Nestled on Hawaiʻi Island’s lush Hāmākua Coast, Honokaʻa Chocolate Co. turns estate-grown cacao into some of the islands’ most awarded bars. Founder and former scientist Mike Pollard blends precise craftsmanship with genuine aloha...
Nestled on Hawaiʻi Island’s lush Hāmākua Coast, Honokaʻa Chocolate Co. turns estate-grown cacao into some of the islands’ most awarded bars. Founder and former scientist Mike Pollard blends precise craftsmanship with genuine aloha...
Mike Pollard brings his aerospace engineering background and family farming heritage to creating premium chocolate that visitors consistently call world-class. His farm tours stand out for their intimate, educational approach where you learn directly from the chocolatier himself rather than staff guides. The experience includes walking through the cacao orchard to understand different tree varieties, then heading to the processing facility to see how beans become finished bars. Tasting sessions let you compare multiple chocolate varieties and learn proper tasting techniques to appreciate subtle flavor differences. The tour runs about two hours and requires advance reservation. Most guests find Mike's knowledge impressive and his passion infectious, though a few felt the presentation could be more concise. If you stop by the retail store without booking a tour, expect a small space focused primarily on purchasing chocolate bars rather than demonstrations or interactive elements. The generous tastings during tours give you plenty of opportunity to find your favorite before buying, and many visitors leave with several bars to take home after discovering the quality difference in craft chocolate.
Chocolate lovers rejoice! A truly ambrosial variety of cacaos and chocolates is being grown and formulated on a small, lush farm above Honoka’a Town. The farm’s proprietor and chocolatier, Mike Pollard, brings both his family’s farming history and scientific rigor (he has been an aerospace engineer) to the making of extraordinary chocolates. We urge you to sign up for a Cacao Farm Tour, led by Mike, and learn about the growing of cacao and the contributions of cacao varieties and terroir, the ingredients and what to look for in a premium chocolate, the chemistry of chocolate, its health benefits and, most important, how to taste chocolate (like a fine wine, premium chocolate’s flavors trigger different sensations an they make contact with different locations on your palate and tongue). You’ll compare and discuss samples before caravanning into town to visit the processing operation, where you’ll see where the cacao nibs are ground, cane sugar is added, and the chocolate is tempered and sealed. Two days after our tour, we are still afloat on a cloud of our new-found appreciation for premium-quality chocolate. We have Mike Pollard and his Honoka’a Chocolate VIP Cacao Farm Tour and Chocolate Tasting to thank for this enlightened state.
Brendan Hickey
September 19, 2025
Chocolate lovers rejoice! A truly ambrosial variety of cacaos and chocolates is being grown and formulated on a small, lush farm above Honoka’a Town. The farm’s proprietor and chocolatier, Mike Pollard, brings both his family’s farming history and scientific rigor (he has been an aerospace engineer) to the making of extraordinary chocolates. We urge you to sign up for a Cacao Farm Tour, led by Mike, and learn about the growing of cacao and the contributions of cacao varieties and terroir, the ingredients and what to look for in a premium chocolate, the chemistry of chocolate, its health benefits and, most important, how to taste chocolate (like a fine wine, premium chocolate’s flavors trigger different sensations an they make contact with different locations on your palate and tongue). You’ll compare and discuss samples before caravanning into town to visit the processing operation, where you’ll see where the cacao nibs are ground, cane sugar is added, and the chocolate is tempered and sealed. Two days after our tour, we are still afloat on a cloud of our new-found appreciation for premium-quality chocolate. We have Mike Pollard and his Honoka’a Chocolate VIP Cacao Farm Tour and Chocolate Tasting to thank for this enlightened state.
Brendan Hickey
September 19, 2025