Hāmākua Macadamia Nut Company — Local services in Hawaii

We decided to drive up to the Hamakua Macadamia Nut Company visitor center today. What a wonderful treat to find this cool place so close to our home in Kailua Kona! Upon entering the center, we were greeted in the nicest fashion by a very lovely woman, Danette, who was full of aloha spirit! We felt like family as soon as we entered!

Once inside there were many cool things to see and try. We tasted 13 flavors of Mac nuts & they also had some Ka’u Coffee Mill coffee samples which we tried as well. From there we watched a video of the process, showing how the nuts are grown, harvested and processed including facts about the nuts. They have some machinery there so you can watch some of the process. The trees are grown on another part of the Big Island.

Then it was on to the shopping! They have a large variety of products, Big Island Delights cookies, Hibiscus Textile towels, Hawaiian style bags, hand lotions & soaps, coffee & coffee mugs and all the varied Hamakua Mac nut products. Couldn’t believe the selection! Of course we made several purchases! We finished our time with some delicious Tropical Dreams ice cream! So ‘ono!

The best part of the visitor center however was the staff. Especially Danette! She was fabulous and really made our trip there special! We will be bringing all our friends back & will definitely recommend this visitor center...

Hamakua Macadamia Nut Company is definitely worth stopping by if you're on your way up towards Waimea. It's slightly out of the way, but definitely worth the stop. I've been to both Mauna Loa and Hamakua (the two largest macadamia nut companies on the island), and honestly, I think I prefer Hamakua because of the ambiance and friendly staff. Not hating on Mauna Loa, but it's very overcommercialized and has lost a lot of the aloha spirit that Hamakua so brightly displays.

We walked in and were immediately greeted by one of the staff who offered to take us on a short tour through their factory. Although you can't actually go inside the factory, you can observe the process from behind the large glass windows. I feel bad that I've forgotten her name, but the staff member that guided us through the factory and showed us around was so sweet and lovely. The tour was short, but informative and staff were all so willing to answer any questions we had. They also had a large selection of nuts and popcorn to sample (unlimited samples!) On the side, there was also coffee from surrounding local farms to try as well. We were so impressed.

The warm welcome, aloha spirit, and fantastic samples made it all worth going out of the way to visit Hamakua. If you get the chance, be sure...

Obviously most people (at least NOT locals) are more familiar with Mauna Loa brand Mac nuts. But as long as we were in the area, we didn't want to miss a chance at free Mac Nut samples! They didn't disappoint! They have all their flavors/types out for you to help yourself. We also watched their production video, and viewed their manufacturing area, and even got to see the nuts in their shells, and were able to crack one of our own! They also have a merchandise sales area, in addition to their Mac nuts.Oh, and did I mention their Mac nuts taste crunchier and better than "the other brand"? They are also absolutely grown in Hawai'i. They have some flavors unique to them (Chili Peppah are ADDICTIVE!!!), and even sell 4# vacuum packed nuts...which we bought! Their prices there are better than at in-town stores, so worth the drive! (When we stocked up on Mauna Loa brand on a previous trip, we were surprised to find we could have gotten them cheaper at retail stores!😠) They also have an ice cream area with many flavors and cones, shakes and smoothies. As we were there the end of Nov. they also had an area where you could dress up with a Christmas hat and word balloon for selfies! Fun! So, if you're in Hawai'i, or see Hamakua Mac nuts, snap them up!...