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Lydgate Chocolate Tasting Room

4.8 (49 reviews)
Closed 10:00 am - 4:00 pm
Updated 3 weeks ago

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One of their assortments
Will L.

Honestly, Lydgate has some of the best chocolate I've ever had. They grow their own cacao, ferment it, process it, and turn it into amazing chocolate. There's a lot of work and skill go into making each bar (one cacao pod makes approximately one chocolate bar, if you can believe that!). You can really taste that skill. I love their dark chocolates and how it melts deliciously in your mouth. I'm not partial to milk chocolate, but their milk is also divine. Beware: this chocolate doesn't come cheap. In fact, it's *very* expensive! There's the old adage: you get what you pay for. That definitely applies here. Whatever you do, if you're in Kapa'a, stop by for a tasting at their shop on Kuhio Hwy, right downtown. It's free, delicious, and there's no commitment to have to buy anything. Well worth the price of admission! :) And the staff is very knowledgeable and beyond the pale friendly. You'll learn a lot in the process of tasting some splendid chocolate. That said, 5 strongly suspect you'll not want to leave without at least a bar or two, despite the expense!

Dianna H.

Fun stop in downtown Kapa'a to try some chocolate for free! We walked in on Thursday afternoon and it was surprisingly busy. Had to wait a couple minutes for some slots to open up, but finally we managed to join on the end. They gave us a quick run through about their farm as well as some of the different products they produce along with the samples. We tried a variety of dark and milk chocolates as well as various macadamia nuts. Our favorite was what they called an OPC (i.e. other people's chocolate) called dulcey coins, so we bought a large bag for $15. They packed it really nicely in a thermal bag and even included an ice pack so it doesn't melt in the hot Kauai weather.

Paul M.

Stopped by for chocolate tasting with my wife. AMAZING chocolate!!! We got to try about 8 different options along with macadamia nuts. We purchased the milk chocolate macadamia nuts and the dark chocolate macadamia nuts. Came with a cool gift bag and a cold gel pack to keep it fresh! Absolutely incredible stuff of the highest quality.

Tasting table
Trent O.

We loved stopping here on our last day in Kauai. We were bummed we couldn't get the full plantation tour due to no availability, but as a second option we headed over to their store and tasting. Delicious high quality chocolate that is locally produced. They use fun additional ingredients like Mac nuts, cinnamon, caramel, cacao nibs to add texture and flavor to their offerings. We were ushered over to a long table. The decor and product displays were reminiscent of an Apple Store. At the long table we were given an overview of how the chocolate is made and were able to taste 6 or 7 varieties. Before leaving we purchased a couple kinds and they pack them in a little insulated tote bag with an ice pack so they won't melt. Nice touch. The tour guide/taster was a friendly lady and so was the rest of the staff. It was easy to spend $100 here with how high quality and delicious the lineup was. A great stop no matter what day, but it's especially nice to run in if it's raining to make use of your time indoors. Give it a try!

Cacao nectar popsicle
Sarah M.

Chocolate tasting experience with friendly and passionate hosts. A cool, relaxing and delicious way to spend 30 minutes. The cacao nectar popsicle is a must try!

Nancy A.

This was our first time experiencing a chocolate farm tour and it did not disappoint. We were greeted warmly when we got there and were told where to park and meet our guide. Tour started promptly at 10:00am. Let me just say Jenna our guide is the most knowledgeable, kind and helpful person. We had no idea what goes into the process of making chocolate and the different types there are. The grounds are so beautiful. Jenna pointed out all the different trees and plants. Then there are the tastings. We must have sampled over a dozen different kinds of chocolate . Amazing!!! When you are on the island of Kauai, Lydgate Chocolate needs to be on your list of places to tour. Thanks Jenna and staff for a great time. PS: Jenna, Plan the trade and trade the plan.

The first round of tastes
Brian M.

Free chocolate tasting - yes, please. This a great Kauai experience. It takes about 10-15 minutes as they walk you through the story of their chocolate and explain each bite that you will taste. It feels like a fun wine tasting in Napa with great chocolate instead of great wine. Take the time and enjoy the experience. There is also no pressure to buy anything but you will likely want to.

Purple orchid I forgot the real name
Claudia S.

It was very educational and tasty. You taste about a whole chocolate bar worth of chocolate plus tropical fruits and local honey. You get to walk around the farm and see different fruit trees and flowers and learn how chocolate is made. Our guide Melanie was very friendly and knowledgeable.

The outside
Bri V.

We got to try so many chocolates for 100% free they all were so yummy and they used pretty clean ingredients in the chocolate fresh cacao from their Farms and organic cane sugar the employees were so nice and the restaurant is pretty minimalistic

Outside tasting room
Diane M.

