Hamakua Chocolate Farm is a boutique cacao orchard tucked along Hawai‘i Island’s mist-kissed Hamakua coast, one of the few places in the U.S. where chocolate grows in volcanic soil. Founders Dan Corson and Berndt Stugger, an artis...
Hamakua Chocolate Farm is a boutique cacao orchard tucked along Hawai‘i Island’s mist-kissed Hamakua coast, one of the few places in the U.S. where chocolate grows in volcanic soil. Founders Dan Corson and Berndt Stugger, an artis...
Dan and Berndt have created something truly special here with their bean-to-bar operation on the Big Island. Visitors rave about the owners' genuine passion and knowledge, which comes through in every aspect of the tour. These guys handle everything themselves, from planting cacao trees to wrapping the finished bars, and they're clearly happy to share their journey with guests. The chocolate itself gets consistently high praise, with multiple reviewers calling it some of the best they've ever tasted. The tour goes well beyond just chocolate making. Dan and Berndt have cultivated a botanical paradise filled with rare plants, exotic fruits, and tropical trees, offering tastings and explanations throughout. Guests appreciate the interactive nature of the experience, the wild pig stories, and the humor that makes the educational content engaging. Even visitors who stopped by on non-tour days were welcomed warmly and invited to sample and purchase. Tours run on specific days, so calling ahead is recommended. Many guests mentioned wishing they'd bought more chocolate to take home.
Dan and Berndt were wonderful. They truly have a passion for chocolate, the land, history, and honestly anything cool! You start your tour sitting on their lanai overlooking the ocean and the cacao trees. You can feel the peace washing over you & then they give you your first taste of their chocolate 🤌🏻 While they obviously have a tour planned they were easily able to pivot and share different things and focus more on others as we asked questions or showed interest in specific things. The tour was full of laughter, learning, and tastings of fruit, spices and chocolate. Amazing! We haven’t stopped talking about it to anyone who will listen! Highly recommend.
Brittney Wood
March 16, 2025
Dan and Berndt were wonderful. They truly have a passion for chocolate, the land, history, and honestly anything cool! You start your tour sitting on their lanai overlooking the ocean and the cacao trees. You can feel the peace washing over you & then they give you your first taste of their chocolate 🤌🏻 While they obviously have a tour planned they were easily able to pivot and share different things and focus more on others as we asked questions or showed interest in specific things. The tour was full of laughter, learning, and tastings of fruit, spices and chocolate. Amazing! We haven’t stopped talking about it to anyone who will listen! Highly recommend.
Brittney Wood
March 16, 2025