I was in Hawaii in July 2011. Jim Walsh of Hawaiian Vintage was the first to reintroduce cacao growing since first world war. He's on to other projects now in Mexico and elsewhere. On the Big Island, there are supposedly more than 30 small growers. There are no pure any kind of cacao in Hawaii; it all comes from elsewhere. The gracious host, Tom Sharkey's, whom I visited, uses criollo from Venezuela. He also grows "trinitarios" and "forastero." Madre and Original buy from him and others. Waialua is lovely by the way, and that's grown by Dole. The beans are shipped to Guittard in California, then he ships the bars back to Oahu.

Stan, I've actually heard otherwise, they are not the first Hawaiian chocolate company - in fact cacao has been grown on Hawaii for over 100 years. Hawaiian Vintage was there (with problems), but now Sharky's on the Hilo side grows and makes chocolate and several others on the big island. Waialua Estates plantation on Oahu's north shore, and Madre on Oahu makes chocolate - and there are growers on Kauai. As to the claims of pure Criollo, nope. Yes there is a good percentage of criollo but also trinitario and forastero is being grown.