Maui Ku'ia Estate 70% Dark Chocolate

Dr. Gunars Valkirs began planting cacao at his home in Kapalua almost 15 years ago as part of a UH Manoa field trial to determine what growing conditions were suitable for cacao. The study was led by our future VP of Farm & Factory Operations, Dan O’Doherty, who was a grad student at the time. In 2012, they leased the farmland that would become the Maui Ku'ia Estate cacao farm in Lahaina. The first cacao plantings and blessings occurred on the 2013 winter solstice. This marks the estate's oldest trees - special hybrids that were created by Dan.
By the time the first ten acres were planted in 2016, Gunars had to decide how to keep growing high-quality cacao while also maintaining an economically sustainable farm. The only way to make the business viable was to make and sell world class chocolate, but Gunars had a bigger mission.
Though the farm may have started as a hobby for our CEO, the decision to start a chocolate company that gives back was born.