Original Hawaiian Chocolate {Farm Tour}

Up a winding road south of Kona on the Big Island of Hawaii lays a most unique farm. The Original Hawaiian Chocolate farm is the only grower and producer of single origin chocolate in the United States. My family and I had to visit this one-of-a-kind operation during our visit to Kona.

About The Original Hawaiian Chocolate Farm

Owners Bob and Pam Cooper bought their three acre estate in 1997 with one acre of seven-year old cacao trees. The plantation included all three varieties of cacao: forestero, trinitaeium and criollo. The land is also home to coffee and macadamia nut trees and semi-feral chickens and turkeys.

Cacao originated in Venezeula 3000 years ago and has been cultivated for over the last 1000 years. The trees can live 40-50 years and grow to over 100 feet in the wild. They prefer latitudes between 15-20 degrees south or north of the equator and can tolerate 600-800 inches of rain.

Most chocolate producers in the world ship their beans to processors to be made into chocolate products. The nearest processor to the Original Hawaiian Chocolate location is over 2500 miles away. The transportation costs would negate any possible profit so the Coopers decided to try making chocolate themselves.

Under the advice of a consultant, the Coopers tested their beans for flavor at a lab in Barcelona, Spain. The results were good and gave them the green light to produce their first batch of chocolate in 2000. The consultant advised blending with purchased cacao, but the Coopers had a hunch that their beans could stand on their own. The result is their single-origin chocolate produced in "undoubtedly the smallest Willy Wonka factory in the world", as Bob describes it.

Bud to Bar - How Chocolate is Made

Chocolate begins as a tiny flower bud on the trunk of a cacao tree. These buds must be pollinated within an hour of blooming by a tiny midge fly to continue their life. Only 6-10% of blooms are pollinated. The tree self-culls hundreds of the pods. These shrivelled brown pods dry in the sun on the trunks.

Pollinated pods take five months to ripen. Pods grow to 10-12 inches in length and ripen to a bright yellow, red, or red and yellow stripe depending on the cacao variety. Ripe pods do not drop off the tree themselves and must be cut by hand. Bob and helpers at the Original Hawaiian Chocolate farm harvest pods every two weeks.

Next pods are opened by hand to reveal the beans inside. Each bean is covered with puma, a sugary yeasty substance, suspended by a fruity fiberous placenta. The placenta can be eaten; we tasted it and were pleasantly surprised by the sweet slightly tart flavor. (Notice the gecko enjoying the puma?)

The puma starts fermenting when exposed to oxygen. Growers house beans in natural mahogany slatted boxes during the sweating stage when beans will reach 122 degrees F. The puma melts into a sweet liquid that can be harvested and further fermented into alcohol if desired, though the Original Hawaiian Chocolate farm leaves it to soak into the earth.

In 6-8 days for purple forestera beans and 3-4 for white criollo, the beans will be fully fermented to a brown color. The beans then dry in wire-bottomed racks. The beans must reduce their moisture content from 50% to 7% before they are ready for storage and production. In the Hawaiian sun, this typically takes 20-25 days.

Finally the chocolate making process can begin. First, Bob and Pam remove any organic matter to clean the beans. Then, they roast in a commerical quality coffee roaster to lock in the flavor. Next a winnowing machine removes the shell and leaves behind the cocoa nib.

A specialized conch machine grinds the beans to create a liquor next. Vanilla powder, sugar, milk, and several other ingredients are added to the conch next in the 18 hour process. Finally, the resulting chocolate is tempered (cooled slowly to achieve characteristic crisp crunch and smooth texture) in a special machine made in Ohio. The liquid chocolate is molded into bars or the company's signature plumeria flower shape.

The Original Hawaiian Chocolate company creates just under 10,000 pounds of chocolate from tree to treat annually.

Chocolate Facts

• Chocolate nib contains natural polyphenols, alleged to lower blood pressure, reduce the risk of chronic diseases and have anti-inflammatory benefits.
• Milk inhibits the absorption of polyphenols, so enjoy dark chocolate for the most health benefits.
• Additives weaken the flavor of chocolate; high quality chocolate will contain few additives.
• Chocolate contains two powerful natural stimulants: caffeine and theobromine. Theobromine induces migrane headaches in 20% of the human population but the rest of us experience increased libido from it.

