Concierge Recommeds Hualalai: Tastes of the Big Island

Kona coffee, grown only on the Big Island’s Kona coast (shown above) beginning just south of the Resort, is world-famous for its smoothness and rich body. (Avoid anything labelled “Kona blend,” which contains only a small percentage of real Kona.) Many growers offer tours and tastings; one of the best is Greenwell Farms, where visitors can track coffee from tree to cup. Though not as well known as coffee, chocolate is also grown and produced locally. The Original Hawaiian Chocolate Factory, just a few miles outside Kona town, offers reservations-only tours that, like coffee, follow production from cacao pods to finished product.