Original Hawaiian Chocolate {Farm Tour}

Up a winding road south of Kona on the Big Island of Hawaii lays a most unique farm. The Original Hawaiian Chocolate farm is the only grower and producer of single origin chocolate in the United States. My family and I had to visit this one-of-a-kind operation during our visit to Kona.

About The Original Hawaiian Chocolate Farm

Owners Bob and Pam Cooper bought their three acre estate in 1997 with one acre of seven-year old cacao trees. The plantation included all three varieties of cacao: forestero, trinitaeium and criollo. The land is also home to coffee and macadamia nut trees and semi-feral chickens and turkeys.

Cacao originated in Venezeula 3000 years ago and has been cultivated for over the last 1000 years. The trees can live 40-50 years and grow to over 100 feet in the wild. They prefer latitudes between 15-20 degrees south or north of the equator and can tolerate 600-800 inches of rain.

Most chocolate producers in the world ship their beans to processors to be made into chocolate products. The nearest processor to the Original Hawaiian Chocolate location is over 2500 miles away. The transportation costs would negate any possible profit so the Coopers decided to try making chocolate themselves.

Under the advice of a consultant, the Coopers tested their beans for flavor at a lab in Barcelona, Spain. The results were good and gave them the green light to produce their first batch of chocolate in 2000. The consultant advised blending with purchased cacao, but the Coopers had a hunch that their beans could stand on their own. The result is their single-origin chocolate produced in "undoubtedly the smallest Willy Wonka factory in the world", as Bob describes it.

Bud to Bar - How Chocolate is Made

Chocolate begins as a tiny flower bud on the trunk of a cacao tree. These buds must be pollinated within an hour of blooming by a tiny midge fly to continue their life. Only 6-10% of blooms are pollinated. The tree self-culls hundreds of the pods. These shrivelled brown pods dry in the sun on the trunks.

Pollinated pods take five months to ripen. Pods grow to 10-12 inches in length and ripen to a bright yellow, red, or red and yellow stripe depending on the cacao variety. Ripe pods do not drop off the tree themselves and must be cut by hand. Bob and helpers at the Original Hawaiian Chocolate farm harvest pods every two weeks.

Next pods are opened by hand to reveal the beans inside. Each bean is covered with puma, a sugary yeasty substance, suspended by a fruity fiberous placenta. The placenta can be eaten; we tasted it and were pleasantly surprised by the sweet slightly tart flavor. (Notice the gecko enjoying the puma?)

The puma starts fermenting when exposed to oxygen. Growers house beans in natural mahogany slatted boxes during the sweating stage when beans will reach 122 degrees F. The puma melts into a sweet liquid that can be harvested and further fermented into alcohol if desired, though the Original Hawaiian Chocolate farm leaves it to soak into the earth.

In 6-8 days for purple forestera beans and 3-4 for white criollo, the beans will be fully fermented to a brown color. The beans then dry in wire-bottomed racks. The beans must reduce their moisture content from 50% to 7% before they are ready for storage and production. In the Hawaiian sun, this typically takes 20-25 days.

Finally the chocolate making process can begin. First, Bob and Pam remove any organic matter to clean the beans. Then, they roast in a commerical quality coffee roaster to lock in the flavor. Next a winnowing machine removes the shell and leaves behind the cocoa nib.

A specialized conch machine grinds the beans to create a liquor next. Vanilla powder, sugar, milk, and several other ingredients are added to the conch next in the 18 hour process. Finally, the resulting chocolate is tempered (cooled slowly to achieve characteristic crisp crunch and smooth texture) in a special machine made in Ohio. The liquid chocolate is molded into bars or the company's signature plumeria flower shape.

The Original Hawaiian Chocolate company creates just under 10,000 pounds of chocolate from tree to treat annually.

Chocolate Facts

• Chocolate nib contains natural polyphenols, alleged to lower blood pressure, reduce the risk of chronic diseases and have anti-inflammatory benefits.
• Milk inhibits the absorption of polyphenols, so enjoy dark chocolate for the most health benefits.
• Additives weaken the flavor of chocolate; high quality chocolate will contain few additives.
• Chocolate contains two powerful natural stimulants: caffeine and theobromine. Theobromine induces migrane headaches in 20% of the human population but the rest of us experience increased libido from it.

