Mānoa Chocolate & Wine Bar — Restaurant in Oʻahu

What a wonderful place to visit on a beautiful Sunday afternoon! Turned out we arrived just in time for the last chocolate tasting of the day, which was perfect because then it turned into a wine bar with live music. The tasting began with a sample of tea that was made from the outer portion of the cacao bean. It would be a great alternative for someone who wanted to stop coffee because it gives off a very rich flavor and mouth-feel without the bitterness of coffee or the caffeine. We had Sara tell us all about the various chocolates and how they are made, followed by a taste of each flavor. She was very kind and let us taste any others we wanted after the tasting was over. Each one had a unique flavor profile depending on the terrior and the process used to make the chocolate. Some were plain chocolate, and some were flavored. My favorites were the Mililani 70% dark chocolate, Nui Coconut Chocolate bar made with coconut milk, and the Breakfast Bar with 60% dark milk chocolate and Hawaiian coffee beans and cacao nibs that gave a nice crunch. But, all the flavors were delicious. Each is produced right there in small batches in the back room. They even produce a dark rum that is made with the cacao nibs. We were lucky to be able to have a sample of that as well! After the tasting, we decided to stay and have a wine and chocolate tasting flight. What fun! The Red Flight was paired with three different bars. Since we were staying a while, we ended up also ordering the Charcuterie because, well, why not? It was so much fun. The two gentlemen playing local Hawaiian music were delightful as well. By the time we left, the place was packed and lively. I ended up buying enough products to get a cute, free insulated tote for all my chocolate goodies! Our server told us this was a great place for a date night spot, too! May just have...

I highly recommend Manoa chocolate and their chocolate tour! If you decide to take the tour be sure to reserve your spot online, you also get ALOT of samples at the end.

Shout out to Vanessa for being an awesome tour guide 👌 It was an informative and tasty experience 👏 Especially for someone who doesn't really care for chocolate and only came because of a friends strong recommendation. I walked away with a couple bars and will definitely be back.

Highlights: The chocolate is top notch! It's not bitter and there are many different flavors to fit everyones taste, from milk chocolate to ghost pepper dark chocolate.💁‍♀️

Their craft chocolate costs more than your average store chocolate, but the cost is worth the taste. The higher cost goes towards creating a quality product, paying workers more and not having exploited workers (slaves, child labor, etc). What's up Hershey?🙅‍♀️

Some of the chocolate is locally sourced. Hawaii is the only US state that grows chocolate. Who knew 🤷‍♀️

If you take the chocolate tour. It is extremely informative, regarding Manoa chocolate and the chocolate industry in general. Don't expect a big tour, it's small but informative 👌 🤗

They are a very sustainable brand. They try to make sure that every piece of the cacao is used and not wasted. They even turned part of the cacao seed into a tea that they sell.

Thanks again...

I was fortunate enough to have been able to have a tour of Manoa shortly before the Pandemic hit. As a person who loves seeing how things are done, I was fascinated by the prospect when our boss said we were going to tour a chocolate bar manufacturer on Hawai'i. The presenters were warm, friendly, knowledgeable, and most of all, -passionate- about the process of making chocolate from beginning to end. Getting to taste real cacao, and the fruit of the pod, as well as the nib tea, it really changed my understanding of how much goes into making chocolate. And they go into exquisite detail, quite literally from bean to bar. Along with the tastings at each step, by the end, I'd been convinced to buy some. If more for my Missus than anything else. But I snuck a nibble as well. :D

It was rather good. The lavender infused bar was my personal favourite. And this coming from a non-chocoholic, I enjoyed it immensely. It melts in your mouth so smoothly, coating your tongue with dusky velvet. The floral notes are definite, but not overbearing, taking nothing from the chocolate flavour itself; which is just lush. Best ten bucks I ever spent on a chocolate bar, hands-down.

It's been a few years since then, and we thought we'd try them again. They have new flavours, and we're going to experience a few more. Mahalo nui,...