The Original Hawaiian Chocolate Factory

The tour was led by the owner who provided a wealth of information on how he got started with this chocolate plantation, the planting & harvesting process and how we end up eating the chocolate that is made. I got distracted during the explanation of the cacao bean because those little geckos were so darn cute! You get 3 little pieces of chocolate to sample. That plus about a 45 minute tour for $ 15. It was a fun thing to do to break up the day between beaches!

Fascinating… loved it… totally recommend it while you are on theBig Island

You can spare 1 hour of beach time to visit the original hawaiian chocolate factory. Unlike any factory, it is tucked in a leafy neighborhood and run as a «made by hand operation». All the cacao beans are locally picked, adding to the uniqueness of the product. The tour was entertaining and educational. Buy some chocolate, it will taste even better after learning of its story.

Fun trip close to town. The chocolate is really excellent.
On the same day that i did the tour and bought 4 bags of chocolate to ship for holiday gifts, I happened to stop at Island Naturals grocery store where I found that they carried what I had just bought but the price tag was 20% less! Island Naturals does not carry most of the line but if you are going to give someone the bag of dark or milk chocolate plumeria blossoms, get it at Island Naturals. Had I bought my chocolates there, I could be enjoying a bag for myself.

PUT ON THE BUG REPELLENT!!!
I didn’t and was eaten alive by whatever bugs that were on the Farm.
I agree with Scott C. The OHCF is a great place to see single origin chocolate go from pod to finish product. The owner Bob is very knowledgeable, but this place isn’t Willy Wonka’s Chocolate factory and you don’t see the chocolate being made. Best part is watching the Gekkos eat the slimy stuff on the seeds.

I’m not a big sweets fan, however, one of my girlfriends has a huge sweet tooth. When I told her about this chocolate factory tour she really wanted to go so I told her I would go with her. When we got there and she noticed what kind of chocolate we would be learning about she almost shrieked because she told me she LOVES their chocolate and buys it all the time! We live here so it’s easily found in specialty shops around the island.
The property itself is absolutely stunning and the owner/​tour operator is hilarious. He’s originally from North Carolina and has been operating this farm for 16 years. The chocolate is literally made on the property and you get to see how it’s done, in addition to learning about the life cycle of the cocoa beans. They give you three different samples of chocolate while on the tour which was really tasty.
Although I don’t have a sweet tooth, I love toffee if I’m ever in the mood for a bite of something sweet. They sell toffee in their gift shop so I bought a package after the wifes owner informed it was an award winning toffee. I’m so glad I did as it’s incredible!
It’s only an hour long and only $ 15.00 for the tour. Totally worth it and be sure to pick up some goodies in their gift shop afterwards.

This is a wonderful farm. You’ll learn more about chocolate than you ever wanted to! Joe gives a great tour and you can feel his passion for the farm and the chocolate.

Great tour with a very charming tour guide. Interesting to see the cacao trees up close
And the coco beans drying. The tour is mostly shaded and seating is offered throughout. The chocolate is great, not overly sweet but it does leave you a but thirsty. I recommend bringing water.
They take pride in their chocolate making and the quality comes through.

The store host (young woman) was bubbly and friendly when we first arrived.
Then, Bob (the owner) spoke about the chocolate company. He was very knowledgable about the whole process, but it seemed that he was just tired of saying the same thing over & over again.
They do give you three pieces of chocolate to try, but that’s it. No chocolate being made, no sampling of the dried cacao and not even allowing the kids to help out. This tour needs to be more hands-​on to get people interested in buying the expensive chocolate in their store.
If you want to see an owner that shares his passion with you, go tour The Hawaiian Vanilla Company. He relates his business with his life stories. Definitely worth the expense!

As a chocolate lover, this is the place to go. I have eaten chocolate all over the world, but have never actually seen the cocoa beans growing on trees. This small farm has a great tour. You start in the trees, move on to the drying trays and then see how they turn the beans into chocolate.
They limit the number of people on each tour so you need to make a reservation in advance. The $ 15 is very reasonable and I learned a lot about chocolate.