Tour Tips

Our group of chocolate lovers from age six to seventy eight enjoyed the tour of the Original Hawaiian Chocolate operation, located about 15 miles from the Kona airport. The tour lasts about 90 minutes and includes samples of three types of chocolate. A short walk through the trees and factory includes seating for those who need it. Reservations are required; call or email at least a few weeks in advance or you'll be grovelling for a last minute spot like we did.

Original Hawaiian Chocolate operates an online store for those who want to taste their farm-to-package chocolate but can't make it to the Big Island. I like the dark chocolate best.

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

People who visit Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, as we did on Sunday, witness the creation and destruction of earth. We hiked from the Kiluea visitor center through sulpur springs and steam vents to an overlook, spying apapane, white-tailed tropic birds, and ferns of many varieties along the way.  After a packed lunch we cooled off at Thurston's Lava Tube and viewed the tree molds, lava molds of tree trunks set deep in the ground. Later we walked a pleasant 1.5 miles through a fern and koa tree forest at Kipukapuaulu Bird Park.

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, with its vast environs and odd creatures, is difficult to comprehend or describe for a simple minded person like myself. The wild, rough, young, epic land reforms itself, offering a rare glimpse of active modern geology. It is unlike anywhere else.

Keauhou Farmers Market {Silent Sunday}

Scenes from the Keauhou Farmers Market on yesterday's very sunny morning. 1) row of stands on hot black pavement. 2) Rancho Aloha farmer gave me seeds for lulo fruit 3) Kona macadamia nuts 4) huge cheap avocados 5) Display of lychee, avocados, mangos, and passionfruit 6) When Pigs Fly delicious charcuterie 7) edible orchids 8 ) Lil with her goodies - a lei, perfume, and tiny pineapple

Mangoes! {Video}

Our Hawaiian rental house has a fruit tree grove. Naturally Lil and I explored it as soon as we arrived. Green mangos hang from long studded tails, ripening and reddening as they sink to the ground.

These fresh mangoes have succulent smooth flesh, not at all like the sometimes-stringy import versions we can buy in Ohio. We are enjoying them fresh with breakfast and mixed into drinks with limes from trees on the property.

Before we left, Lil shot this video of one way to peel and slice mangoes. The other 'hedgehog' method is pictured above. Lil's commentary is cute, but the subtitle should be 'why Rachel needs a tripod and not a six year old holding the camera.' Sorry.

Do you eat mangoes?

About that Hawaiian Vacation {Friday Five}

In 24 hours Alex, Lil and I will board a plane with twelve of my relatives bound for Kona, Hawaii. It's a similar trip to one we took to the Big Island nine years ago with most of the same people, my clever Tayse family. Excitement doesn't begin to describe our feelings about the details of this trip:

1) We're staying in the house mansion where John Wayne was married! 2) We will visit an organic coffee farm and the only tree-to-package chocolate business in the US! 3) Volcanoes! Waterfalls! Mountains! 4) Sea turtles! Manta rays! Tropical birds! Plumeria! 5) Our house is still for sale here - will we come back?!

Just in case you want to follow along (or know exactly how to ignore me), like Hounds in the Kitchen on Facebook, follow @racheltayse on twitter, and follow RachelTayse on Instagram. I have some fun things lined up for the blog in the coming ten days, so return right here too!

Travel Planning the Hound Way

Travel is a priority for our family. We simply love seeing new places, eating regional food, and challenging ourselves to explore and grow. We sacrifice other expenses to constantly save money for the next vacation. It's no surprise, after hundreds of trips in the past decade, that we have a 'way' of travel planning. Here's the gist of our casual, tech-centric, social, organizing style:

Pick the Place or the Place Will Pick You

We keep a life list of places we want to visit. Our dream list is impossibly large and expensive, including destinations as varied as South Georgia Island, Alaska, Asheville and Belgium.

