A Chocolate Tour experience by Honokaa Chocolate Co.. Back to all Big Island tours.
Tour Summary: One of the few places on the Big Island where you can taste fresh cacao from the tree and follow it through to finished single-origin chocolate. $95, 2 hours, groups of 12 max.
The orchard sits on the farm property where tours begin, about five minutes from the retail store in Honokaa town. 
The tasting covers nine bars in sequence, with instruction on evaluating aroma, texture, and finish. The farm sits in the hills above Honokaa on Old Mamalahoa Highway, in one of the Big Island's wetter growing regions. A Cacao farm tour at the Honoka'a Chocolate Co. Next to a tour of the cacao prchard you also get to taste a variety of their own chocolate and other local products. Image credit: Sarah Anderson Photography.
5 Tour Highlights:
- Walk a working cacao orchard and see pods growing on the trees
- Taste fresh cacao fruit directly from the tree (seasonal availability)
- Guided tasting of nine award-winning single-origin chocolates
- Chocolate tea tasting in the barrel room
- Learn the science of fermentation, flavor development, and theobromine
Important: Families with children under 10 are welcome but the farm environment may not suit very young children
Tour Information:
| Price: | Adult |
|---|---|
| (excluding taxes & fees) | $95 |
Tour Provider: Honokaa Chocolate Co.
Activity: Chocolate Tour
Tour start time: 2:00 PM
Duration: 2 hours
Departure from: Hamakua Coast
Pick-up available? No
Cancellations: Customers will receive a full refund or credit with 48 hours notice of cancellation. Less than 48 hours cancellation notice will receive a 50% refund. No-shows will not receive a refund. Contact us by phone or email to cancel or inquire about a cancellation. No-shows will be charged the full price.
Read more: about chocolate tour in our Big Island chocolate tour guide.
# Read more about this tour
Mike Pollard spent his career as an aerospace engineer before buying farmland on the Hamakua Coast. He leads every tour personally, which explains why the science portion covers soil composition, pollinator behavior, and cacao variety differences before it ever gets to flavor notes.
The orchard sits on the farm property where tours begin, about five minutes from the retail store in Honokaʻa town.
The tour meets at the farm on Old Mamalahoa Highway, not at the retail shop in Honokaa town. Directions are sent after booking. The orchard sits at elevation on the Hamakua Coast, which means it can be overcast by mid-afternoon even when Honokaa town is clear; bring a light layer. The terrain is uneven and can be muddy in wet weather, so closed-toe shoes are the better call. From the orchard, Mike walks the group through cultivation, harvesting, fermentation, and drying in sequence. If pods are mature, you taste fresh cacao fruit pulled from the tree. Availability is seasonal and never guaranteed.
From Orchard to Tasting Room
The second half is a structured tasting of nine current award-winning single-origin chocolates, led wine-style: aroma first, then texture, then finish. The format is closer to a flavor education seminar than a sample tray. Mike covers the chemistry behind fermentation, flavonoid development, and theobromine, and connects what you’re tasting back to specific conditions on the farm. The tasting table is set up with water and palate-cleansing crackers between flights, which matters more by the sixth or seventh chocolate than you’d expect. Some guests also encounter a kakao brew or cacao tea alongside the chocolate flight. These aren’t guaranteed, but they appear often enough to be worth knowing about. The structured format gives you a framework for evaluating any chocolate afterward, not just the bars in the retail shop.
The tasting covers nine bars in sequence, with instruction on evaluating aroma, texture, and finish.
The tour finishes with a short caravan along Old Mamalahoa Highway to the production facility and retail shop in Honokaa town. The drive takes under five minutes. At the facility, Mike walks the group through the processing equipment, from roasting to tempering. One practical note: the machines may not be running during your visit. The walkthrough still covers the full process, and the retail shop carries the current bar lineup for tasting and purchase.
What You’re Actually Paying For
At $95 per person for 2 hours, this tour costs more than most tasting experiences on the island. What makes it worth the price is the founder-led format, the small group cap of 12, and the fact that the chocolate being discussed was grown on the same property where you’re standing. Groups larger than 12, or private tours, can be arranged directly with the operator.
What keeps surfacing in guest descriptions is a specific shift: not enthusiasm for chocolate generally, but a new awareness of how far commercial chocolate is from the source. That kind of response is harder to manufacture than a 4.8-star average, and it reflects Mike’s depth as an educator.
# About Honokaa Chocolate Co.
Honokaʻa Chocolate Co. is one of a small number of true bean-to-bar producers in Hawaii, and Mike Pollard leads the tours himself. At $95, the 2 hours experience goes well beyond a typical tasting: you leave with real knowledge of how flavor develops from tree to bar. Best suited for food-curious travelers who want context with their chocolate, not just samples. The small group cap of 12 keeps it from feeling like a mass tourist activity.
# Affiliate Disclaimer
Booking through this page costs you nothing extra and is made directly with Honokaa Chocolate Co.. We earn a commission from the operator, not from you, and it is what pays for the research that keeps lovebigisland.com free and free of paid placement. We only list operators we would send a friend to. Details on our affiliate links are here.