Visit Maui: Maui Ku`ia Estate Chocolate

An impromptu stop at Maui Ku`ia Estate Chocolate resulted in one of the best desserts I've had in a very long time.  

Our group had some time to kill before an event, so we decided to visit the chocolate shop, and possibly taste some chocolates and buy some omiyage.

As luck would have it, Wednesday is Happy Hour ALL DAY, which means 50% off certain items.

One of those items is the brownie of the day! And even better - you can add ice cream!

Guava Brownie with Salted Caramel Ice Cream

I ordered Guava Brownies with Salted Caramel Ice Cream for everyone.  The brownies were so amazing!  They were warmed, soft, and luscious, and with just a hint of guava flavor.  The Salted Caramel Ice Cream gave it that extra dose of indulgence.

Also on Happy Hour special is the Tasting Chocolates.  Cat hosted all of us with a tasting, which included nine chocolates that you try at your pace.

We were all way too stuffed from lunch and the brownie, so we took most of the samples home with us to try later (one of us couldn't leave without tasting a chocolate while there.

There is a nice upstairs dining area where you can savor your chocolates (or brownies), and don't forget to pick up some omiyage on the way out!

Maui Ku`ia Estate Chocolate
78 Ulupono St Suite 1 Suite 1
Lahaina, HI 96761
(844) 844-5842

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Choco le'a Celebrates Four Years in Manoa

Choco le`a, one of Hawaii's favorite gourmet chocolate companies, is celebrating their 4th birthday by giving away one 4 piece truffle box EVERYDAY for the month of September! All you need to do is follow @ChocoleaHawaii on Instagram, look for their daily contest post, post a comment telling them your favorite thing about Choco le`a, and tag four friends. One lucky person will be selected each day!

I love Choco le`a truffles, and so I entered their contest every day, and one day I received a direct message from them notifying me that I won!

Today I stopped by their retail shop in Manoa to pick up my prize.

There are over 20 flavors to choose from. Can you imagine narrowing it down to just 4?!

Here's what I ended up selecting:

My truffles were nicely packaged in this custom box. 

The box was half empty by the time I got to my car.

And in case you're wondering what their top seller is ....

Click HERE to see the other specials/promos going on this month! 

Happy 4th Birthday Choco le`a!

Choco le`a

2909 Lowrey Avenue

(808) 371-2234

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Madre Chocolate

If you're still looking for the perfect Christmas gift (since there are only 10 days until Christmas!), consider the gift of locally made, high quality organic chocolate from Madre Chocolate.

Madre Chocolate makes all of their chocolate from bean-to-bar at their factory in Kailua. 

I visited their Kailua shop recently to purchase a gift certificate my brother and sister-in-law, and the smell of their shop is euphoric.  I could not resist purchasing a couple of chocolate bars while I was there.  

Their Hawaii Origin bars range in price from $9-11 and come in a variety of tantalizing flavors.  Don't know which one to buy? Not to worry, just ask for a sample! They will gladly give you a taste.

They also have chocolate non-bar items such as organic Cacao Nibs and Roasted Cacao Beans.

Madre Chocolate also offers chocolate making classes, wine/whiskey/cheese and chocolate pairing classes, and farm to factory tours as well! 

BUY LOCAL! 


Madre Chocolate
8 North Pauahi Street (Chinatown)
20-A Kainehe Street (Kailua)
Tel: (808) 377-6440

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Review: Island Princess Hawaii



 

I happily volunteered to review a sampling of Island Princess Hawaii's products and they arrived just in time for us to take as snacks for a weekend trip to the Big Island.  What a life saver!

I quickly divided my motherload of delicious snacks into the following categories:  popcorn, chocolates, fruits, macadamia nuts, and snacks set aside just for mom (it's so great to be the adult in charge) which consisted of the big bag of Mele Macs and the chocolate covered coffee beans.  I didn't realize that Island Princess had so many awesome products!

The first to go were the kids' favorites: chocolate covered blueberries and the macadamia nuts.  Even my fruit-hating daughter couldn't get enough of the chocolate covered whole dried blueberries.  This was a great compromise for my chocolate fan to snack healthier.  While I liked the all-natural roasted 100% Hawaii-grown macadamia nuts with no salt added, my kids preferred the flavored varieties like Maui Onion and Honey Roasted.  I liked that I had the option to snack on the all-natural mac nuts or use them in my baking.

Perfect size for snacking on the go!

Island Princess owns the largest privately-owned Macadamia nut orchard allowing them to be the only company in the United States that grows and processes its own macadamias.  The Big Island company also owns a processing facility where it manufactures all of its own chocolates, macadamia nut snacks and gourmet confections.  

Snacks kept the kids busy at the airport. 

The next products my kids broke into were the Choco Mochi, chocolate covered Japanese rice crackers, and the Royal Crunch, chocolate covered caramel popcorn with macadamia nuts.  The combination of chocolate and Japanese rice crackers might sound strange, but pop one into your mouth and you will be pleasantly surprised how well the two pair together.  Another indulgent snack is the Royal Crunch.  My kids loved the sweet caramel popcorn, milk chocolate, and mac nuts blend.  The products were generous in size so we had plenty to last us during our weekend trip.

Sure, the flight is under an hour, but still long enough for Cade to get hungry!  He loves Island Princess Choco Mochi.

 

All that swimming gets the kids hungry for some delicious macadamia nuts.  Their favorite was the Maui Onion.

When we returned home, I peeked at the rest of the products and found a cool recipe to try with Island Princess' mini meles, a smaller version of their Mele Mac using macadamia halves.  Mele Macs are Island Princess' signature item and most requested item from my mainland friends.  The delicious treat are made with whole Hawaiian Macadamia Nuts, covered in rich toffee, drenched in milk chocolate, and dusted with powdered sugar.  The recipe for the Island Princess Mini Mele and Peanut Butter Cookies was simple to follow and turned out to be a hit with friends.

Island Princess Mini Mele and Peanut Butter Cookies

 

Island Princess products make the perfect gifts or for you to enjoy for yourself.  You can purchase Island Princess products at various retail locations throughout Hawaii or even better visit their Factory Store where you will find a complete selection.  What's great about the factory store is that you could find markdowns on closeout items or unique bagged treats for snacking and baking.
 

Thank you to Island Princess for the complimentary products!  I can't wait to try them all!

Island Princess Factory Store
531 Ohohia Street
Store hours are 7 days a week from 7 AM to 5 PM

Complimentary products were provided for review purposes.  All opinions are entirely my own.

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Manoa Chocolate Hawaii

While waiting for our table at Cinnamon's, I decided to browse the Manoa Chocolate Hawaii store just upstairs.

The employees were very friendly and knowledgable, and when one asked if we'd like to sample chocolate, of course I said "Yes!"

Manoa Chocolate Hawaii offers high quality chocolate using both Hawaii-grown cacao, as well as from other regions in the world.

We were able to sample several different flavors, including Hawaiian Sea Salt (very good), Ghost Pepper (it had a spicy kick, but not too strong), and Ali`i Kula Lavender (very pleasant).

However, the Breakfast Bar, which is layered with roasted cacao nibs and roasted Kona espresso beans, was my favorite.  I decided to buy a bar to share with the boys.

Each bar is a little pricey ($9; you do get a slight discount the more you buy), but ultimately I didn't mind paying that much, since they use premium ingredients in each bar, and with each bite I knew I was indulging in quality, delicious chocolate!

Manoa Chocolate Hawaii
Suite 203, 315 Uluniu St
Kailua, HI 96734
(808) 262-6789

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