Kaua’i is the oldest of the Hawaiian Islands with the most developed soils and fertile growing conditions. Known as the “Garden Island”, it’s purported to be the largest coffee grower of the US (although I have to admit I was not a big fan of the coffee I tried there). One of the island’s many farms is Lydgate Farms – a family-run 46-acre farm now managed by Will Hibbs Lydgate.
Situated in Wailua, above the town of Kapa’a (Kaua’i’s most populous town), Lydgate Farms grows a variety of tropical fruit – like rambutan, apple banana, lilikoi (passion fruit), longyan, and soursop – and produces honey, vanilla and bean-to-bar chocolate. The farm offers a unique and comprehensive 3-hour long tour of the property, complete with a full tasting of all these products.
The tour was fully booked during our visit, but we drove up to the farm anyway hoping to at least buy some small chocolates from the store. We were treated to something much more special: a free chocolate tasting with Will Lydgate himself!
After introducing himself and giving the back-story of the farm, Will brought us over to a near-by cacao tree and picked a ripe pod right off the branch. With a well-used knife, he cut into the husk to reveal the inner beans and surrounding white pulp. “Taste this,” he said, entreating us each with a bean covered in white flesh. It was so sweet! I was instantly reminded of lychee and longyan – a soft, juicy fruit surrounding a hard seed. Then, Will had us bite into the seed itself – the part that eventually produces the chocolate. It was so bitter! As he went on to explain, the bitterness comes from toxic compounds that detract animals from eating it. To make the chocolate that we know and love, the seed needs to be fermented, roasted, ground, tempered and molded. Anything besides 100% chocolate has added sugar to offset the bean’s natural bitterness.
Once we’d had a chance to taste the raw ingredient, Will gave a sample of Lydgate Farm’s three different chocolate bars: a 70% dark chocolate, a 70% chocolate with Hawaiian salt, and a 50% milk chocolate with coffee and cacao nibs. Each of the chocolates were solid: great texture with a smooth mouth-feel as it melted, and – similar to the Maui Ku’ia Estate Chocolate we tasted before – the Lydgate Farm’s chocolate had a slightly brighter note, hinting at the tropical terroir. But, I thought the taste was pretty monotone throughout. There wasn’t a blooming of different flavors as the chocolate melted and covered my tongue. Of the three chocolates, I was surprised (again) that my favorite was the 50% milk with coffee and cacao nibs. There must be something about this flavor combination – chocolate and coffee – that really excites my taste buds. (I really liked the Mokka Cappuccino chocolate from Maui Ku’ia Estate Chocolate too.) The inclusions also give it a fun texture. My tongue would roll around the nibs while the chocolate melted. Will said that the milk chocolate is a common favorite amongst all customers.
But the tasting didn’t stop with just the chocolate! Will then had us taste two versions of his farm’s chocolate-covered macadamia nuts, a common Hawaiian treat. However, his may be the only one to use only Hawaiian grown chocolate and macadamia nuts. He even candied the macadamia nuts in honey produced on the farm. A lot of work in this one bite! How should I approach eating something so special? Should I be give the chocolate my full attention and lick the coating off the nut, and then appreciate the candied macadamia nut separately? Or should I have them together and just chomp through the whole thing? Luckily, he gave us two each, so I tried both approaches. Turns out it’s better to just be a (chocolate) monster and chomp away.
And there was still more treats! While he didn’t have any farm-produced vanilla available for us to taste, we got to sample their honey, which was very rich. The absolute highlight of the entire tasting though was a cacao nectar popsicle – something completely unique to his farm. The cacao nectar is made from the sweet white flesh inside the pod. Will is convinced that cacao nectar is one of the least known but amazing products out there that only South Americans are commercializing right now. He thinks it will blow-up and become mainstream in several years’ time. I hope he’s not wrong because the popsicle was honestly so refreshing and delicious. I’d love to be able to have that on hot summer days, along with whatever cacao nectar products there might be.
We felt so lucky as we left Lydgate Farms that afternoon (with a bag full of chocolate). Will was so generous in letting us try so many things. I wasn’t expecting to eat a cacao bean that day, let alone have a cacao nectar popsicle! He also did a great job of explaining the different steps in the chocolate production process on his farm, happy to answer any questions. If the full farm tour is conducted in the same manner, it’s definitely worth it. Thanks so much to Will and Lydgate Farms for the treats we were able to bring back all the way from Hawaii and are now enjoying in NYC. We’ll be waiting for those cacao nectar popsicles too.
Katie Quan 