We were unable to book a tour at Lydgate, so went to the tasting room. What fun! The hostess was so enthusiastic and explained the differences in chocolate.. I loved every tasting she offered and ended up purchasing an assorted bag of chocolates. They even provide an insulated bag for your purchase. Definitely a fun stop for tourists.

Free chocolate Tasting at Lydgate store
Shakti D.

Free chocolate Tastings: OMG, wow!!! Some of the best chocolate in the world... and I'm a chocolate afficionado. Godiva, Sees, Lindt, Belgian chocolate... none of those megabrands even come close. I live here and am completely hooked... must have my fix every week. The free chocolate Tasting is a great experience! Think "wine tasting" at a vineyard, but super high-quality chocolate instead. It will be the funnest shopping stop you make on Kauai. If you're lucky, Toni will lead your tasting (which only takes 10 minutes): she's choc-full of good information and super sweet. Enjoy!

Cacao pods at various ripening stages

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This was great! We got to taste 10 different things and it was all amazing! The staff was super knowledgeable and friendly.

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4 months ago

Fun tasting with friendly hostess. Wasn't expecting to buy, but offerings were unique so out came the wallet. Great packaging too.

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Review Highlights - Lydgate Chocolate Tasting Room

You get a nice insulated bag with a little ice pack to keep your chocolate cool for 3 hours.

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Wild Kauai Chocolate

Wild Kauai Chocolate

4.9
(69 reviews)
1.9 mi

My wife had been wanting to make her own chocolate bar for years and I was primarily interested in…read morethe process every time we come to Kauai. Well, we finally pulled the trigger on it and did the experience...and it was well worth it. Lance, the owner and instructor was fantastic. With only 8 spots available, you have to book this as soon as it is available. The shop is only 300 sq. Ft. So any more people would be too much and the set up was perfect. It is amazing this small space produces the chocolate! The overall lesson is great because he takes you from bean to chocolate. This is not tree to chocolate because he doesn't have the trees nor does he have the pods and that part of the collection process (however, Lance, if you or your wife are reading this, it might be a great future endeavor to have an option to work with one of your partners and add on the collection tour before!). While he doesn't have the collection process, Lance does an excellent job speaking to the process once beans are collected. From there, the chocolate making and tasting process is thoroughly explained and you are part of it. Finally, making your chocolate is a lot of fun and there are roughly 30 ingredients you can use for your 2 bars. I personally made: an Indian spice flavor chocolate for half a bar, coconut sea salt for second half, matcha coconut sea salt for 3rd half, and coffee bean sea salt for last). Bring your creativity! Thank you Lance for this fantastic experience.

Very informative, great chocolate. My grandson and I had a fun time learning and making our own…read morechocolate bars.

Photos
Finished Santas.
Finished Santas.
Your host Lance demonstrates his separator.
Your host Lance demonstrates his separator.
Wild Kauai Chocolate bars

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Wild Kauai Chocolate bars
Lydgate Farms

Lydgate Farms

4.7
(370 reviews)
2.7 mi

Spring for the deluxe tour. At the end instead of having to decide what you want you get a great…read morevariety. Our tour guide Sherry was amazing, great energy. Expected to have my husband pass me his dark chocolate as normally it's not his thing but he tried it and I'm sad to say he kept eating all the chocolate. If you're looking for a good intro to fine chocolate and eco tourism this is it.

