CHOCOLATE (Think of the old TV commercial that goes, “chaaaaaawclett”)
One of the most different and fun activities we did this time in Hawaii was the chocolate farm tour. Lydgate Farms is home to the state’s largest cacao orchard (more than 1,000 trees) and makes single source chocolate and chocolate tea from these trees. Their group tour is listed as three hours and is offered in the morning beginning at 9:00. Folks were slow to arrive, we were walk-ins as we’d been waiting on the weather forecast, and there was a mix of seniors, young couples, and one family group of parents and two children. 
We got some history of the farm (started 17 years ago) and the backstory of the two women tour leaders. Andrea had had a career in real estate in Southern California, but her dream was to live and work in Hawaii and she arrived four years ago. Kate, spent five years as a nanny, and then was drawn to Kauai by some friends and has been on staff for about 9 months. They were both personable and enthusiastic about the farm’s mission, as you would expect.
In the arrival shed, we tasted two of the farm’s chocolates, one dark and one milk, and then were led down a path where Kate pointed out various trees and their fruits including two cacao trees just outside. When we got to a grove with benches, she invited us to sit and proceeded to introduce us to some of the tropical fruits that also grow on this land. She showed us the whole fruit, described its texture and flavor and what it should cost in the market, and then passed around glass dishes of pre-cut fruit to taste. We had everything from starfruit, papaya and guava to cinnamon apple, egg fruit, soursop, and dragon fruit. Previously, we had tasted a small round fruit similar to a lychee. 
Next stop was the cacao orchard where Kate demonstrated her recently acquired skill with a machete and cracked open one pod. We all got to take out one of the slimy white “beans” and suck and chew on it. Slightly sweet, but nothing like the taste of chocolate. The pods, some green, some yellow, and some a lovely striated mauvey red, often grow directly on the tree trunk with others higher up in the trees. There is no particular season for the fruit, they grow all year, and, hence, the trees are harvested every 3-4 weeks.
Probably the most fun part of this morning was the blind tasting of nine different chocolates. Several were the product of Lydgate Farms, but others were from Colombia, Madagascar, and other places including one special Hershey dark chocolate. It was fascinating and instructive to dry to divine the flavor notes of each individual chocolate from smoky to cherries to bitter to smooth to honey and coffee. While we were pondering each chocolate, Kate gave a running history of chocolate’s history and its introduction in different parts of the world. In the blind tasting, I correctly identified seven of the nine chocolate types. At the very end, we got to try two more of Lydgate’s own chocolates. 
On the whole, this was an informative and fun morning. It’s slated to be three hours, but I felt in the tasting that Kate was spending more time on history before giving us the next chocolate in order to fill time. It’s really a two-hour presentation, and I’d be happy to pay the same amount for a more tightly run event. We tipped Kate on the way out and bought one candy bar, 70% dark chocolate with honey, to bring home.
Note: All photos ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved)