Tour Tips

Our group of chocolate lovers from age six to seventy eight enjoyed the tour of the Original Hawaiian Chocolate operation, located about 15 miles from the Kona airport. The tour lasts about 90 minutes and includes samples of three types of chocolate. A short walk through the trees and factory includes seating for those who need it. Reservations are required; call or email at least a few weeks in advance or you'll be grovelling for a last minute spot like we did.

Original Hawaiian Chocolate operates an online store for those who want to taste their farm-to-package chocolate but can't make it to the Big Island. I like the dark chocolate best.

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

People who visit Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, as we did on Sunday, witness the creation and destruction of earth. We hiked from the Kiluea visitor center through sulpur springs and steam vents to an overlook, spying apapane, white-tailed tropic birds, and ferns of many varieties along the way.  After a packed lunch we cooled off at Thurston's Lava Tube and viewed the tree molds, lava molds of tree trunks set deep in the ground. Later we walked a pleasant 1.5 miles through a fern and koa tree forest at Kipukapuaulu Bird Park.

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, with its vast environs and odd creatures, is difficult to comprehend or describe for a simple minded person like myself. The wild, rough, young, epic land reforms itself, offering a rare glimpse of active modern geology. It is unlike anywhere else.

Keauhou Farmers Market {Silent Sunday}

Scenes from the Keauhou Farmers Market on yesterday's very sunny morning. 1) row of stands on hot black pavement. 2) Rancho Aloha farmer gave me seeds for lulo fruit 3) Kona macadamia nuts 4) huge cheap avocados 5) Display of lychee, avocados, mangos, and passionfruit 6) When Pigs Fly delicious charcuterie 7) edible orchids 8 ) Lil with her goodies - a lei, perfume, and tiny pineapple

How to Eat an Unfamiliar Vegetable {Friday Five}

I saw plenty of unfamiliar produce at farmers' markets in Hawaii. Often I ask farmers what to do with strange items but when I purchased the above taro root from a non-native English speaker, I didn't receive much guidance. My family was suspect of the taro after eating poi and I wanted to show them it could be tasty so I employed my five step plan to enjoy an unfamiliar vegetable:

1. Raw - I taste everything raw to see what the initial characteristics are like. In the case of taro our tongues were coated with thick starch and not much other flavor. I knew this meant we had to cook the taro for a good while to break down the starch and add heavy seasoning to trick our tastebuds.

2. Steamed - A quick steam is a good way to enjoy vegetables whose initial raw taste has good flavor. I suspected that taro would take a long time to steam thoroughly so we skipped this step.

3. Boiled and Pureed - Most root vegetables taste good when boiled in salted water. Puree with a little butter if the texture is off putting. Peas, beans, and leaf vegetables can also be quickly boiled and added to purees. I meant to try boiling taro but ran out of space on the range. 4. Oven Roasted - Nearly all produce, including fruit, taste sweeter after a trip in a hot oven. Toss the raw product with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper (or brown sugar in the case of fruit) and cook until caramelized. Roasted taro mixed nicely with potatoes prepared the same way.

5. Fried in Bacon Fat - When all else fails, pull out the big guns: bacon drippings. There is precious little that doesn't taste amazing when fried in bacon fat and indeed the taro was more than palatable this way. To completely cook the starch, we fried each half-inch side for five minutes.

What do you do when you come across an unfamiliar vegetable?

Please excuse the poorly lit photos. Despite ample outdoor light for some reason I chose to take pictures in the kitchen. I blame it on the mai tais.

King Kamehameha Day

Yesterday afternoon we drove up the west side of the Hawaiian island from Keahou Bay to North Kohala on the north coast, the birthplace of King Kamehameha I. The locals put on a floral parade, decorate a tall statue of Kamehameha with hundreds of feet of floral leis, and set up a free outdoor festival for King Kamehameha Day every June 11. Unfortunately we were too late for the parade and drove in frustrating traffic instead.

Once we made it to the festival site, we watched hula dancers and ate from local food stands. Inside a community center, we talked with local artisans demonstrating their prowess in Hawaiian floral, quilt, saddle, weaving, and other arts.

Music and dancing continued throughout the afternoon, including this fine guitar player:

The crowds were a bit much to handle, so we left after about an hour. We drove part way back down the coast to stop at Pu'ukohola National Historic Site. Kamehameha and his legion of men built an impressive temple from hand-cut lava rocks on this site. The National Park-operated site includes a small visitor center, restrooms, 1/4 mile hike, and touch-table of native flora and fauna for kids.

