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Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Orchard & Factory

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prissykay
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3 out of 5
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Editor Pick

Hamakua Macadamia Nut Company

  • September 18, 2007
  • Rated 3 of 5 by MilwVon from Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Hamakua Macadamia Nut Company

While Hilo’s Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Company is arguably the most famous Big Island mac nut production company, we were pleased to find the Hamakua Macadamia Nut Company literally in our neighborhood while vacationing in Waikoloa on the North Kohala Coast.

Hamakua offers a self-guided tour although we were greeted by a lovely young lady who walked us through the tour explaining the steps throughout the process. During our visit, they were packaging whole nuts and preparing caramelized popcorn. It was very interesting to learn how much goes into harvesting, drying, roasting, flavoring and packaging macadamia nuts. Who would have thought that there needed to be so many flavors of nuts? You can buy six different varieties including island onion, hula jalapeno, honey mustard, chili peppah, hot mustard wasabi as well as lightly salted macadamia nuts. For me, I just love the natural lightly salted or caramelized nuts.

In addition to packaged nuts, visitors can also purchase chocolate covered mac nuts and several flavors of popcorn. After viewing of the production area, there is a huge showroom and sampling area. Unlike the chintzy samples provided at Mauna Loa, here you can pretty much sample any one of the many products sold in their retail store. We loved the mac toffee caramel popcorn and purchased a couple of small bags (approximately $5 for a 5.5 oz. package). Have you ever tried macadamia nut brittle? It is simply heavenly!

We felt that overall, the chocolate used for the Hamakua Macadamia Nut Company’s products was much richer and had better flavor. At $11.99 per pound, you will be paying for their premium flavor.

Hamakua Macadamia Nut Company also roasts pure Kona coffee on the premises if you are interested in making a Kona coffee purchase without driving the hour up to the Kona coffee region south of Kailua-Kona.

We would suggest a trip here as part of a day trip up to Hawi or the Pololu Valley Lookout. They are open 8am – 5pm, seven days a week!

From journal Surfing the North Kohala Coast

Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Orchard & Factory

  • January 5, 2006
  • Rated 3 of 5 by prissykay from Charleston, West Virginia
The Macadamia Nut Factory was definitely the place to buy your nut items. They had the most reasonable priced nuts items on the Island. You can also sample before you buy. The drive through the scenic orchards was nice. There was a snack bar and restroom on site. You get to watch how the different products are made. If you like macadamia nuts, a stop to buy some will be worth it - especially the chocolate covered ones. It is open from 8:30am to 5pm. (808) 966-8618; www.maunaloa.com.

From journal Island Hopping in Hawaii

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