More often than not, though, the place picks us. Lil and I tag along on Alex's business trip or the reverse when I have an out of town event. Tradition holds that we make our way to Lake Erie every Labor Day and we're often invited to Massachusetts for Alex's family events. Every few years my parents invite us on vacation with them and this year my grandmother is taking the whole family to Hawaii.

We don't mind pushing the dream list aside for other worthy destinations. We can enjoy each other's company and discover things we like in anywhere.

Book Something

Push the purchase button or call in a credit card number to a hotel to commit to a date and reserve one of the big ticket items. Usually we start with airfare, if we're driving. Alex is a United man so we go with them unless flight routing or cost is clearly preferable on another airline.

If we're just staying a night, especially in a city, we book hotels with Marriott brands. Alex accumulates reward points with Marriott so we often receive perks or free stays. We like their Residence Inn brand for two-room suites with a small kitchen that we can cook a meal or two in.

For longer trips, we search VRBO.com and HomeAway.com for vacation rentals. Vacationers can search by destination and many other attributes to find a variety of owner-operated condos and homes on these sites. The VRBO experience allows you to live like a local, often in unique properties like the amazing Big Island estate we'll stay at during our upcoming Hawaii trip. Thus far, we have never had a bad time staying in a VRBO property.

When Alex and I get away for a romantic weekend, we like to choose Select Registry Inns. The small hotels and bed and breakfasts included in the Select Registry offer the highest level of service and accommodations. It isn't often that we truly relax but the Select Registry B&Bs we've visited are outstandingly calming.

Gather and Organize Ideas

Next up is finding activities and food for the trip - this is the fun stuff! Alex and I used to keep a shared Google Doc with ideas but now we use Pinterest. We pin restaurants, parks, museums, and more for the months before we travel. If we are driving, we make sure to find restaurants and parks along the way for rest stops. Twitter friends are great sources of tips for restaurants and cultural sites.

We surround ourselves with books from the library. We read travel guides, picture books, destination, music and videos. We print a map for Lil and mark our stops together.

A few weeks before the travel begins, I set up a basic itinerary in a shared Google Doc or Evernote. I include options that are date specific (like farmers' markets) and museum opening and closing times. Rarely do we follow the itinerary to a tee, so I don't spend too much time trying to perfect it.

We use TripIt to track paid travel details like flights, hotels, and rentals. Our smart phones run the app so we can travel with less paper but still have important details at our fingertips.

Pack

We try to pack as lightly as possible for easier travelling. Alex frequently reminds me that "it's only money" and "they have stores there".

Our travel toiletries bag stays packed permanently as does our first aid kit. Alex keeps a technology bag full of the cords, chargers, and ipod so that our various informational and entertainment devices are always ready to go. Our backpacks and suitcases are always packed with some necessities too: water bottles (empty for flights), corkscrew, bandana, pens, and ziploc bags for collections.

Other items must be packed per trip - clothes, snacks, swimming gear, binoculars, books, and Lil toys. We designate who will bring group gear, like games and field guides, when travelling with extended family. If it's a road trip, we take a crate with cutting board, knife, cloth towel, and foodstuffs. For camping trips, we include our tent, chairs, sleeping bags, and the like.

Typically we wait until the day before a trip to pack or maybe two days for a bigger vacation. Packing is routine now and we rarely forget crucial items. Of course, as soon as I typed that Alex revealed that he forgot business socks for her current trip to Chicago! I will cover some of our specific travel essentials in a post later this week.

Go!

Finally it's time to leave for vacation. We say goodbye to the hounds (left in the care of family or friends) and take off.

Our casual planning method works for us but I know it wouldn't work for everyone. How do you plan family travel?

PS. All pictures in this post are from our last vacation. Read more about our trip to San Salvador Island Bahamas, beach food, making salt, and coconut creations.

Travelin' Hounds

Looking for a recipe today? I shared my mother's Tuna Noodle Casserole with the Columbus Dispatch for their article about potato chip toppings.

