Manoa Chocolate Tour

Fun to learn, talk the history and try so many tastes of chocolate

This is a must-do during a visit to the big island! Colin and Wren are incredibly knowledgeable and have created a perfect tour experience — tons of learning, a beautiful setting, and lots and lots of delicious chocolate. Highly recommend.

The Tour was excellent and not just because we got to taste many kinds of chocolate! It was a fun and informative tour that was both educational and delicious! I would recommend this tour to everyone….. at 74 years of age,, I was worried about the walking, but it was the exact right amount to learn something and not overdo it. The two young men who led the tour and tasting were both knowledgeable and enthusiastic.

Highly recommend this tour. Very informative and great hosts that present the history of chocolate and the manufacturing process. Lots of interesting information and excellent samples of lots of chocolate! Colin and Wrenn were very knowledgeable and explained the process so everyone can understand. Loved our tour, would go again!

My family and I all loved the farm tour and chocolate tasting experience! Wrenn and Colin (and Darwin) were fabulous tour guides - very knowledgeable and engaging. We learned so much about farming on the Big Island and intricacies of chocolate production. Everyone spread the word about this hidden gem near Hilo!

I learned so much about the cacao bean and chocolate over all. The chocolate tasting was phenomenal 🤎 Colin, Wrenn and Darwin were beyond gracious as hosts and teachers. I definitely recommend it to anyone visiting Hilo! You will not regret it.

An amazing experience not to be missed. Learning the history. Eating cocao fruit like they did 1000 years ago, drinking the fresh juice from 70 pods in a small glass. "Nectar of the Gods." Now I know what the best chocolate products in Hawaii taste like in my order of preference :)

We stayed in Kona and rented a car to drive over to take this tour in Hilo. It was absolutely worth it. I had never seen a cacao farm, and now I feel like I’ve got such a deeper understanding of the entire cacao-to-chocolate process. Wren and Colin (and Darwin the doggo) are wonderful hosts and docents. They were knowledgeable in the history, science, and practice of all aspects of cacao and answered every question we could think of. The tour itself is laid back yet rich with interactive education. You get to learn about the cacao pods and experience all parts of the plant, including the fruit, seeds, unroasted beans, pulp juice, and finally local chocolate. So much of the tour was delicious and eye opening. They provided so many chocolate samples in the final tasting stage that we actually reached our chocolate limit (not complaining!). If ever I’m on the island again I would like to revisit and see how the farm — and tour — have grown.

My husband and I had a BLAST at Honolii Orchards! We came during the rainy winter season, which really underscored the tropical rainforest environment conducive to growing the cacao. The entire experience was very engaging and fun while simultaneously educating us on all the stages of chocolate production. Ren was an excellent host and explained to us the background and history behind cacao being made into chocolate. They had a wheel diagram where you could try to define what notes you were tasting, which was quite fun. I noticed that when Ren would detail the notes he was tasting in the chocolate, I could actually detect those same notes. It was like a guided tour of sorts. Colin demonstrated how the fruit is extracted from the pods (with a machete!) and let us sample three diffent types of pods. He also informed us of the valuable research and experimenting the farm has been contributing to cacao farming on Hawaii. In addition to taste testing the finished products of local chocolate farms, we also had the pleasure of trying an amazing concoction of tea made from cacao shells mixed with cocoa. It smelled like hot chocolate, but tasted like tea. The icing on the cake was the incomparable juice extracted from the pulp of the fruit itself, made right on this farm. Every aspect of the experience was delightful and delicious! And our hosts were equally passionate as they were knowledgeable about their craft, which made the whole tour even more enjoyable and interesting. The view is stunning, the tasting is incredible, and the lessons are insightful. You'll never look at chocolate the same again- you'll look at it with even more appreciation than ever. I highly, highly recommend this tour!

ABSOLUTELY A MUST VISIT! Wrenn and Colin are both so welcoming, knowledgable and engaging. We had been to chocolate experiences before but this was one of a kind. You really journey through the entire process starting with eating the cacao pulp ending with tasting more chocolate than you can imagine. This is a local family business and is well worth your time. Plus Wrenn’s dog, Darwin is extra cute!