Manoa Chocolate - Ko Hana Rum Chocolate Macadamias 75% Hawaii Cacao - Jan. 11, 2024

Chocolate of the Day

Manoa Chocolate
Ko Hana Rum Chocolate Macadamias 75% Hawaii Cacao 
Good ++
Weight: 1 oz. (28 g.) / 6.7 oz. (189 g.) in total bar
Calories: 190 calories in 1 serving
Cost: $22.00 for 1 container
Purchased from: Manoa website, online order

Aloha, and welcome to Day #11 of Chocolate and Hawaii Theme Week.

Today's Ko Hana Rum Chocolate Macadamias 75% Hawaii Cacao were made in Hawaii by Manoa Chocolate (Kailua, HI). This small-batch maker offers a variety of chocolate bars made in Hawaii, and a few select confections.

Aroma notes: very subtle cocoa, dark chocolate and nut.

Flavor notes: a subtle, almost velvety dark chocolate coating (dusted with cocoa powder) covered softly crunchy macadamia nuts. There was a faint oak rum/whiskey barrel note in these chocolates, but it did not have an alcohol taste. (There was no detectable alcohol, just subtle flavor from having soaked nibs in rum.). These were coated with Hawai'i-made chocolate and lightly tumbled in cocoa powder.

These mac nuts had a sophisticated rich appearance and flavor; and the faint touch of rum made them even more grown up. The 75% dark chocolate will please dark fans; the mellow flavors make them approachable to all shades of chocolate lovers.

Manoa Maker's tasting notes/description 

Manoa used directly traded cacao, teamed up with local (O'ahu) rum distiller, Ko Hana Distillers, and "source(d) 100% Hawaiian grown macadamia nuts from Hawai'i Island's Kona Coast."  

Ko Hana soaked Manoa nibs in rum for one month. "The nibs are then dried and turned into chocolate that maintains the rum flavor with no alcohol present."  

Ingredients: rum dark chocolate (cacao infused with Ko Hana Rum, organic cane sugar, cocoa butter), dry roasted Hawaiian macadamia nuts, cocoa powder

Allergen-related information: Contains macadamia nuts. "Vegan. Gluten Free. Soy Free."

  

Manoa Chocolate - O'ahu Island Mililani 70% Dark (bar) - Jan. 10, 2024

Chocolate of the Day

Manoa Chocolate
O'ahu Island Mililani 70% Dark Chocolate (bar)
Good +++ 
Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) / 2.1 oz. (60 g.) in total bar
Calories: 180 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $12.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Manoa website, online order

Aloha, and welcome to Day #10 of Chocolate and Hawaii Theme Week.

Today's O'ahu Island Mililani 70% Dark Chocolate (bar) was made by Manoa Chocolate (Kailua, HI).

Aroma notes included: dark chocolate with intriguing, balanced sweet-sour fruit, sweet green (fig, oxalis, tree/cane syrup), and pleasing fruity beer. The ferment notes diminished a bit after the sealed inner wrapper was opened for 30 minutes.

Is it possible for dark chocolate to be both smooth and flavorful? Yes, indeed it is. Think of some of the best Kona coffees--from the Big Island of Hawaii (bold, smooth, complex, and occasionally fruity).

Back to single origin cacao from O'ahu island...Today's flavorful dark chocolate was alive with fruit (bright, citrusy cacao fruit pulp); forest (sweet green, fresh botanical); and gentle earth (tropical fruit forest floor); and it also had smooth texture and attractive, complex (and overall smooth) flavor.

As I've noted before, I love chocolate transportation. And by that I mean that chocolates that transport me back to cacao growing areas (plantations, forests and fermentation facilities). Great chocolates pulsate with fine traces of their origins, due to a series of very fortunate events. Great cacaos are skillfully and carefully fermented, dried and roasted, and thoughtful chocolate making decisions are made.

Thank you to the maker for this Hawaii single origin bar - with balanced, complex flavors.

Manoa Maker's tasting notes/description 

"Mililani is located in central O'ahu. This diverse 97 acre farm hosts crops of breadfruit, banana, avocado, taro and 10 acres of cacao. Their first ever cacao harvest occurred in late 2019 as the trees turned 3 years old. The chocolate produced from this Mililani farm is some of the most bright and fruity chocolate we've ever made."

Maker-suggested beverage pairings - "Wine: Zinfandel, Beer: California IPA, Liquor: Irish Whiskey"

Ingredients: cacao, organic cane sugar, cocoa butter

Allergen-related information: Manufactured by Manoa Chocolate (Kailua, HI). "This facility also processes: milk, wheat, peanut, walnut, cashew, pecan, coconut, macadamia, hazelnut, pistachio, almond." Single origin; Vegan chocolate.