Puna Chocolate Company & Cafe — Restaurant in Hawaii

The puna chocolate company is a lovely place to bring home delicious island made chocolate, coffee beans, and other Hawaii themed souvenirs and novelties! Definitely a recommended stop on the circuit for cruising the downtown area on vacation!

The “paniolo” is my favorite drink here and that’s the name for their Mexican mocha. I don’t drink anymore, but their cocktails look really fun and would be delicious were I to indulge this way again. Overall, this place has great service, drinks, and cool gifts for purchase!

I feel that the Puna Chocolate company would do a lot better (and earn 5 stars instead of 4), if they offered customer bathrooms, wi-fi, and electrical outlets. I’m a digital nomad and tend to go to a different place for coffee because I need to spend a few hours drinking coffee and working every morning in a place that’s not my home or office. I would come to the chocolate company more often, but they don’t meet my coffee shop needs for reasons already stated.

I still come here because I do enjoy their beverages, atmosphere, and kind staff! It’s nice to have a variety of places to frequent in town so that one doesn’t become a fixture in any one place. However, I usually end up at the restaurant down the street because they do have the electricity, wi-fi, and restrooms.

They open at 7am, which I love because other places in downtown don't open til 8am for high quality coffee drinks. I'm up at 5:45 wanting espresso, but still often wait for the 8am hour because of the digital nomad work thing, Sometimes I get a "pre-latte" latte from here and then go to both places in the morning!

Thanks for the delicious drinks and the high vibes here! I do love this place and highly recommend coming here in order to get a local Hawaii chocolate fix! Definitely a "must stop" for any vacationer or inter-island...

2 part review: Part 1 Chocolate The sales staff is always welcoming, knowledgeable, and helpful. Know what your taste buds like, but don't know what chocolate to buy? Just ask, and the sales staff will direct you to chocolates that will delight you. I have tried about 70% of the different flavors and most were quite enjoyable. Some were not to my taste but we're good enough to finish, and let me assure you many times I have paid for chocolate from other places, taken a bite and given the rest away. I truly believe, with the variety of flavors Puna Chocolates provides, there is something for everyone. I'm camp dark chocolate, but I actually enjoy their milk chocolate. Part ll Cocktails I have only tried two cocktails so far, but I have tried cocktails at literally every upscale restaurant in Hilo and many in Kona. I cannot wait to taste my way through Puna Chocolate's cocktail menu! First I tried the Aztec Old Fashioned, which was made with Piggyback 6yr rye instead of Sazerac. This cocktail was EXTRAORDINARILY elegant, well balanced and divinely delicious! It's in my top five best cocktails I've ever had! The second cocktail I tried was a limited time special named Old Fashioned Smores. I usually don't like sweet cocktails, but this was scrumptious and well done. It's rimmed with chocolate and graham crackers and has a flame roasted marshmallow to garnish. I highly recommend it, as I would gladly try this again! See the pictures I included for only half the cocktail menu and...

A sweet place to get locally made gifts and an incredible place to get a mocha (single estate bean and local cocoa, mmm)! Very friendly and helpful staff who were happy to support my obsession with cutting down on my trash making.

I am posting photos of a local crafter available here that blew my mind. They upcycle plastics and rubber to create useful trinkets. This wasn't the only eye catching work here, but I am a total sucker for someone who diverts material from landfills.

Update: the facility has been rearranged to have more sit down space for the cafe which is now a bar. There is not as many local vendor crafts, and they do not offer mugs for those who dine in. They DO use your cup if you bring it in... but if they are busy, habits will lead them to use their disposables instead. Their hot cups are double lined paper cups with a polypropylene #5 plastic lid.

No bathroom access from within the building. They do have a bathroom code for using the outside bathroom though

Still a great place for local coffee beans...