The Farm
Welcome to the Last Resort.
Every bar of Last Resort Chocolate begins long before the crafting process. Before fermentation, drying, or milling, it begins here, in the soil. Our orchards sit on some of Kaua‘i’s most beautiful and nutrient-rich land, where clean soil, intentional stewardship, and a deep respect for the island, guide every step.
Our philosophy is simple: healthy soil grows healthy trees, and healthy trees grow extraordinary cacao.
Clean Soil, Clean Start.
Before planting a single cacao tree, we conducted comprehensive soil testing across the property. These tests confirmed what we hoped to find: a clean foundation, free from concerning levels of heavy metals or contaminants. Finding uncontaminated soils allowed us to move forward with complete confidence.
The full laboratory results from these soil tests are available on our Laboratory Results page.
100% Kaua‘i-Grown Cacao
Every cacao nib and every bar of chocolate we produce comes exclusively from Kaua‘i and is never blended with cacao from any other region. While Hawai‘i state law allows products with only 51% Kaua‘i-grown cacao to be labeled “Kaua‘i chocolate” or "Hawaii chocolate," we take a different approach. We plant, harvest, ferment, dry, and craft using 100% Kaua‘i cacao from start to finish.
This ensures a flavor profile that is authentically, unmistakably Kaua‘i. True to terroir.
Cat Army
No Rodenticides. Ever. In a tropical environment rich with food sources, rodents can be attracted to ripening cacao pods. Many farms rely on rodenticides to manage pests, but we refuse to bring those chemicals into our orchards or our buffer zones. Instead, we take a holistic approach. Our small but efficient team of farm cats, some born on the property, others adopted from the Kaua‘i Humane Society help keep the orchards free from unwanted pests. Partner farms who contribute cacao must also provide affidavits confirming rodenticide-free practices.
This protects the land, the fruit, and ultimately the chocolate itself.
Meet The Team
Orchards
Our farms first cacao seeds were set in soil in 2019, and on schedule they broke the surface of the soil and stretched towards the sky. Since, the orchards have battled relentless island sun and wind and this craft chocolate bar began as a dream. That dream was filled with passion and one which invoked a relentless pursuit of a respectful existence with responsible and sustainable practices.
Technology Integration:
• Each tree is labeled with a unique QR tag which allows us to keep track of metrics of each tree
• Natural Resource Data Solutions or NRDS is the app based in Maui, HI
• With extraordinary microclimates across the island, metrics from the farm are captured using several weather suites from Davis Instruments. Data collection captures local weather, indoor conditions in the Chocolate Lab and several streams within the ferment.
Eco Farming
We work with the island, not against it. Kaua‘i’s environment is powerful, unpredictable, and alive. Extreme heat, extreme rainfall, extreme wind, extreme drought. Farming requires constant adaptation and humility. This is stewardship, not control.
Rather than fighting these elements, we embrace them...with resilience.
Each season teaches us something new.
Each weather pattern effects the growth. El Nino brings favorable rainfall while La Nina brings significantly less rainfall and therefor less growth.
Each cycle deepens our understanding of the land.
Soil amendments are organic in nature and periodic testing confirms no adverse build up of undesirable contaminants.
Fostering pollinator habitats throughout orchards for optimal pollination.
Harvesting
Harvest is a defining moment in the life of a cacao pod. At Last Resort Chocolate, we take extra steps to preserve purity and ensure only the best fruit moves forward into fermentation.
Our harvesting standards include:
• Selecting only the ripest cacao pods, distinguished carefully from those that are merely mature. This embodies the concepts that ripe fruit have the highest concentration of sugars needed for the ferment and the highest concentration of naturally occurring yeasts needed for our very calculated 'spontaneous fermentation'.
• Each ripe pod is picked by hand and placed into clean containers and removed from the field. Keeping pods from contact with the ground, helps reduce the possibility of contamination.
• Any pods that do fall to the ground are kept separate from the main harvest to reduce the risk of bacterial contamination of the wet seed as it drains prior to the installation of the fermentation.
• Obtaining affidavits from participating farms confirming identical procedures.
Ingredient Highlight
Why It's Important
Chocolate cannot be better than the fruit it comes from. Our farm practices clean soil, careful harvesting, organic-focused methods, and a deep respect for the land to ensure that every bar begins with integrity.
When you taste Last Resort Chocolate, you’re tasting Kaua‘i: its soil, its climate, its natural yeasts, its beauty, and its wild, resilient spirit.
