Chocolate Tour

On Wednesday, I (Connie) went on a tour from Kona to several small family-owned businesses. Rob did another dive.

The first was a coffee farm that produced the famous Kona coffee. I learned about grading coffee beans and what a 'peaberry' is. Usually the coffee fruit produces two beans that are separated and dried. about 5% of the time it is a single round bean. This is the peaberry and is highly prized. They usually roast it and cover it in chocolate and sell it separately. I tried one and it was really good. I also picked up some coffee to take back to NCCD. Wait till you try this stuff!

The next place we stopped was a chocolate factory. They grow the beans and produce the chocolate all at one farm. The owners didn't know anything about the process when they started. They had to modify or create machines to do on a small scale what big producers do on a very large scale. Their sorting machine is a used treadmill (honest). The whole process from bean to candy is lengthy and complicated. The end result is delicious.

The last place we visited was a vanilla factory. The family of 7 plus grandpa run the whole thing by themselves. Each vanilla orchid bloom must be hand-pollinated and the blooms only last for a day. Once they get the beans to grow, they are allowed to mature and then are dried. We had lunch at the factory and everything from the lemonade to the ice cream was flavored with vanilla.

We got back really late to the ship. Rob had already returned from his dive when I returned. Yes, I shared some of the chocolate with him. [Not enough--Rob ; )] I didn't tell him how much was actually left. He'll probably find out soon.