Which island are you on?
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a dream fulfilled ~ note from dylan, september 2024
When I started Mānoa Chocolate 14 years ago my dream was to make chocolate from cacao we grew ourselves, right here on my home island of O'ahu. We've finally done it. We are thrilled to announce after six years of hard work, our O’ahu cacao farm, Kamananui is now open for farm tours!
Located on the famous North Shore, our farm sits nestled at the base of O’ahu’s tallest peak, Mount Ka’ala. On our tour, you will learn why this site is special (it’s the most genetically diverse cacao farm in the world), history of the location, and a fresh cacao fruit tasting. The tour is topped off with an extensive chocolate tasting of bars and treats within the comfort of our Orchard Pavilion. Oh, and not to be forgotten, along the way you’ll likely encounter some wild peacocks and a pig or two.
Kamananui represents a partnership between Mānoa Chocolate and Cacao Services; a cacao consultancy business based in Hawai’i. Starting this farm required extreme patience. It took two years of scouting our island before we found a location in Waialua on O’ahu’s North Shore. The site had everything we could hope for… except, infrastructure. It was completely raw and covered in thick invasive weeds. How hard could it be? It turns out, VERY! We had to dig a well, install a pump, get permits to allow the electric company to hook up power to the pump so we could water our seedlings, put in a road that would be accessible when it rained… the list goes on and on. We learned a lot, and many times the hard way. All said and done we finally made our first batch of Kamananui chocolate last month. Fermentation of the first harvest is always unpredictable and we weren't sure what to expect, but it came out great! We are so excited for you to try it.
To distinguish this farm, we were keen to develop a new package design that emphasized our involvement and represented the unique characteristics of this farm. I’m proud to say that this artwork was created by Mānoa’s in-house artist and my brother, Carson Butterbaugh.
We hope to see you soon beneath the canopy of our orchard. Please don’t hesitate to give us your feedback so we can continue to improve upon this new experience. Aloha!
- Mānoa Chocolate Founder and Kamananui Cacao Orchards Co-founder, Dylan Butterbaugh
reservation only
located in hilo, hawai'i (the big island)
ages 9+
duration 2+ hours
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working together to grow the best chocolate in the world ~ a note on honoli'i's beginnings, january 2024
The cacao and chocolate industry here in the Hawaiian Islands is a tight knit community. We all know each other and do our best to collaborate wherever we can. We’re striving to make Hawai'i a leader in cacao agriculture and chocolate production and the only way we can do that is by working together. This brings us to our friend and partner in Honoli’i Orchards, Colin Hart.
Since the beginnings of Mānoa, Colin has been a friend, colleague, and great source of knowledge within cacao agriculture. When the opportunity came to collaborate on this project together, we didn’t hesitate. Hart graduated with his masters in cacao from the University of Hawai’i with a clear vision of starting his own farm on his family’s multi-generational estate.
Honoli’i Orchards is located in Hilo on the windward slopes of Maunakea, Hawai‘i Island’s tallest volcano. This region is defined by abundant rain-fall, deep volcanic soil, and a dynamic terrain shaped by the Honoli‘i Stream. In 2019 we broke ground with Colin to establish the first trees and begin our mission of growing and making the best chocolate in the world. As of 2024, after half a decade of hard work, we were finally able to make our first batch of Honoli’i chocolate and open the gates of Colin’s picturesque family farm. We hope to see you there for a one of kind farm tour and chocolate tasting experience.
