Visit One Of The Country's Only Cacao Farms On This Sweet Tour In Hawaii
By Megan Shute|Published January 23, 2019
×
Megan Shute
Author
With more than 10 years of experience as a professional writer, Megan holds a degree in Mass Media from her home state of Minnesota. After college, she chose to trade in her winter boots for slippahs and moved to the beautiful island of Oahu, where she has been living for more than five years. She lives on the west side but is constantly taking mini-road trips across the island and visits the neighboring islands whenever she can getaway. She loves hiking, snorkeling, locally-grown coffee, and finding the best acai bowl on Oahu.
Chocolate can either cheer you up after a bad day or help you celebrate life’s happiest moments. Either way, I’d like to think that chocolate is an entirely necessary part of life. Luckily for us, Hawaii is the only state in America to grow cacao commercially, and as a result, our beautiful islands are home to some of the country’s greatest chocolatiers — including this incredible Hawaiian cacao farm you’re guaranteed to love.
Found off the beaten path in windward Oahu is 21 Degrees Estate Cacao Farm, a 10-acre cacao farm that not only produces some phenomenally sweet artisan chocolate bars but offers tours to the public.
Only grown 20 degrees north and south of the equator, Hawaii is the only American state that grows cacao, 21 Degrees Estate was named after the latitude location of Oahu, Hawaii. The windward coast of Oahu is sometimes referred to by chocolate makers and bean-to-bar chocophiles as the "Napa Valley" of chocolate because of it’s unique micro-climate and soil.
21 Degrees Estate began by planting 650 superior, high-flavor profile cacao trees in three orchards in an attempt to create some of the country’s best artisan craft chocolate, with their first harvest taking place in 2016. In 2017, this veteran-owned and family-operated farm harvested approximately 2,500 pods, yielding some 1,200 special batch chocolate bars.
In addition to cacao trees, the 10-acre farm is also home to mature agriculture — from apple-bananas, coconuts, starfruits, and lychee to avocado, turmeric, mango, guava, and breadfruit. You’ll even find a variety of beautiful tropical flowers among the cacao trees.
Also found on the farm? Miniature goats whose primary duty is to be cute, but also to serve as weed management technicians on the farm. We can’t imagine more adorable workers exist.
The educational, two-hour tours teach guests everything there is to know about chocolate — from growing cacao trees and harvesting and processing of the cacao beans to an extensive tasting of the finished product you’re sure to love. Don’t forget to bring your camera — this spot has been described as the "most charming cacao farm in America."
21 Degrees Estate Cacao Farm is located at 47-546d, Mapele Pl., Kaneohe, HI 96744. To learn more and reserve your spot during their next tour, visit their website or follow them on Facebook.
