Kailua Candy

We stopped here on the way to the airport. It’s a tiny chocolate shop and post office. They were kind to the kids and the chocolate was good.

I’m really sad, but this place was disappointing. Review is for the chocolate only.
The chocolate is too sweet, and isn’t even properly tempered. I bought and sampled a little of everything– it’s very cheap, but honestly it’s not even good. 2 stars. Had high hopes and wanted to purchase gifts for friends, but ended up not doing so after tasting everything.
Customer service is A+, which bumps this place up to 3 stars.

Pride of craft in making their chocolates, a nice viewing window to see the process of making and packing their chocolates, and very friendly too. If you take the time to talk to the owner, you will find he is a wealth of information. Chocolates, gifts, pet items, I bought post cards for 25 cents each, they also had more luxurious post cards and artwork cards. They sell stamps right there, even 1 cent stamps if you have old postcard stamps in your wallet! I’m glad I stopped by, going back to buy chocolates to bring home.

TL;DR: Awesome Cheesecakes, guittard chocolate/​original hawaiian chocolate treats, and a post office to mail.
This place is near Costco/​Home Depot in an industrial building area.
Candy:
The candy here is made with guittard and Original Hawaiian Chocolate. They make several different types of candies, but they are known for their Kona Coffee Swirls (chocolate, white chocolate, and kona coffee), and Macadamian nut turtles.
I’ve had several coworkers rave about the dark chocolate turtles I brought in. They contain unsalted mac nuts held together by a chewy caramel covered in dark or milk chocolate.
Inaddition they also have coffee bark, and stuff made with lillikoi (passion fruit).
The confections come in a nice black box that’s held together by a gold string. What’s kind of cool is each box comes with a small gift tag so you can write the name and a short message to the person you’re giving it to.
I went when it was super humid (Florida humid) and all the candies i purchased held up great. Some of the candy I purchased from the Original Hawaiian Chocolates melted.
Other Cool stuff:
They have Cheesecake that would put the cheese cake factory to shame. They even offer to make your cheesecake airplane ready (aluminum foil, bubble wrap). I thought that was a nice touch. Other than that I saw a sheet mention foie gras.
Summary:
This is a great place to get a few presents to take back home with you.

Wasn’t really sure what was going on in this place. There were crafts, antiques, imported Asian stuff, desserts, shipping stuff… no one really greets you, but the man at the register just kept following you. Didn’t buy anything because I felt unwanted. Really awkward and confusing store.

Yeah… I dunno. I was greeted like a tourist and told almost immediately about how they do most their business by mail. That’s great and judging by the other reviews on here, tourists love to hear that and come in to try a bunch of samples and gaze at the chocolatier in the back. Another time maybe I would have as well but it would have been nice to at least get a word in edgewise before the «tour» started, so I could explain that A) I’m just popping in to pick up some candy/​chocolate for my anniversary this weekend, B) (if necessary) my daughter is acting pleasant but it’s past naptime so I’m on borrowed time and can’t really talk story, and C) I live here so while I might ship as gifts, it’s not high on my priority list. Let me at least LOOK at the chocolate before telling me you can ship it.
The chocolate… it’s fine. Is it amazing? No. Does it taste as fresh as it evidentally is? The jury is out. But what I can say is, they need to work on their delivery. Yes, if you buy a pre-​packaged box of, say, the coffee swirls, it’s a cute box with a little ribbon and looks fine. If you buy some of the shaped chocolates ($ 1+ each), you’ll get an elaborate display of her taking them from the display case and putting them on a white ceramic plate and then… throwing them all in a ziploc sandwich bag. Yeah. In the Hawaii heat, if you buy white, dark, and milk chocolate shapes, they’ll all be tossed together into a ziploc. And… that’s it. What the hell am I supposed to do with that? I guess the idea is they’ll either be eaten immediately or maybe plated up at home? But seriously. If that’s your game then forego the white plate nonsense and just get to business so I can get in and out faster. Overall, not impressed.

Glad we tracked this place down! They tell you about there chocolates, cheesecakes and mousses, and let you sample any chocolate you’d like.

We happened to make a wrong turn when heading over to the CostCo and stumbled upon Kailua Candy Co. Really cute shop with a post office and home made candies. The girl behind the counter gave me a few samples and was very sweet. I got a few sweets and some home made chocolates and everything was delicious! If you’re visiting and need to stop at the CostCo (or not) def make it a point to stop here.

This place was really nice, as soon as we stepped in we were greeted and given the brief tour. They make all their chocolates there so you know they are fresh. Also, they’ll let you try a sample of anything you’d like and it was all very tasty!
We ended up getting a piece of the lilikoi cheesecake as my birthday cake (Who wants to buy a whole cake on vacation) and it was the perfect size for both of us to share and tasted great!

The owner, who also bakes the candy and cheesecake, greets you as you walk in and graciously offers you samples of anything you want. Hard to find small candy shops where everything is handmade with no big machines in house. The Honu candies are amazing. Milk or dark chocolate with caramel and macademia nuts. We bought a few of those, the kona coffee swirls and the Honu cheesecake to try. Definitely recommend stopping by and purchasing some of these delicious handmade treats, especially since it’s on the way to Costco. Oh and another plus is that they will ship it from there for you via USPS.