After a long draught of travel, this spring is shaping up to be a flood of trips. Check out our itinerary:

February 2 - Cleveland - Fresh Street Pop-up

February 10-11 - Cincinnati - Winter BeerFest and 5Bs Conference

February 18-19 - Granville - OEFFA Conference

end of February - San Salvador Island - Vacation with Alex's family

March 9-11 - Indianapolis - Big Ten Basketball Championships with my family

mid March - India - tentative business trip for Alex. Lil and I will stay home but may make a few local trips on our own during part of this time.

early April - Harrisburg PA and surrounds - business trip for Alex with Lil and I coming along

mid June - Big Island, Hawaii - Vacation with my family

late July - France - tentative business trip for Alex. If it happens, Lil, my sister Megan, and I will go along.

It's entirely possible that in the next six months Lil will end up with two new passport stamps and dozens of hotel stays. She will be thrilled.

I am excited too. Seeing the world always gives me new perspectives on life, lots of photo opportunities, and plenty to share with you all.

The beasts will be well taken care of at home thanks to my sisters and neighbors.

I am sure there will be bumps along the way and in all likelihood some trips will be changed or put off to other dates. Rolling with the punches is part of the life lessons included in travel.

Are you looking forward to any trips?

Many links in this post go to my inspiration boards on Pinterest. The thought that I could use pins to track places I want to visit rekindled my participation in this social network. Feel free to follow me there and share your name so I can follow you.

2012 Plans

Despite my optimism, I did not achieve many of my 2011 resolutions.

2011 was a bit of a difficult year health wise. I had surgery to clear out my sinuses, but a raging infection kept me feeling lousy most of the summer. After some irritating testing, I found out in September that I am allergic to dogs and dust mites. We changed some habits and removed allergens in the house, but I continue to suffer sinus issues sometimes. The week before Christmas, pain and pressure returned and I now feel like I'm exactly where I started 2011. Despite being a skeptic, I will try the alternative route in 2012, starting with an appointment at Urban Acupuncture Center this Friday.

As a family, we decided to abandon resolutions per se, but we are making plans for 2012:

We will travel more. We have trips planned with extended family to San Salvador Island, Bahamas and the Big Island of Hawaii in February and June, respectively. We want to make salt from seawater on these trips. In addition, we hope to jump on at least a few of Alex's business trips this year and maybe try an RV trip of our own.

We want to feel stronger. At first, Alex and I resolved to lose weight. The Fat Trap article in the New York Times confirmed  my suspicions that the number I've maintained for 4 years now is probably the forever weight my body. Alex has not changed weight in years but without regular exercise is also feeling a little weak. I am starting each day with a short series of floor exercises (sit ups and the like) and we plan to exercise more as a family.

In the kitchen we will practice making cheese. We have experimented here and there but not enough to feel masterful and we've never made some of our favorite varieties like goat chevre. I am teaching a class at Franklin Park at the end of March about making cheese so these plan will be put into action sooner rather than later.

We want to feel settled in a home. For a few years I have felt like our house isn't the perfect home for us. We want a little more space to garden and keep animals. As we aren't using the public school just down the street, we would prefer to be somewhere with lower foot and car traffic. We debate about whether to look for a farm in the city location (there are precious few) or a quieter street with bigger lots. In the meantime we are completing little projects around the house that will make ours ready to sell when we find a property we want to buy.

In 2012, I plan to write for myself. You may have already noticed me starting, as recipe posts are being fewer and 'lifestyle' posts are increasing. I realized awhile ago that I was writing for some suspected audience that needed two recipes a week and wouldn't care about homeschool. Catering to the 'what bloggers do' schedule was a lot like work and since I'm not being paid here, why not have fun and do what I want?

On the other side of the writing coin, I plan to write for other businesses more often in 2012. I'll do a full introduction soon but I am now accepting freelance writing jobs. I promise to write a post about why I am reducing cooking classes and picking up writing.

Finally, I hope that 2012 is the year I do something BIG. It might be related to the home we hope to buy, it might be in the writing realm, or perhaps another opportunity will find me.

It all remains to be seen, which is the promise of a new year, a new slate, a time to reflect and challenge ourselves. May 2012 exceed your plans and hopes.