Two Honoka‘a chocolate makers hope the passion and enthusiasm they have for their craft will change the way people think about chocolate.
Mike and Rhonda Pollard moved to the Big Island about 16 years ago, seeking a new environment and a slightly slower pace of life. While they both had some agricultural experience, farming and chocolate-making were not a part of their plans until 2013, when they purchased the Kahi Ola Mau Farm in Honoka‘a.
“We purchased the farm with the full intent of making a living by farming, but we didn’t know what to grow,” Mike Pollard said.
“We planted a lot of different stuff at first, because we weren’t sure what would do well here,” Rhonda Pollard added. “That was until I went to the Big Island Chocolate Festival and came home with a cacao pod to plant.”
After seeing cacao trees grow and produce well on the farm, it wasn’t long before Mike Pollard found himself obsessing about growing cacao and learning how to make chocolate from scratch.
“I didn’t know anything about chocolate. I didn’t even know it came from a tree or fruit,” he said. “Like I do with most things, I became obsessed, read everything I possibly could about making chocolate, and found mentors to guide me through the eye-opening experience.”
While continuing to learn about cacao and chocolate, Mike Pollard worked as a senior engineer at the W.M. Keck Observatory until he had the opportunity to quit and start creating what is now Honoka‘a Chocolate Co.
Since 2017, the Pollards have been developing Honoka‘a Chocolate Co. with the goal of making artisanal, premium chocolate by using the highest-quality cacao and organic cane sugar, which are sourced locally from Hawaii Island and ethically from sustainable farms located around world.
Nearly seven years later, the company sells nine different chocolate bars in its main product line.
The company also produces special products for a limited time or for subscriptions.
The nine bars are: Pure Hawaiian 85% Cacao Bar, Pure Hawaiian 70% Cacao Bar, Kuleana Rum Works Barrel Aged Rum Bar, Kuleana Rum Works Bar with Coconut Milk, Barrel Aged Bourbon Bar, 65% Coconut Dark Milk Chocolate Bar, 55% Milk Chocolate Bar, Pure Hawaiian Goat Milk 55% Cacao Bar, and Barrel Aged Drunken Goat Milk Bar.
There are about 500 cacao trees on the Kahi Ola Mau Farm which produce an estimated 5 pounds of chocolate each, so the Pollards buy most of their beans from other Big Island farms.
Six of their chocolates are 100% Hawaii grown.
“Our milk chocolate beans are mostly from Ecuador, which is most notably where Belgian companies buy their beans,” Mike Pollard said. “We are able to call our chocolates premium because we do absolutely everything we can to make the best and most ethical choices when it comes to ingredients.”
Raising awareness about the cacao industry has become one of the Pollards’ most important missions since opening Honoka‘a Chocolate Co., and is one of the main talking points during its two-hour farm and factory tour.
“My goal with this entire operation is to change everything about the way people think about chocolate,” he said. “This starts with shedding light about where it comes from. There are real atrocities attached to the industry, and not many people are aware.”
According to the Pollards, 70% to 75% of cacao beans are imported from Ghana and Ivory Coast, which is where big corporations will get their supply. With minimally paid labor, including children, the beans are much cheaper than beans that are ethically-sourced.
“If a consumer spends a little more, they are able to know exactly where their chocolate is coming from, and it ultimately lasts longer since it’s better quality and more satisfying,” Mike Pollard said.
He began seeing the fruits of his labor early on when he started entering the Pollards’ products into competitions in 2020, which has earned the company more than 50 national and international awards.
This year alone, seven of the products already have won awards, most recently earning four gold and two silver medals in the Chocolate Alliance Global Awards.
Out of 300 entries from companies around the world, Honoka‘a Chocolate Co. was the only producer to earn gold status in the milk chocolate category.
“The awards are validation that doing the extra work, like measuring the viscosity and the quality of temper and carefully selecting premium beans, are completely worth it,” Mike said. “We are consistently producing a world-class product.”
In 2023, the Pollards opened their first flagship store and factory on Mamane Street in Honoka‘a, which allowed them to move the chocolate-making operations to a bigger space, hire more staff and reach more visitors.
“We feel so blessed to have our farm and factory in Honoka‘a. We’ve been here since 2013 and are not leaving anytime soon,” Mike Pollard said. “We love this community.”
This week, Honoka‘a Chocolate Co. began offering a guided tasting at the farm, where he plans to expand his barrel-aged chocolate supply and create an immersive chocolate experience similar to that of a winery.
“We had the idea for a tasting lanai because of how similar this operation is to that of a winery — the way things grow, the way flavors are impacted, and the potential visitor experience,” Mike Pollard said.
“I want to emulate that feeling on the farm soon and become the place that you ‘have’ to go to if you’re in Honoka‘a.”
Along with expanding operations at home, he also has big plans for the national market and hopes to make Honoka‘a Chocolate Co. a well-known name and show chocolate connoisseurs the high quality of Hawaii Island-grown chocolate.
“I’ll begin traveling to the mainland soon to meet with chefs, sommeliers and specialty shops to expand our reach and get the chocolate in more places,” he said. “We have a lot of big plans.”
The Honoka‘a Chocolate Co. store is open to shop and sample from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. every day at 45-3587 Mamane St.
For more information about tours, tastings, purchasing chocolate online or joining their subscription service, visit honokaachocolateco.com
Email Kelsey Walling at kwalling@hawaiitribune-herald.com.