This week, we celebrate all the attributes of cacao. According to Julie Ziemelis, festival director, the fourth annual Big Island Chocolate Festival will deliver chocolate at its best with an array of fun, elegant and taste tempting activities, seminars and
This week, we celebrate all the attributes of cacao. According to Julie Ziemelis, festival director, the fourth annual Big Island Chocolate Festival will deliver chocolate at its best with an array of fun, elegant and taste tempting activities, seminars and culinary adventures from Thursday through Saturday.
Most of the events will be at the Fairmont Orchid, Hawaii, but three new events will take place at local Kona farms.
Many years ago, cacao and tea were considered commercial crops in Hawaii, along with coffee. They grew well and produced very good quality, but could not compete on the world market.
High labor costs here probably were the main limiting factor.
Today, we have learned from the coffee industry ways to compete in the gourmet boutique market, using Hawaii’s unique name to market our products. For example, we can grow crops such as cacao organically and free of pesticides where other tropical regions might not.
We don’t misuse our farm labor force as is frequently done in cacao-producing regions such as the Ivory Coast of Africa.
On Thursday, the festival starts at 9 a.m. with a hands-on chocolate-making class taught by Una Greenaway at her Kuaiwi Farm in Captain Cook. According to Les Apoliona, general manager of The Feeding Leaf, there will be a scrumptious seven-course, chocolate-themed dinner from 5-9 p.m. at Kokoleka Lani cacao farm in Holualoa.
Dubbed a “Chocolate Soiree,” the meal will be prepared by famous chefs Clayton Arakawa, Angela Smith, Gianni Saffioti, Scott Hiraishi and Stanton Ho and assisted by Patti Kimball, chef instructor West Hawaii Community College, and her student team.
Tickets for the dinner are available at the Kona Wine Market and online at www.eventbrite.com/e/chocolate-soiree-tickets-16328176014 or call 325-3803.
On Friday, There will be a whole series of culinary and agricultural themed seminars starting at noon at the Fairmont Orchid. Saturday, the festival moves to Kokoleka Lani Farm to see how cacao is grown and used in the production of Kona Natural Soap Co. products. Back at the Fairmont Orchid, statewide college food service students compete in chocolate culinary activities.
The contest is open to the public from 9 a.m.-2 p.m.
The festival continues from 5-9 p.m. in the Fairmont’s Grand Ballroom, where attendees can enjoy chocolate in magically creative ways.
Presented by the Kona Cacao Association, the event proceeds benefit the campaign for the future West Hawaii Community College-Palamanui and a capital campaign to build a community kitchen at Waldorf inspired Kona Pacific Public Charter School in Kealakekua. For participation in the overall festival, check out www.bigislandchocolatefestival.com for details.
As we look at new and interesting ways to farm, we take a new look at old crops to give us a different perspective.
When farmers get together and organize to work with the larger business community, all kinds of great things can happen.
Coffee, tea, macadamia, tropical fruit such as mango, breadfruit and avocado growers and now cacao farmers are promoting their products through educational festivals such as this one to keep our islands “green” and self-sufficient. At the same time, these events educate and entertain visitors to our unique little piece of paradise we call Hawaii Nei.
Even though you might not be a farmer, you still can grow these types of plants in your home garden or even in a big pot on a condo lanai.
Cacao, or Theobroma cacao as it is known scientifically, is ornamental as well as useful.
Cacao and tea each grow well on the Big Island. Even though cacao is thought to be a native to the Amazon area just north of the equator, it might have been grown in Mexico for thousands of years. In Borneo, I saw thousands of acres in production where the climate was steamy and wet like East Hawaii, but it also is found in many gardens growing well in Kona; however, cacao plants do not like drying winds or beach locations.
Tea plants also can be found in Big Island gardens. Most folks think tea is a crop grown in and confined to equatorial countries.
This, however, is a misconception.
Tea grows in a wide range of climates and can be grown in areas extending from equatorial to temperate zones. For example, it grows in Southern Russia near the latitude of 40 degrees N, and in Argentina near the latitude 30 degrees S. It grows well up to 5,000 feet in Kaloko mauka.
Tea belongs to the camellia family. Its correct botanical name is Camellia sinensis, and is closely related to horticultural varieties that bloom magnificently in many home gardens and public parks.
The tea plant is an attractive evergreen shrub native to Assam. There are about a thousand varieties known that differ in flower and shade of green leaves, as well as flavor when brewed.
The stimulating drink originally was used medicinally, but since the 5th century it has been the chief beverage in China. It became popular in Europe in the 17th century and was America’s chief beverage until the Boston Tea Party.
An alkaloid, such as caffeine, and a volatile oil give tea its flavor. Long brewing extracts tannin, which is bitter and not considered beneficial.
Locating plants is not easy, but once planted and established, maintenance is no trouble. Some nurseries do carry tea and cacao on occasion.
These crops usually are grown where labor costs are low. But tea and cacao are worth considering for a more interesting garden.
This information is supplied by the University of Hawaii College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources. For further information, contact the office near you.
