Award-Winning Hawaii Cacao

from

Mauna Kea Cacao LLC

2026 Update

We sold our Pepeekeo house and land on May 15, 2026, thus we are no longer offering farm tours and chocolate tastings. It was a difficult decision but one that allows us to focus more on family.

Cacao Beans Are Available -- Chocolate Bars Are Coming

A limited quantity of our cacao grown, fermented and dried on our Pepeekeo farm in late 2025 and early 2026 is available for sale. For a brief summary of the uniquely wonderful attributes of Hamakua-grown cacao, please see Hawaiian Cacao. In addition to it's wonderful flavor profile, cacao grown on the Hamakua Coast is sustainable.

Susan will spin up a new craft chocolate business in Denver, Colorado that exclusively uses cacao beans from Mauna Kea Cacao (to start) and then will use Hamakua-grown cacao made by our long-time cacao friends with who produce quality cacao.

History

John and Susan Bassett purchased 20 acres on Hawaii's Hamakua Coast in 2011 and began planting cacao seedlings twice each year during vacations from our engineering and environmental jobs. In 2015, we moved from Denver, Colorado to Pepeekeo, Hawaii. Our lives revolved around planting trees, harvesting pods, and fermenting and drying beans. Cacao farming was a great exercise program.

We are proud that our cacao and chocolate won awards. And we were thrilled to share our story and our methods with many people who toured our farm from Valentine's Day 2019 to January 2, 2026.