Kahuku Farms has been providing Oahu’s North Shore with delicious, farm-fresh produce for over 100 years. They recently added a new product to their lineup: Hawaiian chocolate. Delicious and decadent, this treat is sure to tease your taste buds. Here’s what you should know before you indulge.

Hawaiian Chocolate FAQ

1. How Is the Chocolate Made?

Hawaiian chocolate, like other chocolates, is made from cacao fruit, or rather the small seeds found inside it. Each pod-like fruit ranges from 5 to 12 inches long and contains anywhere from 30 to 50 seeds.

Once ripe, the cacao fruit turns a vibrant yellow-orange color. The pods are then harvested and shipped to Waialua Estate Chocolate Factory, a partner of Kahuku Farms. It is at Waialua Estate that the beans are fermented, dried, cleaned, and roasted for optimal flavor. The bean’s outer shell is then removed so it can be ground, liquefied, and combined with sugar and other ingredients depending on the type of chocolate desired.

2. What Is the Difference Between Cocoa & Cacao?

“Cocoa” and “cacao” are often used interchangeably.  People normally use the word Cacao to refer to the farm product or pod growing on the tree and Cocoa to refer to cocoa powder or cocoa beans (usually after they have been fermented and roasted).  We say that Cacao is a living plant and Cocoa is a processed product.

3. What Does Cacao Percentage Mean?

When you purchase chocolate, you may notice a percentage on the label. This number signifies how much cacao is in the chocolate. Kahuku Farm’s Hawaiian chocolate, for instance, is 70% cacao. The remaining 30% is sugar. Most commercial milk chocolate ranges between 10% to 15% whereas dark chocolate is typically 70% or more.

4. Why Is Dark Chocolate Considered Healthy?

Chocolate with a cacao content of 60% or more has a variety of health benefits. Namely, it provides your body with vitamins A, B1, C, D, and E as well as iron, calcium, and other essential minerals. Dark chocolate also contains flavonoids, a group of antioxidants that delay the aging process at a cellular level and encourage blood vessel function.

Want to try this delicious Hawaiian chocolate for yourself? Visit Kahuku Farms on Oahu’s North Shore today! To see their cacao orchard in action, call (808) 628-0639 and schedule your farm tour today. You can also visit their website for more information.