Location: Macadamia Nut Factory, Kawaihae, Big Island
Hawaii is known for a few famous exports: sugarcane, pineapple & orchids being the most obvious ones, along with the prestigious Kona coffee. Another famously tasty treat? Macadamia nuts! While originating in Australia and grown in other sunny locations across the globe, Hawai’i essentially created the macadamia nut industry and set the gold standard for taste and quality. All the major growers and manufacturers are based right here on the Big Island. Obviously, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to visit the 2 biggest manufacturer of nutty goodness: Hamakua (near Kona) and Mauna Loa (near Hilo). Well, I shouldn’t have bothered! Ok, that might be harsh, but still.
The first one I visited, Hamakua was slightly out of my way, but only about by 20 minutes so no big deal. I’m not sure what I expected, but it definitely was something more than what I got. While they promoted a ‘self guided factory tour’, what you get is the opportunity to peek through the window at the assembly line for the packaging and flavouring of the nuts. While the windows are quite large providing you with a clear view, when I visited, no one was working. No machines running, no products being made. Nothing! Hamakua also does not grow their own nuts, they buy from local growers therefore there are no macadamia nut trees on site. It’s basically a giant store. The only good thing that came out of the detour was the free samples. Tons of them! From sweet to spicy and everything in between, you could sample to your heart’s content (and I did!). And as the prices were cheaper than in local stores, I left with a bag of the ‘chili peppah’, my favourite discovery of the day (Flavourful with just enough kick to keep things interesting), as well as a bit of the coconut macadamia nut brittle to satisfy my sweet tooth!
Hawai’i has this weird obsession with SPAM… it’s everyone and in places you wouldn’t expect (candles, candies, nuts, etc). I had to try a sample, because when in Rome. you know? While it was not horrible tasting, I’m ok with never eating them again.
Wasabi macadamia nuts taste like…. wasabi. But like someone accidentally mixed in the entire glob of wasabi in their soy sauce by accident. I had one and my eyes watered. They also sold other nut related products such as oil.
I also stopped by the Mauna Loa factory before arriving in Hilo. I had hopes for this one, as it’s definitely the more popular (or well advertised) brand on the island. Sadly, the “tour” was even more disappointing. While workers were hard at it on the factory floor, it was boring! Machine pours chocolate into moulds. Machine adds nuts. Machine pours chocolate over the entire thing. Worker inspects by hand, etc. And the biggest let down? No free samples! Ok, they did technically have some, but they had a worker present to carefully distribute 1-2 samples from a small selection of their product. Meh. What I didn’t understand in all of this, is that some cruise passengers choose to spend part of their only day in Hilo at this factory!
My advice to anyone heading to the Big Island and thinking of visiting a factory? Skip the tour, buy a bag at Walmart and enjoy this home-grown treat on a hike instead!