Hello chocolate-loving friends!  Here's what's been happening on the farm, and some updates to make it easier to get your Hakalau Chocolate.  

Cacao Season Winding Down

Winter is the time when cacao ripens here in Hawaii. At our elevation (1100'), pods ripen from November through June, with the busiest months in Jan-Feb.  We are still busy doing all the steps of chocolate making - harvesting weekly, starting ferments, turning ferments daily, drying beans, roasting beans, cracking and winnowing, starting new batches in the melanger (stone grinder), pouring bars, and finally  packaging.  Now that it is March, we are starting to wind down our harvest and fermenting.  We store the dried beans for several months before roasting, as an added step in maturing and mellowing the flavor, so we have a good supply and many months of chocolate-making ahead. 

In Eleven Stores

We are selling our bars in 11 quality stores and cafes now, 10 on the Big Island from Hawi to Mountain View, and one in Hood River, Oregon (yes there's a family connection - Treebird Family Market is Dan's son Michael and wife Rebecca's wonderful store).  

Credit Cards & Four-Packs

Our online store now accepts credit cards!  Also, we have added an option for buying 4 bars, instead of the minimum of 6, to allow more flexibility in your purchases. 

A Taste of the Wet Side

Here I am harvesting cacao a few weeks ago, from a tree over the banks of Kamae'e Stream, which borders our property. Today that stream is a gushing chocolate-brown river as we have just had 15 inches of rain, and as I sit inside nice and dry, I hear Dan on the skid-steer out fixing the gravel roads, which became rivers as well! 

Aloha for now,

Rachel