The address is 73 – 5612 kauhola st. kailua kona, HI. 96 740. They even have a post office in the store to ship your candies to family and friends on the mainland. Now that’s convenient

Came here to get some chocolates to bring back to family. The Kona Twists make your mouth water and melt in your mouth simultaneously. Loved these! The turtles are macadamia nuts topped with caramel and chocolate. I thought these were good as souvenirs but nothing I’d consider extraordinary as far as taste goes. The White Chocolate Ginger Macs were unique and delicious in flavor. It’s white chocolate covered macs with a slight hint of ginger flavor. Who knew those would make a good combo?!
You get to try all samples of the chocolates they make before committing to buy anything! And they definitely do not hold back on the macs. They use plenty of large pieces. Def recommend to stop by at least just to get a few samples.

Kailua Candy Co., although a bit away from the beaten path, is well worth the journey. We got unfortunate enough to go on a day where they were closed, but as we were slowly walking back to the car with our heads held down in sadness, we heard a voice «Is this your first time here?» There was a gentleman sticking his head out of the door. «Umm…yea…» was our reply… «You never saw me, come on in.»
Really friendly guy. It’s a candy company and post office.
Coffee swirls — yum!
Little chocolate animals and shells — choices of white chocolate, milk chocolate, and dark chocolate
Macadamia Nut clusters — super yummy
Also had a neat little shop with a bunch of jewelry, Hawaiian stuff, etc. He told us all about the story of him and his wife, how they decide on what to make, how they do everything together, all that.
Super neat guy, thanks for letting us in on the day you were closed, sorry I had to tell the world of how nice you are. Great chocolates. Yummy candy co. Definitely would visit again.

Kailua candy company was a pretty amazing surprise. We were driving into Kona, looking for post office and we saw a sign for post office here. When we went inside to ask about some stamps for postcards, the lady immediately ignored us and told us she would give us some candy samples immediately. It wasn’t really the answer to the question we had asked, but was a question we should have asked. We tried a variety of delicious candy items, including chocolates with nuts and coffee flavored chocolates. All of them were outstanding.
In the end, we got our postcard stamps at the many post office counter inside, and some delicious chocolates. We then went back before leaving the island to pick up some gifts for the folks back home. I guess these people know what they’re doing, sidetracking people immediately from the little post office stand to the candy. Who can blame them?

You know when you visit Hawaii, probably the best gift to bring back home is something with macadamia nuts.
And you know how no matter where you go, no matter how much money you spend, there’s always SO little macadamia nut compared to what it’s in whether it be chocolate, cookies, sauces, etc. etc.
WELL, my friends, this is NOT one of those places. Skimpy on the macadamia nuts it is not. No longer will you have to suffer through that one tiny piece of macadamia nut surrounded by a huge layer of mediocre chocolate. In fact, all their chocolates are handmade in the house through a large window you can see through.
SAMPLE ALERT. As you walk in, you’re greeted very warmly by a very pleasant lady who offers you as samples of the chocolates they offer. Their most popular is the honu, or turtle which comes with your choice of milk or dark chocolate covered over gooey caramel over a huge LAYER of Mac nuts. I bought a couple of these home for my coworkers and they were in awe of the amount of nuts it had. I also tried the Kona coffee swirl which everyone fell in love with since it just melted in your mouth.
The prices may seem a little expensive but it’s definitely worth it.
P. S. they have some pretty awesome looking cheesecake in the fridge. Definitely a must try the next time I make my way here.

WoW. The lady makes her chocolates right in house with no machines! She’s super friendly and passionate about the goodies that she makes. A great salesperson too! I wasn’t planning on getting anything, but I walked out with lots of chocolate and even a cheesecake! The cappuccino cheesecake is apparently an award winner. I ate half and couldn’t eat anymore because it was so rich! mmmm Oh, there’s a post office inside too!

KONA COFFEE SWIRLS. YUM!
Thanks to Unilocal,after we had filled up on gas at Costco, we found Kailua Candy Co nearby. It’s owned by a cute couple who long ago made the move from Marin, CA. The wife graciously received us when we came through the entrance and gladly provided samples of a few items and anything else we asked for.
Side note — they seem to be a jack of all trades place, doubling up as a postal service contract location and seller of Asian collectors items.
Everything is made in-​house, but they also sell chocolate from the Original Hawaiian Chocolate Factory.
The husband was also kind of enough to show us the three cacao plants on site they have in the back of the parking lot.

I found Kailua on Unilocal… thank you! Otherwise, I don’t think I would have noticed this spot. It is a little random with the post office/​chocolate shop. But, I am so glad that I gave it a chance. I have loved everything that I have had from here. But, the turtles are my weakness. I am now thinking of getting small boxes of their chocolates as favors for my wedding. Totally worth the visit!

I don’t really have sweet teeth but for whatever reason, I have been reading about candies on this trip to big island. I really wanted to visit Big Island Candy in Hilo but we ran out of time. While researching for coffee in Kona, this candy place popped up, Ok we had to make a stop on the way back from Kona.
I love the dark chocolate macadamia nut turtle, my daughter loves the milk chocolate one. I tried their ginger but decided to stick with the nut turtle since it was so yummy. The store is not fancy but the lady was very friendly and helpful. If you have time, definitely stop by!

Yes, it’s true the macadamia nut turtles are super good and a must as a gift. A little bit more expensive than the 2 for $ 4.00 macadamia candies you get at the ABC stores you get for your «OK» relatives. This stuff is well worth it and these candies you get for the family you actually like.
The staff is super nice and actually gave some great suggestions on great places to eat nearby.