Hilo Farm Tour and Chocolate Tasting: Craft Chocolate Education

Learn chocolate from the ground up, not just taste it

A chocolate tasting and farm tour in Hilo at Honolii Orchards, led by craft chocolate experts, where you choose between a 1.5-hour tasting room experience focused on 10+ bars and cacao basics, or a 3.5-hour farm walk through the orchards and every stage of chocolate production. Both include the 10+ bar tasting. The farm tour adapts to your questions and goes as deep as your curiosity takes it.

The experience

You pick one of two formats when you book: a 1.5-hour tasting room session or a 3.5-hour farm tour that includes the tasting room at the end. Both happen at Honolii Orchards, 5 minutes from Hilo and 1.7 miles up Puia Road through the agricultural back roads of the Big Island. The farm sits above the canopy with ocean and valley views. Bottled water, coffee and tea come with both options. The 10+ bar chocolate tasting is included in each.

On the farm tour, you walk the orchards with a guide and move through every stage of chocolate production: harvest, fermentation, and the steps that turn cacao into finished chocolate. The guide is an expert in craft chocolate and the tour adapts to what you want to know. Questions don't get cut short. The experience is collegiate-level and shaped by your interests, not by a fixed script. You'll learn the secrets of cacao farming and the mysteries of fermentation before heading to the tasting room.

The tasting room experience (whether you arrive there after the farm walk or spend your whole time there) covers chocolate's history from ancient Mesoamerica through the modern craft movement. You taste diverse craft chocolates from across Hawaii and learn how genetics and environment shape single-origin flavors. The 1.5-hour tasting-only option is condensed and curated, with a brief overview of cacao horticulture and less time for extended questions. Both paths leave you with an understanding of how chocolate is made, not just a memory of how it tastes.

What’s included

• The 10+ bar chocolate tasting.
• bottled water.
• coffee and tea.

Options for this experience

2 options

10-bar chocolate tasting, 1.5 hoursGuide in English · 12:00Length: 1 hour 30 minutes. This choice covers only our shortened chocolate tasting with 10+ bars, lasting 1.5 hours. The farm tour is not part of it.

Farm tour and tasting, lasting 3.5 hoursGuide in English · 10:00

You'll see the exact price of each option when you check availability.See dates and prices

Before you book

Days and timesMonday to FridayDepartures at 10:00 and 12:00

Book up to1h before

AgesAdult (5 and older) · Under 5: can't be booked

GroupUp to 25

Live guideEnglish

Meeting point and pickupNo hotel pickup: you go to the meeting point. Ends back at the starting point.

Cancellation and refundsFree cancellation up to 24 h before the start. After that, no refund.It may be canceled due to bad weather or if the minimum number of travelers isn't reached. If that happens, you're offered another date or a refund.

Prices and times updated yesterday

Good to know

Pets welcome

Operated by Honolii Orchards

Is this one for you?Choose the 1.5-hour tasting if you want to understand chocolate flavor and history without the orchard walk. Pick the 3.5-hour farm tour if you want to see where cacao grows, watch fermentation happen, and ask questions that shape the whole experience: the guide's expertise and the time to explore it are what separate this from a standard tasting.

Traveler reviews

4.96★★★★★★★★★★

114 verified traveler reviews

5 ★113

4 ★0

3 ★0

2 ★0

1 ★1

Read all the reviews ›

Top questions

What happens if it rains?

It may be canceled due to bad weather. If that happens, you're offered another date or a refund. Free cancellation up to 24 h before the start.

What's the difference between the 1.5-hour and 3.5-hour options?

The 1.5-hour option stays in the tasting room for a focused chocolate tasting and brief cacao overview. The 3.5-hour farm tour walks you through the orchards and every stage of production (harvest, fermentation, processing) with a guide who answers questions at depth, then ends with the same 10+ bar tasting in the room. Both include the tasting. The farm tour adds the orchard walk and production details.

How far is Honolii Orchards from Hilo?

The farm is 5 minutes from Hilo and 1.7 miles up Puia Road, in the historic agricultural area of the Big Island. You'll drive through scenic back roads to get there.

What do you actually taste during the chocolate tasting?

You taste 10+ craft chocolate bars from across Hawaii. The tasting covers chocolate's history from ancient Mesoamerica to the modern craft movement, and you learn how single-origin chocolates express different flavors based on genetics and environment.

What happens on the farm tour part of the 3.5-hour option?

You walk the orchards with an expert guide and explore every stage of chocolate production, from harvest through post-harvest fermentation and processing. The guide answers questions at a collegiate level and shapes the tour to your interests, so the depth depends on what you want to know.

What's included with either option?

Both the 1.5-hour tasting and the 3.5-hour farm tour include the 10+ bar chocolate tasting, bottled water, and coffee or tea. A live guide in English leads the experience.