This was a totally random google maps find as we were trying to find directions back to our hotel. I wish we’d known about it before to schedule a tour!
Delicious chocolate, generous samples, super friendly and informative staff, and beautiful grounds. What more do you need!!!

Great tour with the owner Bob, insightful about production method and how the chocolate gets its unique flavour.

Such a fun place to check out and FREE samples. We watched a short film on how the chocolate is made and walked around to check out the beans. No long tours to go on but informative.

I did not go on tour just stopped by the gift shop. The person who makes the chocolate gives the tour!
Pluses
–ez to find
— Ac and clean bathroom
— video
— chocolate tastings
— very tasty chocolate and I love the plumeria shape!!!
Areas of improvement
— consider selling some cold drinks or chocolate edibles (cookies etc)

Chocolate is indeed a form of edible art.
The colors of flavor that will strike the palette from this hawaiian chocolate are unique. Also… Within this industry less than 1% of chocolate is produced with fair labor. It is a known child slavery industry. Before you eat another Hershey’s try this QUALITY chocolate. The tour is educational scientific and friendly and it is lead by the owner himself.
Aloha original hawaiian chocolate factory until next year.

We’ve been on several chocolate factory tours before, but his one was the best. They are the only chocolate factory in the USA that grows their own cocoa trees and processes the chocolate beans all the way to the finished product.
The tour was super informative and we got to stand in the cocoa tree grove and check out the growing pods. They also explain the history of chocolate and what is involved in each part of the process. They provide samples of their chocolate.
There is a store where you can buy chocolates to take home or have shipped to you. They take care to ship it overnight only when it is not too hot outside along any part of the travel route, so your chocolate arrives perfect and not a melted mess.
My mom is handicapped and they offered her a ride on their golf cart for the walking portion of the tour.
Highly recommend stopping for this free tour, but remember to reserve your spot online in advance.

The Original Hawaiian Chocolate Factory is an awesome chocolate farm & only spot in the US that can claim single-​origin, bean-​to-​bar!
We reserved 2 spots on their chocolate tour (you’ll want to do the same as they fill up fast!) & heard about this small but mighty facility that grows their own cacao trees, harvests their own cacao pods, roasts their own beans & turns it all into lovely, creamy-​dreamy chocolate. They do not import any beans to make their chocolate — everything is sourced solely from their farm
We got to walk out into the cacao trees then see where the pods are processed, where the beans were dried & finally where the conche turned it into their lovely chocolate
Cutest part of the tour was after the pod was cut & the cacao seeds were put on the table — a few geckos came running & started licking the beans (they know the good stuff!) Totally adorable!
3 varieties of chocolate are small-​batch-​produced, right on site & we didn’t have a fav among the bunch, they were all THAT good! There is Dark, Milk and Dark Criollo chocolate — you’ll have to try them for yourself to see which you like best
It was amazing what mother nature can do to those beans to naturally dry them & infuse a richness of flavor
Their motto is: Chocolate is Aloha! …and I believe it!

Great tour and well worth your time. This is a small single origin chocolate farm/​factory and the only one if it’s kind in the US. They only have 6 employees. The tour is informative and very interesting.
You’re also in the heart of Kona so you can make a day of it.

Still a MUST VISIT destination on the Big Island! It’s been fun to see how much they’ve grown since our first visit a decade ago. It’s the only place you’re going to see the tree to the bean to the machines to the bar. Incredible spirit here. Love their chocolate, love their aloha.

The owner is very knowledgeable about chocolate. He gives us a tour of his coco trees farm. He explains in detail the process of making chocolate.
He even let us taste his product. It is really yummy!
The tour is very informative. Now I know it is not an easy process to make good chocolate. I will appreciate every bit of chocolate from now on.