a must-stop three hour tour for chocoholics if visiting the island of Kauai…read more Like coffee, the cacao plant grows in the tropical belt with Hawaii being the only state in the Union that can grow it. Thus, taking a chocolate tour (and sampling chocolate) became something my wife wanted to do during our visit to Kauai. I booked it on the first day on the island, with cost being $140 per person via Viator, and was able to reserve spots for the following day at 11:00. It's well set-up with clear signs pointing you to the farm (need to pass by other houses through a small residential area). Guides will tell you where to park your car...we intentionally came only 10 minutes before the start and were some of the last ones to arrive. Our tour was fully filled with a maximum of 25 guests. The property is hilly, and the tour does involve a bit of walking, with 3 separate sitting areas where we sampled different foods. In our initial gathering spot, we met Mason (our primary guide). He later told us that he was going into civics. His charismatic personality and willingness to help others, really serves his guests well during the tour and his future (in politics, I'm assuming). We learned a lot about the farm, and had access to bathrooms, natural bug spray (mosquitos definitely bite here) with a place to wash hands, and distribution of umbrellas (for the occasional shower and protection from the sun). Got to sample an apple banana and cocoa tea while learning about the history of the farm. There was so much information, I had to take notes on my smartphone...apologies if I looked like I was not paying attention. In addition to the 3968 cacao trees on the farm (46 acres), other products are grown and raised to supplement the viability of the main crop: apple bananas whose leaves are used the cacao fermentation process; honey from the 50 hives to pollinate the cacao (the parasitic destructor mites that have devastated honey bee hives across the world have not yet made it to Kauai...makes me appreciate the Hawaiian agricultural controls); the vanilla plant vines that are hand pollinated to produce such rare extract that the public can't buy it. We walked to the second spot, passing by various plants and crops. There we sampled unusual tropical fruit (rambutan, soursop, and white pineapple), chocolate covered macadamia nuts (grown in Hawaii), and different honeys. Made me love mac nuts again. The final spot was to taste the chocolate bars. We sampled 5 of theirs (70% dark, 70% with sea salt, 75% with rum, 78% reserve, 50% milk with coffee/nibs), 3 Valrhona, and 1 Hershey. Mason gave a demonstration by hand of how cocoa liquor is made from the fermented seeds (this part is done by machine at a plant in Oahu...their plan is to do future expansion in Kauai so they can emphatically state that it is a completely Kauai product). The 70% dark 1/8 lb bars are $18, and I ended up buying quite a few to give as gifts (Mason didn't buy this explanation). We tried one bar when we got home, and can confirm how creamy and sweet they are (no bitterness). Other tidbits: -- chocolate is a fruit, not a bean or vegetable. -- Only Hawaii can grow it in U.S. -- Grafting is common for consistency -- Chocolate is purple. Black means there were moldy shells. No mold here, so discarded shells can be made into tea -- Most macadamia nuts sold in Hawaii are grown in Australia, and only packaged in Hawaii. -- White chocolate is real chocolate, just using cocoa butter only. -- AI will tell you dark chocolate is bitter cause raw cocoa is earthy (i.e. bitter). Instead, Mason proposed that it was because mass production causes uneven, incomplete fermentation. Smaller batches = careful watching = less bitterness. This was a revelation to me. -- the owner is a fifth generation farmer in Kauai, with him recently changing the name of his farm to his family name. -- At the 2023 Cacao of Excellence Awards held in Europe, Lydgate won the top prize (gold medal) for the Asia & Pacific region, along with six others in the same region, including 2 others from Hawaii. They had previously been named Top 50 in the world multiple times. -- Because they are such a popular tour, there are multiple time slots and days available. The most important thing to note about the quality of the chocolate: cacao plants bear fruit all year round, with Lydgate farms picking and fermenting by hand when it is the right time (as opposed to bigger operations where they combine ripe and unripe fruit all together for the sake of efficiency). Even for a layman like me, it was a convincing argument on why their dark chocolate is premium, costly, and has no bitterness (even at 70%). The major awards that they have received is just confirmation of this fact. And the tour being 3 hours long in such a small area...the time went by really fast.

Photos
Hubs opening up a cocoa pod our guide grabbed right off a tree. They're harvested year-round so you don't have to worry about missing out.
Hubs opening up a cocoa pod our guide grabbed right off a tree. They're harvested year-round so you don't have to worry about missing out.
Last stop on the tasting tour. Nice seating area shaded with water.
Last stop on the tasting tour. Nice seating area shaded with water.
Henry

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Henry
Chocolat Hanalei

Chocolat Hanalei

4.6
(52 reviews)
14.3 mi
$$

10/28/24 Must have passed by this tiny shop more than a couple dozen times-never knew it was here!!…read more The reviews were pretty accurate about its size, perhaps a room/space for 3-4 maximum (if you're all related & fairly intimate enough to share the personal space). It has a refrigerated showcase/display that features their array of delectable delights. The cacao is grown about10 minutes away from the shop & a picture hangs on the wall (see photo) of the lady, Ms. Mitchell, who makes all the chocolates. This is according to Debra, the lady tending to the shop. I had my heart set on (3 piece @ $7.00) Dark & Stormy plus the 70% Cacao Truffle Turtles (3 piece for $8.50, unless I mixed up the prices). One for the road, Coffee Drop, &2.75 per piece just to try. It was very good, smooth, not overly sweet but I could not detect the coffee taste, but it was quite delectable. Imagine the dimensions of 8 x 8 ft of a shop, the display case at the center towards the back a tad. If you're facing the case, another display case (shelf, no refrigerated) will be on your left with cacao nibs packages. There's a metal bench in front of the shop under the awning of the structure. Debra was personable & attentive. She mentioned that the hours have changed to 12 noon to 5 pm daily. Additionally, she said they've expanded the shop about a square foot recently. I love supporting local businesses & this place gets the thumbs up. FYI, keep the treats cold, they're delicate, or eat them quickly--no problem there. Hahaha Luckily we have a cooler in the car to keep them chilled.

Must stop tiny shop! The chocolate here is incredible. I also highly recommend the 5 piece sampler…read more Jack told us about his wife's passion and chocolates - and the story is so cool! This definitely is a place to visit to try chocolate! Truffles - the outside has a crunchy perfect shell - and the inside of the truffle is very soft and melts in your mouth. Definitely get one of the powerhouse bars there's nothing quite like it. Go give Jack a visit! Located directly across room the Old Hanalei School building.

