Steelgrass Chocolate Farm Tour

We just visited Steelgrass Farm in May of 2012 and it greatly exceeded our expectations! Our two tour guides were incredibly knowledgable, helpful and entertaining. Our 5 year old daughter stayed engaged and entertained through the whole three hours! They tought us all about the farm, Kauai’s vegitation, chocolate, fruits, etc. We got to sample not just a bunch of chocolate but a lot of local fruits and veggies too! I will forever be greatful for finally being able to learn how to recognize, eat and pronounce Lycée fruit! This trip is well worth it!
Also this entry is a duplicate of:
You may want to check out those reviews as well.

I was a little skeptical at first about a $ 60 cash only 3-​hour tour, but was pleasantly surprised. well worth it including history, farm tour, various fruits and of course 10 chocolates to sample. Take extra cash to buy honey and chocolates at end of tour.

The previous reviewer is dead-​on accurate as to the tour’s itinerary… I just have a different perspective. I have to agree that in the very beginning I was a bit worried I got sucked into yet another touristy tour… there were a lot of participants (I’ve gotten too spoiled lately with micro-​sized tours) and the intro was a bit overdone. But, I decided to just relax and go with it… the beach would wait and there would be chocolate at the end.
Each trip I take, I bring home some culinary tidbit… on this trip to Kauai it’s sugar cane with fresh lime juice. Whooda thought??? They sell sugar cane AND limes at my local grocery store and they’ve already been added to my mental shopping list. Eat something sweet and clean your teeth at the same time??? Sold!
A good part of the tour did not pertain to chocolate, but to a lot of the native botanical wonders scattered throughout this farm. I’m more of a people person than a plant person, but I loved hearing just a little bit about strange plants and tasting some very strange fruits. Ever tried egg fruit? You’re not missing much more than the experience… but, maybe this fruit, which has the consistency of a hard-​boiled egg yolk and tastes a little like pumpkin would grow on you. You are missing out if you’ve never tasted a dragon’s eye. Very cool.
The chocolate pods grown on this farm are not used or sold for making chocolate, but for their seeds. The farm is trying to get enough chocolate trees grown on the island so that eventually Kauai chocolate can be produced. It’s clear the owners are dedicated to the island’s agriculture — and I learned a lot about Kauai’s challenges in this area.
If they would have given me any more tasting, I may just have had to swear off chocolate for a month (and I’m addict). The small pieces were enough for me to savor and appreciate the differences between the 10 different varieties. I like the guilt-​free education just before the tasting… I will never, ever, ever feel guilty eating dark chocolate again… and will be using cacao nibs in my cooking from now on!
If you like botany and chocolate, this tour is for you. If you’re not into the beaten path, I think you’ll be pretty satisfied. The guides were funny and minimally corny… and very friendly. If you have kids, make sure they are incredibly brainy and interested in plants and chocolate or they will be bored out of their minds. (I was so impressed by the three adorable Asian boys on my tour, but they are definitely not the norm. Put my kids to shame.)