Kaua‘i Chocolate & Coffee Festival to showcase products from Hawaiian Islands

Do you have a sweet tooth or love a good cup of java? If so, then get ready for this Sunday, when makers from throughout Hawai‘i will gather on the Garden Isle for the ninth annual Kaua‘i Chocolate & Coffee Festival.

Dozens of chocolate and coffee farmers and manufacturers from around the state will showcase their products at the free event, which runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Oct. 20 at Kilohana Plantation in Līhu‘e.

Attendees who purchase a “tasting passport” before tickets sell out, online or at the door, may sample the companiesʻ delicious treats and the state’s coffee, which for many years has been well-known for its quality and taste outside of Hawaiʻi.

The Kaua‘i Coffee Company is the United States’ largest coffee grower, with more than 4 million trees on 3,100 acres in Kalāheo.

Now, the quality of Hawai‘i chocolate also is earning fame.

“Hawai‘i is the only state in the United States that grows cacao, and so it really gives us a unique advantage,” said festival organizer Amy Hammond, who founded the Hawai‘i Chocolate and Cacao Association in 2012. “We have really sprung up with a lot of experts now, locally.”

One such expert is Kaua‘i farmer Will Lydgate, who has found success growing and marketing award-winning chocolate through his Lydgate Farms. After years of making sales from an open-air tasting room on its 46-acre property in Wailuā, the business opened its first brick-and-mortar storefront this summer.

Chocolate and coffee are uniquely positioned to promote Hawai‘i agriculture as a whole, Hammond said. The products go well together — think chocolate-covered coffee beans and mocha lattes — and they complement many other local crops like Ka‘u oranges and bananas.

Hammond believes that chocolate and coffee may become iconic emblems of Hawai‘i in the future, just as pineapples and sugarcane are today.

“I think you’re going to continue to see it grow,” she said. “Maybe not in my lifetime, but I know I’ve helped to lay the foundation.”

Mānoa Chocolate of O‘ahu, Island Sharks Chocolate of Hawai‘i Island and Pono Chocolate of Maui are some of the other businesses also slated to appear at Sunday’s festival. Live music, dance, workshops and a silent auction are also scheduled throughout the day. Crafters, artisans and food vendors also will be present.

The Kaua‘i Chocolate & Coffee Festival benefits the Kala Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation of Hawaiian culture through community projects and events.

For more information about the Kaua‘i Chocolate & Coffee Festival, including tasting passport ticket information and a complete schedule, visit kauaichocolateandcoffeefestival.com or follow the annual event on Facebook.