The Original Hawaiian Chocolate Factory - Kailua-Kona, Big Island, Hawaii - Single Source for Pure Hawaiian Chocolate

Beginning in 1997, the owners of the Original Hawaiian Chocolate Factory, Bob and Pam Cooper, dedicated themselves to creating delicious and unique confections that were truly Hawaiian grown and made. Today, this Kailua-Kona-based enterprise is the only chocolate company in the state that grows, processes and markets its product entirely in Hawaii.

The Original Hawaiian Chocolate Factory harvests its crop of cacao beans from an acre of trees on the Kona Coast and another fourteen acres on the far side of the island at Keaau.

According to chocolate maker and proprietor Bob Cooper, there is something about the volcanic soil of the Big Island, along with its predictable showers and tropical Hawaiian sun that gives the beans from this locale a unique flavor.

"It's a cottage industry,'' Cooper told the Honolulu Star-Bulletin in an interview. Indeed, the factory actually looks a cottage that has been converted for production and retailing. Cooper invested roughly $250,000 in equipment to turn the cacao beans into milk chocolate and dark chocolate bars. Production is completely self-contained here.

To produce local chocolate, the cacao pods must first be hand picked, and then the beans must be culled and sun dried before processing. The drying process alone takes anywhere from 22 to 28 days. Sweat boxes, drying racks, a concher and a tempering tank are used to render chocolate from the beans. According to Cooper, purity and quality are critical to creating a single-origin Hawaiian chocolate of distinctive texture and taste.

The Original Hawaiian Chocolate Factory's finished products come in a variety of styles, the most popular being the individual bars. They are sold in both quarter pound and one pound sizes, and three different grades are available: Milk Chocolate, Dark Chocolate and Criollo Dark Chocolate. Each bar is hand-poured and scored for breakable bite-size pieces. The surface is embossed with the OHC logo or signature Plumeria flower.

There are also small plumeria-shaped pieces that come in large and small sizes. And a relatively new addition to the line-up is a product called Roasted Cacao Nibs. These are 100% cacao beans, roasted, shelled and broken into bite-size pieces, representing the essence of pure chocolate, which can be used for snacks and in making smoothies.

Apart from chocolate, the Coopers also sell 100% Private Reserve, Whole Bean

Kona Coffee. The beans come from the orchards of Kahalu'u, and the gourmet dark roast coffee is said to be a natural compliment to rich Hawaiian chocolate. The Original Hawaiian Chocolate Factory sells branded tee-shirts, too, featuring the OTC logo and signature Plumeria flowers printed in chocolate brown. The catchphrase "Chocolate is Aloha'' appears on the sleeve.

Another special souvenir the Coopers have developed is a "Chocolate is Aloha! Tour'' DVD. It shows the process of making chocolate from tree to finished products and retails for just $15.

The Original Hawaiian Chocolate Factory is located on the slopes of Hualalai Mountain at 78-6772 Makenawai Street, Kailua-Kona, Hawaii 96740. It is near the intersection of State Highway 11 and Kamehameha III Road.