Kamehameha's rule was violent and through his actions the Hawaiian islands were first united. He is credited with the 'Law of the Splintered Paddle', a law protecting elderly, women, and children from non-combatant violence. During his reign, Kamehameha sought the advice of British and American leaders, beginning the transition of the islands from native rule to US statehood. Witnessing the celebration of his birth and rule was a fascinating cultural experience.

If you go (unlikely, but I wish I had some advice to read before heading out for the celebration):

• Either drive to North Kohala and park before 8:15 am or wait until late morning after the parade. We hit right during the most crowded time and wasted an hour in traffic.
• Bring cash and expect a short wait for each food vendor. The food was of good quality, even the poi balls.
• Wear sun protection. There is some shade but not a lot.
• Pair with another activity or two - Hawi town had cute art galleries, Kawaihae has a beautiful pier with boats and nice fish shop, and walking to view the Pu'ukohola site only takes 20 minutes.

Mangoes! {Video}

Our Hawaiian rental house has a fruit tree grove. Naturally Lil and I explored it as soon as we arrived. Green mangos hang from long studded tails, ripening and reddening as they sink to the ground.

These fresh mangoes have succulent smooth flesh, not at all like the sometimes-stringy import versions we can buy in Ohio. We are enjoying them fresh with breakfast and mixed into drinks with limes from trees on the property.

Before we left, Lil shot this video of one way to peel and slice mangoes. The other 'hedgehog' method is pictured above. Lil's commentary is cute, but the subtitle should be 'why Rachel needs a tripod and not a six year old holding the camera.' Sorry.

Do you eat mangoes?

About that Hawaiian Vacation {Friday Five}

In 24 hours Alex, Lil and I will board a plane with twelve of my relatives bound for Kona, Hawaii. It's a similar trip to one we took to the Big Island nine years ago with most of the same people, my clever Tayse family. Excitement doesn't begin to describe our feelings about the details of this trip:

1) We're staying in the house mansion where John Wayne was married! 2) We will visit an organic coffee farm and the only tree-to-package chocolate business in the US! 3) Volcanoes! Waterfalls! Mountains! 4) Sea turtles! Manta rays! Tropical birds! Plumeria! 5) Our house is still for sale here - will we come back?!

Just in case you want to follow along (or know exactly how to ignore me), like Hounds in the Kitchen on Facebook, follow @racheltayse on twitter, and follow RachelTayse on Instagram. I have some fun things lined up for the blog in the coming ten days, so return right here too!

Seeking the Authentic

A while ago, Lil and I went to a new Columbus city space with friends, one touted as a great community center. I left unbelievably uncomfortable. Weed-like annoyances including the lack of shade, long lines, crowds, and poor food options covered up what I wished was growing instead but I couldn't quite put my finger on it right away.

A few days of introspection made me realize what was missing: authenticity. I and so many others headed to the area seeking community and engagement but left hot and bothered.

So What is Authentic?

Everyone's version of authenticity may be different. For me, a genuine experience is:

• Comfortable - everyone has space, there are areas of shade in summer and warmth in winter
• Engaging - all ages can enjoy aspects of the experience
• Open to Emotions - The Disney "Happiness Factor" isn't real. Guests must have the emotional space to feel moved, shocked, thrilled, saddened, and hopeful.
• Close to Nature - Real enterprises recognize that humans are part of nature, not a force above it, and provide avenues to interact and witness nature if only through windows and natural light.
• Open Ended - An authentic experience is made by the people who attend, have conversations, and create community.

When Faced With Fake

What do you do when you find yourself in a less-than-bona-fide situation?

If you can, transform the experience into something with more meaning and feeling. Play an inclusive game on an open lawn. Make a mental word search in a 'don't touch' museum. Position yourself in the most comfortable place you can find.

It's also OK to say "no thanks" to an un-authentic experience.  Advertising cleverly leads many of us to think that the new amusement park or traveling circus or characters on ice show is something everyone will love. If you know that your family doesn't like being packed in crowds for manufactured happiness, skip the temptation. We often stay far away from such events.

Plan for the Real Deal

We're about to leave for a lengthy vacation with fourteen relatives. We could fill our days with tours and tourist traps but we will seek authenticity instead. Whether at home or away, we search out genuine experiences like:

• Nature Parks and Wildlife Refuges
• Farmers' Markets
• Local Restaurants, Brew pubs, and Groceries
• Non-Profit Museums (some are much more 'real' than others)
• Ethnic Eats
• Libraries
• Community Festivals and Fairs
• Pick-Your-Own Operations and Farm Tours

Do you seek the authentic? How do you find it?