Do you own a business, or thinking of opening one in the future? Here at Maui Chocolate Coffee Tours, we prioritize the motto of enjoying what you do, so you never “work” a day in your life. If you work hard enough at it, you too can live this way! We decided to feature Hawaii business owner’s doing what they love.

Maui Chocolate Coffee Tours

Maui Chocolate Coffee Tours is located in Upcountry Maui, on the beautiful Kupa’a Farms. Barry Allison is a friend of Ann Tuomela General Manager of MCCT.  Barry and Ann are long time friends of over 25 years, and got theirs starts by following along the similar paths of corporate America, until their entrepreneurial spirits were found or reignited. They both followed similar journeys, yet separate paths. Ann’s tenacity and resilience put her back in the “saddle”. Closing one door and opening another by reinventing her life through continuing to love what she does so it seems like she never works another day in her life.

Enjoy an exclusive, fun and educational chocolate and coffee tour, from the farm all the way to the table! Ann will teach you everything you need to know, beginning with the plants on the farm, and ending with the chocolate or coffee that you are consuming. Make sure to book in advance, so your spot is secure during your vacation to Maui! Follow us on Instagram, and read our blogs for more information.

Kihei Caffe

Barry Allison moved from Chicago to Maui after working at Nick’s on Oahu back in the 80’s. Opening Roy Yamaguchi’s first Roy’s on Maui brought Barry to Maui as a part of Roy’s opening team. Barry recently opened his 2nd Kihei Caffe in Lahaina. The Kihei location still has customers lining up around the corner to get the famous Kihei Caffe breakfast grinds! Barry’s farm is his sanctuary, which he loves to work with all of his animals, goats, sheep, chickens, and cow’s. He never “works” Upcountry, because he loves what he does and it shows. Very similar to what Kupa’a Farms has going on!

Kupa’a Farms

Gerry Ross is the one of the owners along with his wife Janet and her twin sister, Judy at Kupa’a Farms. Kupa’a Farms is a 6 acre family farm that was started by Gerry’s lovely wife’s parents back in the 70’s. They are located at a 1900 foot elevation on the slopes of Haleakala, Maui. They grow a wide variety of organic fruits, vegetables, and award winning coffee! Not only this, but they grow everything using sustainable and regenerative agricultural methods. They also practice the farm to table and table to farm method. Check out our blog to read all about it! Gerry is incredibly passionate about his job, so it really seems as though he’s playing instead of working! Kupa’a Farms has wonderful educational and volunteer opportunities. Check out their website or Instagram to learn more!

How to Balance Your Business Life and Personal Life

One of the main questions people ask is: “how do you run your business while keeping your personal life separate?” The truth is, that once you own a successful business, you never truly stop working. Since you don’t clock in and out from a regular shift, you can lose control of your “hours”. It is incredibly wonderful to be fully invested in your business. It is even more exciting to watch it grow! However, if you don’t take the time to enjoy your personal life and take care of yourself and loved ones, then it defeats the purpose of owning your own business and making your schedule.

Here are a couple of tips to balance your business and personal life : 

• Set regular business hours and days.
• Know when it’s time to set the phone down, and be with your family or friends
• Wait until you have had your morning routine before picking up the phone or computer
• Don’t lose sight of your passion, and why you began this in the first place
• Embrace failure, and learn from your mistakes
• Don’t try to do it all alone. Never be afraid to ask for help or outsource employees for the things you simply cannot do.
• Keep work and life separate.
• Take time off. It’s important to rejuvenate and come back looking through fresh eyes!

These words of advice can apply to anyone, running any kind of business! It is extremely important to keep the balance.

We hope that you enjoyed reading about Hawaii business owner’s doing what they love. Feel free to comment any questions below! We hope to see you on a tour soon! A hui hou!

Traveling to Maui, Hawaii is an exciting adventure. Most people only get a small amount of time off from work each year. The most popular times to visit are during the holidays and school breaks. Some have the luxury of choosing to come anytime. Being spontaneous can mean cheaper tickets, and more flexibility with your trip! However, when traveling to Hawaii, pre-planning makes for a wonderful travel experience for you, your family, and for businesses on this island that are ready to share their aloha. Maui Chocolate Coffee Tours may seem like an activity that you would do “spur of the moment”, but booking private tours in advance is a must! This insures the best experience ever! Spontaneity in traveling to Maui can be fun, but everything books up very quickly. Unless you are going to just relax on the beach your entire trip, we definitely recommend planning some things in advance.