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Chocolat Hanalei
10/28/24 You may sit & wait outside of the tiny chocolate shop
10/28/24 You may sit & wait outside of the tiny chocolate shop
10/28/24 Instantly thought of Klaus & Karen R when I shot this pic

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10/28/24 Instantly thought of Klaus & Karen R when I shot this pic
Kauai Sweet Shoppe

Kauai Sweet Shoppe

4.4
(41 reviews)
8.6 mi
$

Walked in here to 1) kill some time before my rum tasting, and 2) because the sign said "free…read moresamples." Little did I know I ended up buying everything I sampled. This cute little shop is tiny but mighty. When I first walked in, I saw people walking out with bags. I didn't think I was going to buy any since I normally don't like caramel, especially because theyre too sweet and stick to your teeth. At first I was surprised they have out whole peices of caramel for folks to try. I was about to feel guilty trying all the peices without the intent to buy any. Well don't knock them until you try them! I tried their two most popular: Hawaiian Sea Salt, Toasted Coconut. And also the Aloha Ginger. --- bought all three! They weren't overly sweet despite being caramel, and did not stick to my teeth at all! They were soft, chewy, but melted right off my teeth. The salt, the coconut, and the ginger each complemented the caramel to offset the sweetness. I had to refrain from trying more because the fear of buying all the flavors!

such a cute little shop, and they let you try free samples! We got the ube and guava caramels. I…read morethink this is a great place to get a food souvenir for family, since everyone is probably sick of getting macademia nuts from Hawaii! My coworkers love them. The only thing that kinda sucks is that the shop is EXTREMELY small and can get easily crowded, tough to get around inside. Free parking though!

Photos
Hawaiian sea salt chocolate bites
Hawaiian sea salt chocolate bites
Caramel chocolate apples sliced on site!
Caramel chocolate apples sliced on site!
Glasses, mugs, towels, fondue set

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Glasses, mugs, towels, fondue set
Princeville Botanical Gardens

Princeville Botanical Gardens

4.5
(119 reviews)
12.1 mi

Came on a Tuesday, party of 2, for the 9:30am tour (they only do one 3 hour tour per day), price…read morewas $125 per person. Now I originally was aghast that a botanical garden tour was this expensive, but after doing it, I think it's actually well worth the price. This isn't one of those gardens you can just walk in and wander around - it's guided tours only with staff. Pros: - Probably the most entertaining and varied botanical garden tour I've ever done, complete with a chocolate tasting sit-down learning experience with the guides. - It's BEAUTIFUL - and doubles as a leisurely hike if you're very able-bodied. It felt like a very HAWAII experience given the lush greenery, the number of new plants I had never seen before, and fun facts about Kauai and this specific botanical garden. - There's different "stops" on the tour where you'll get to try more uncommon fruits and bites (we had longan, rambutan, apple banana, sugarcane plant, and this really delicious honey!!) and you get to try a cacao fruit (which tastes nothing like chocolate lol) - they provide organic herbal bug spray if you don't bring your own - Pretty easy to find, the staff were super communicative beforehand via email and text with directions - Our tour guide Lauren was super knowledgeable and answered all our questions kindly, even when she was visibly quite pregnant! I was impressed at her stamina - I personally liked that it was a pretty "active" tour, where you hike across a bridge, uphill a bit, etc. You should definitely wear comfortable walking or hiking shoes, because the dirt can get pretty wet if it rains. I wore hiking pants and hiking shoes and felt pretty comfortable, and I felt sorry for people who came in sandals - The chocolate tasting was really unique - we got to try their in-house chocolate that had notes of cinnamon - and they said that it was a cinnamon tree in their grove where water would pass that gave it this flavor! - They also provide walking sticks and umbrellas for people if you want them - Reservation only, online booking in advance - I think this preserves the magical vibe of this nature-y place and keeps the quality of the service high - The staff clearly love and care about what they do, which is very refreshing to see! Cons: - It can be pretty strenuous if you are elderly or have orthopedic issues.

We had an amazing time on our visit to Princeville Botanical Gardens. The vast beauty of the…read moregardens were surreal. Our guide was wonderful and knowledgeable. She answered questions and explain many details of the tour. Along the way we tasted many fruits grown in the garden. The chocolate tasting was more than just a tasting. We learned so much and enjoyed many varieties of chocolate. It is truly an interactive tour. We had several younger people and it was wonderful seeing them ask questions and engage with the group.

Photos
Princeville Botanical Gardens
Princeville Botanical Gardens
Princeville Botanical Gardens

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Lydgate Chocolate Tasting Room - chocolate - Updated July 2026

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