This was by far the best tour I have ever been on.
Let me start from the beginning. Every year since Mary Beth and I have been married; we took a vacation. The year before we decided to have kids, we decided to take a trip to Aruba, in part because I wanted to have the Caribbean experience, which we didn't get in Hawaii on our honeymoon. I was hoping for the crystal blue water where you can walk out for what feels like miles and you are only up to your knees. That trip, we bought a Marriott timeshare in Aruba, and as it turns out, as I was prepping Mary Beth not to get too excited when we went on the timeshare tour, I was the first one jumping out of my seat to buy in. Maybe I will post about Aruba and our Marriott timeshares on another post, but this story will ultimately land on a Cacao tour in Kauai, Hawaii.
For 20 (and soon to be 21 years) we have been going to Aruba on our Marriott timeshare and built so many memories from it. Outside of Aruba, we stayed local during the pandemic heading to Rhode Island and twice we made it to Hawaii, trading our Aruba weeks. The first trip was to Oahu and the Big Island, which officially is called Hawaii but is often referred to as the Big Island to differentiate it from the state itself and the collection of other islands. We loved the Big Island and got to try white pineapples for the first time (which will be another post at some point). The second time around, we wanted to give the kids a different Hawaiian experience which was in Kauai. This was one of the islands Mary Beth and I went to on our honeymoon, now 27 years ago. Kauai is an amazing island full of waterfalls, lush tropical rainforests, and the world-famous Nā Pali Coast.
The Rooted & Refined Living Expert Tip:
"Immerse yourself in the sensory experience by touring local farms to understand the history and terroir behind the harvest. There is a greater appreciation gained when you witness the love and care taken of a local farmer firsthand."
Kauai Chocolate Farm Tour
As we started to do our research, which as it turns out we didn't act quick enough to book the tube ride down the mountain, we did book some amazing tours, including Nā Pali Coast Sea Caves Raft Expedition from Nā Pali Riders, which was amazing, and a very close second to my favorite tour of all time, Lydgate Farms Chocolate Farm Tour.
From my first story I shared 6 months ago, Dick Taylor Craft Chocolate Review: The Intersection of Art and Flavor, you know I love craft dark chocolate. When I saw that Kauai had a cacao farm and they offered tours, I figured this might be my only time when I get to visit an actual farm and see how they grow the cacao pods due to the location that cacao pods grow (which is known as the Cacao Belt or Cocoa Belt, which is 20 degrees north and south of the equator).
We asked all of our kids who wanted to join us on this Kauai chocolate farm tour, especially now as they are older and can decide which activities they want to join us for or not. Not surprising, Michael, who is our foodie kid, jumped at the chance to join us. We booked the tour and now we had to wait for the summer to come (roughly 6 months from the time we booked).
From start to finish, this tour was incredible. Not only was I genuinely excited about the opportunity to experience what I loved most, craft dark chocolate, this tour went above and beyond.
As soon as we got there, they offered us to sit in a small area where they did their first introductions. While we were waiting, they had us crack Macadamia nuts and drink some Cacao chocolate. When we sat down, they offered us Apple bananas (sometimes referred to as a candy apple banana), which are native to the area and smaller than a traditional banana by about half the size and sweeter. Mind you, we tasted three amazing foods, and we didn't even start the tour!
After the introduction about the tour and overview of the farm, they brought us down to the Cacao trees. They talked about how they are grown, offering us the ability to look at the pods when they are in their infancy all the way to full grown. The interesting thing was that Cacao trees have been hit recently with some disease around the world but their farm was relatively insulated as they also grow many other fruits (for fun as they don't sell them) and this splits the attention of a potential disease not to affect their Cacao trees (that is my non-technical description of what happened).
Then we ventured off to another part of the farm where they walked us down past dragon fruit plants and peppercorns on the pepper plant. They offered that we could taste the peppercorns right from the plant. I took advantage of that opportunity as well as I wasn't sure I would ever get to taste peppercorns right from the plant. Yup, it was as good as you can imagine.
After tasting the peppercorns, they led us into the chocolate tasting area. We didn't start with the chocolate but tasting some of the other fruit they grow on the farm but don't sell. This included dragon fruit, apple bananas, and soursop (yup, I never heard of it either as it doesn't travel well) and my personal favorite, white pineapples, which are sweeter and juicier than regular pineapples (and about 4x more expensive).
We started with the guide taking a mature cacao pod and splitting it in two. After pulling it apart and seeing the beans strung together in their original form, the guide had us try one. We first sucked on the fruit which was the white fleshy part but had to then wait. From there, we broke apart our beans with our teeth to see the inside of the bean. We ate the outer edge of the bean and were left with the nibs, which I started adding to my smoothies, acai bowls, and ice cream. The guide shared the entire process of how they go from pod to bean to craft dark chocolate.
Wait, you thought we were done. Nope. We then tasted 10 different chocolates to get a feel for what each would taste like. Five where from Lydgate Farms and 5 were from other manufactures including one popular store brand. I was fascinated to learn that the popular store brand dark chocolate has less cacao (45% or so) then the milk chocolate version of a craft chocolate maker (usually 55% or so). So even milk chocolate from a craft chocolate maker gives you a better sensory based experience in taste than the popular store brands.
Time to wrap it up. Nope. We then moved to the honey tasting area. They also offer a honey tour which we didn't do where you get to interact with the bees wearing the protective suits and all. Maybe on my next trip, we can experience that tour. Lydgate Farms offers three different types of honey we which were able to taste as well. We loved the Lehua Blossom Honey and bought some for the trip home. I also plan on writing a story on their honey as well at some point.
Our last stop was to a small popup stand on their farm where they were offering their farm grown products for sale. Of course, we had to buy some.
Start Your Own Chocolate Sensory Experience
If you have a passion for chocolate, honey, maybe consider yourself a foodie, or just want an amazing tour, this is the place to elevate your sensory experience. Book today and let me know your thoughts in the comments!
For Transparency: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. If you purchase through them, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only recommend products I truly love and use myself.
Enjoy!
