sort and bag the cacao. Farming is some of the least visible work in our entire food chain. Yet, it is arguably the heart and soul of our food system. No offense chefs. But they know, and we know that making any great dishes or products requires good raw materials/ingredients. For our farm crew, that means harvesting only the ripest cacao pods, and fermenting and turning the beans at precise times and temperatures. It’s a lot of work and we didn’t even get to the chocolate making yet!

If you love chocolate; really, really love chocolate
Here are some sites and sources we think you might like to know about to further your education on all things chocolate.

https://hawaiichocolate.org/
https://finechocolateindustry.org/
https://www.cacaoofexcellence.org/about-us/our-vision-objectives
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/the-benefits-of-having-a-healthy-relationship-with-chocolate#:~:text=Improves%20brain%20function%3A%20Flavonols%20in,blood%20flow%20to%20the%20brain.
https://www.ecolechocolat.com/en/
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/pdf/chocolate-ed-guide.pdf

Wanna go it on your own?
https://chocolatealchemy.com/