While visiting the Big Island of Hawai`i, a friend introduced me to an amazing team of artisan chocolatiers at Hamakua Chocolates, who have been perfecting their craft of growing, experimenting, and sharing the experience of quality cacao in all forms.

Eager to learn more about the history of chocolate as well as their company story, we took a tour through this tropical sanctuary to find out we knew nothing of this niche. Our experience started by getting our hands dirty, helping harvest, and cracking open a few cacao pods that revealed an alien world dripping of a heavenly nectar. This sweet coating was the natural sugar that had formed as the plant ripened in order to ferment the cacao beans within. Let the nectar collect by gravity for the next few days, and the beans will be ready for drying. The end product is crushed up and sweetened at different levels to produce the delicious substance we know as chocolate.

After getting to know the owners, Dan and Berndt, I decided to gather as much info as I could and create a pro-bono brief to help out and experiment with their developing brand.

I would highly recommend checking out their site, and if you're ever on the Big Island, book a tour and tasting. The experience was phenomenal. And don't even get me started on the chocolate selection and "nectar of the gods", 21+ concoction.