Mānoa Chocolate: Mai'a Banana
Going bananas for cacao
Welcome to Summer! The Solstice just passed, and we in the Northern Hemisphere are now slowly rolling down the hill of days, each day a slice shorter than the previous. But we have a few months yet before we need to slip on that sweater. We kick off our summer chocolate series with Manoa Chocolate’s banana delight.
It’s going to be a fragrant and & floral chocolate summer!
Chocolate maker: Mānoa Chocolate
I discovered Mānoa Chocolate at the Northwest Chocolate Festival in Bellevue, Washington, in the fall of 2023. I had given a talk about my book The Jaguar and the Cacao Tree and spent the rest of the festival strolling the first floor where all the chocolate vendors were. Recognizing me from my talk, a Mānoa staff member bought my book, and I bought their chocolate.
Drawn initially by the connection to Hawai’i—the only state in America where cacao grows, and one of my favorite spots on the planet—I was entranced by the gorgeous illustrations on their packaging, done by a local design studio, and by the diversity of the flavors in their bars.
So why mānoa? It’s a Hawaiian word with three different meanings: solid, vast, and depth. In the company’s words, “Mānoa stands for taking care of the land where we harvest our cacao, the nuanced process of crafting our chocolate, and leaving the world better than when we came into it.
Location: Oahu, Hawai’i
Photography: I use real ingredients for my photo shoots. No plastic fruit, no single-use cutlery. And certainly no AI. Natural light whenever possible.
Here we’ve got a hand-cut crystal fruit bowl with fresh banana slices, and cacao beans from my personal stash. (I had to work fast before the slices oxidized, and yes I ate them afterwards!)
Mai’a Banana
Cacao Muse review: This was the first time I tasted banana in chocolate. Between my time in France and here in the U.S., I’ve had about a million banana-chocolate crêpes, but banana fused with the chocolate itself? Quite another experience altogether. When it comes to flavored chocolate, it’s tricky. Do it too light, and you lose the flavor. Overdo it, and you lose the chocolate. It’s got to be just right.
And yes, maiʻa means “banana” in Hawaiian.
Tasting Notes: First impression: a light creamy warmth accented with yellow notes of juicy fruit. The banana melts just right, especially at the end, somehow managing to feel a touch gooey despite the fact that it’s powder rather then fresh. My only complaint is I’d love the chocolate to be a little smoother, more velvety.
Percentage: 70%
Origin: Unknown, but made in Hawai’i
Ingredients: Cacao, organic cane sugar, banana powder, cacao butter.
Price: $10.00 per bar
I hope you enjoyed this light visual dessert just before the weekend—here’s the link to Mai’a Banana if you’ve got the banana munchies.
Next week we’ll do another fun summer fruit-filled inclusion bar!