HANAPEPE — Howard and Sally Ogilvie are one of many vendors at the Fifth annual Kauai Chocolate &Coffee Festival Friday afternoon in Hanapepe.
The Ogilvies began producing chocolate products three years ago at their company called HouLau Chocolate Company in Moloaa.
“Making chocolate is an extraordinarily complex process, and there are a lot of times, machines and spaces that one solar-powered chocolate factory from our farm, and is just now making chocolate,” said Sally Ogilvie, while her husband was wearing a brown T-shirt that said “Ask Me About Chocolate.”
The festival is a celebration of commodities that many people love — chocolate and coffee.
It was a busy, lively start, with many people milling around the different booths on a sunny afternoon. Some were, of course, eating chocolate, while others were trying different coffees as they chatted with vendors.
The festival includes samplings, displays and workshops, entertainment and exhibitor booths featuring a variety of chocolate and coffee products from around the state.
It showcases the products and talents of local farmers, chefs, roasters, chocolatiers, baristas and manufacturers.
“We want to encourage the people in the Hanapepe economic, and it helps this community grow, and most of them are tiny businesses in your community,” said Amy Hammond, executive director of Special Events Hawaii.
“You come out and see that it is a trickle-down effect for most of them. Who doesn’t love chocolate and coffee, and that is probably the best opportunity.”
The Ogilvies produce multiple chocolate products. It took over 10 years to wrap themselves around the industry of chocolate.
The struggle came mostly with the labor-intensive process of learning how to grow the plants to create the multiple chocolate-related products they sell.
They broke ground in April 2018, the day after the flood that devastated Kauai’s North Shore.
Having even rainforest trees, such as understory trees, and overstory trees, on their farm requires attention.
“We have a harvest twice a year, and maintaining all of these trees demands quite a bit of attention,” Sally Ogilvie said.
They have over 70 products that derive from various types of cocoa plants.
“Growing chocolate has been quite an experiment in patience,” Sally Ogilvie said. “We love the challenge of entering this new arena of chocolate.”
The festival continues today, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., highlighting all the attributes of these two favorite local crops. It is free.
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Jason Blasco, sports reporter, can be reached at 245-0437 or jblasco@thegardenisland.com.
