Welcome to the exciting world of Hawaiian Cacao & Chocolate!
The Hilo Cacao & Chocolate Expo is your destination for immersing yourself in the tree to bar creation and exceptional taste of chocolate from the island of Hawaiʻi. Meet the island's top cacao growers and chocolate makers,
taste their creations, and indulge yourself in chocolate bliss!
Taste the 'Āina
in every bar.
Mahalo to all who joined us in our
Chocolate Celebration!
Hawaiʻi Island chocolate has an excellent reputation for its high quality and distinctive flavor profiles reflecting the unique terroirs of our farms. Bean-to-bar chocolate makers in Hawaiʻi and on the mainland have won national and international awards for chocolate made from Hawaiʻi Island cacao.
Experience for yourself Hawaiʻi Island’s chocolate excellence and the journey from tree to bar at the 2024 Hilo Cacao & Chocolate Expo. Take a tastebud tour of the Expo and enjoy free samples of Hawai'i Island grown cacao and chocolate that local producers and chocolate makers will be showcasing and offering for sale.
Our Chocolate Story
For the Love of Chocolate
The East Hawaii Cacao Association (EHCA) was formed August 15, 2013, by a group of small cacao farmers whose mission was to expand and improve the cacao industry and be a resource for small cacao farmers on the east side of Hawaiʻi Island. EHCA holds monthly meetings that feature guest speakers on an array of topics important to agriculture and the farmers' needs. EHCA offers a regular place to meet and learn from experts, network with other cacao farmers, and exchange information and resources. While the membership fluctuates, EHCA sends out meeting information and a newsletter to 197 subscribers. Acreage is difficult to determine but at a recent meeting the producing cacao tree count from 13 participants was approximately 6,000 trees, with several of the larger farms not represented. An EHCA member founded Cacao Farmers of Hawaii, an HRS Chapter 421 Agricultural Cooperative Association, the first cacao co-op in the USA, with 8 participating farms to date.