Sugar Free for 2009

Sweet Paradise is pleased to announce that we will have a sugar free chocolate collection in 2009. We are currently researching all our options for adding nice ingredients to the chocolate, acai berry, chopped nuts etc. Hawaii has one of the highest diabetes rates in the country but that does not mean you have to give up your love of chocolate.

Chocolate Boutique Now Open

Our Kailua shop is now open Wed-Sat 11:00am to 6 PM.
read about it here.
http://www.prlog.org/10141699-the-art-of-chocolate-hawaiian-style-unique-chocolate-boutique-opens-in-oahu.html

Hawaii Chocolate

Hawaii is the only state in the US that can grow chocolate. Hawaii currently has a small, dedicated group of cacao farmers on all islands seeking to make Hawaiian chocolate the next Kona coffee. Pioneers Pam and Bob Cooper of Kona have been growing and processing their own chocolate for many years. Their Original Hawaiian chocolate Factory gives tours of the farm and the processing. Dole owns a cacao plantation on the North Shore of Oahu. They have been producing chocolates that have been used successfully by island chefs. Their farm is not currently open to the public.
Sweet Paradise carries Hawaiian grown chocolate on its website at http://www.sweetparadisechocolate.com and at its Kailua, Oahu retail location. Come and try Hawaii's most unique and desirable agriculture product. We even have chocolate bars with Kava!

Chocolate Flavor Alchemy

Its the time of the year to fill the cases with an assortment of flavors for holiday purchases and preparing those is a type of alchemy. I personally dislike Milk Chocolate because it has 40% or LESS cacao and is loaded with fat and sugar. I have selected an everyday Belgian dark chocolate at 65% I feel most people will accept and learn to appreciate in lieu of milk chocolate. Its smooth and not at all bitter. I do find some flavors pair better when they are with milk or even white chocolate-banana, coconut, key lime, lychee all taste better with the flavor in white chocolate , but dipped in dark for the finish. Chai, spicy chocolate, and coffee have more flavor when mixed in milk chocolate and then enrobed in dark. The berry families-raspberry, blueberry, acai berry all pair best in dark chocolate. Oranges seem to cross borders pairing with white, milk or dark.

The Dark Chocolate standard is anything over 40%. What does percentage mean? The percentage is the amount of cocoa liquor(paste) plus the cocoa butter. The remaining percentage is sugar or milk solids in the case of milk chocolate. The manufacturer does not break down the cocoa liquor from the cocoa butter, so two chocolates from a similar origin and same percentage can actually taste and have a different mouth feel. Higher percentage cacao does not translate to "better" . Most people like a range between 55-65%. Over that chocolate is a lot more bitter.
What is the BEST chocolate in the world? Its the one YOU love the most.

Sweet Paradise Chocolatier Hawaii

Welcome to the Blog of Sweet Paradise Chocolatier. Our Blog is about everything chocolate in Hawaii ...and beyond.
Sweet Paradise Chocolatier was born out of my initial desire to set my luxury lodging property, At the Craters Edge, in Volcano on the Big Island, apart with hand made fresh chocolates. A Diamond Buyer, travelling to Belgium for many years, I became intimate with some of the best chocolate shops in the world. It is that same level of quality, with an artistic flair from my years as a jeweler and my committment to fresh island ingredients that sets this chocolate apart. Sweet Paradise was the winner of the Kona Chocolate Festival Judges Choice Award in both 2007 and 2008. Join us as we chronicle the opening of a new store in Kailua on Oahu and everything chocolate in Hawaii.