Maui Chocolate Coffee Tours

Maui Chocolate Coffee Tours is a locally owned business located at Kupa’a Farms, in Maui, Hawaii. If you have always wanted to try Hawaiian, handmade chocolate, then this is definitely an activity you will want to book! A fun, educational experience will have you learning and physically participating in the chocolate and coffee making process. We will take you on a beautiful tour of the farm, so that you can observe the process from start to finish.

General Manager of Maui Chocolate Coffee Tours

General Manager of Maui Chocolate Coffee Tours, Ann Tuomela had her eyes set on a vacation this summer. She was planning a trip to America Samoa! Ann was looking forward to sharing her experience abroad with us. However, due to the constant opening and closing of borders, things escalated quickly again with Covid, causing her to abruptly cancel her trip. Instead of letting this get her down, she decided to take a look at other travel options. San Diego and Vancouver B.C. are both beautiful places, where she has family and friends, so she decided to go there! You will notice some beautiful photos we have showcased from Ann’s trip.

Ann even ended up extending her stay in Vancouver, Canada! “Uncle Fester” decided to bloom! (See photo). The blossom is only open for 24 hours!

The titan arum looks like a giant flower, but its structure tells a different story. It can take 2 weeks for a bud to reach full size (a whopping 6-8 FEET!) before opening. The titan arum’s flower is actually a flowering spike called an inflorescence. The spike, or spadix, supports the much tinier true flowers, both male and female, in rings at its base.

If a titan arum is lucky enough to be pollinated, it produces a beautiful cylinder of olive-shaped red-orange berries atop the stalk left after flowering, called a peduncle.

Check out this beautiful botanical garden!

Aloha Bars Maui 

We wanted to feature a wonderful Maui business this month, Aloha Bars. They are a full service cocktail catering company. They create delicious handcrafted cocktails and tropical beverages for guests of all ages to enjoy. Whether it be for a wedding, or private event, if you are looking for great mobile bartenders, Aloha Bars is the best in the business! 

Owner and founder, Kirsty Sinclair, immediately fell in love with the spectacular beauty and Aloha Spirit that embraces the island of Maui. Her extensive background as a bartender and a corporate hospitality trainer for a large restaurant chain in Florida helped her to attain bartending positions at several premier restaurants on Maui including Wolfgang Puck’s Spago at the Four Seasons Resort, Chef Yamaguchi’s Roy’s (formerly in Kihei) and Capische?, located at Hotel Wailea. Kirsty also worked at a gourmet cheese & wine boutique on the island… Guava, Gouda & Caviar (formerly Who Cut the Cheese?) for several years. These experiences helped broaden her knowledge of pairing fine wines with gourmet cheese and Pacific-rim cuisine as well as allowing her to think outside the box in creating cutting edge, island-inspired cocktails.

Kirsty has a strong passion for entertaining and making delicious drinks. She has become a bit of a local celebrity on Maui. Constantly being asked to offer her services at weddings, it was this moment that Aloha Bars Maui was born! Since then, she has been focused on filling a very important niche within the Maui wedding & event industry. Clients who want a high quality, professional mobile bar service that gives their guests a real “taste of Maui”, while staying within your budget.

Supporting local businesses

Kirsty has established meaningful relationships with local organic farmers and unique product vendors from various islands. This way, she can buy directly from them. This is how she supports local businesses and avoids costly store mark ups. The result is a surprisingly affordable, yet extraordinary drink & cocktail menu that uses the freshest ingredients available in stylish & innovative ways!

We highly recommend Aloha Bars, and cannot say enough wonderful things about them. Follow them on instagram and check out their website for all things cocktails and Maui!

We hope you enjoyed reading about the spontaneity in traveling to Maui. Whether you choose to be spontaneous or plan your trip out.. come book a tour with Maui Chocolate Tours! You will be elated that you did!

One of the most impressive flowering tree’s of Maui is the stunning Jacaranda. You might be familiar with this tree, as it is a hard one to forget! The tall and full amethyst shaded blooms announce the arrival of spring time. They drop their flowers between May to mid June creating a beautiful carpet of purple and blue colors beneath the trees. Now, are these trees native to Maui? What is the history behind them? Keep on reading to learn more about these breathtaking parts of nature, and learn where you can go to view them! Maui’s Jacaranda spring into bloom right about now!

History Behind the Jacaranda

The Jacaranda’s were originally found in Brazil but spread across many tropical locations in the world including South America, Mexico, New Zealand, Australia, Fiji, and all the way to Africa, Pakistan and even Portugal! The ‘Upcountry’ part of Maui was settled by Portugese farmers and ranchers. We think that this is how the Jacaranda found it’s way here from Portugal.
A man named Elmer Cravalho grew up in the Keokea area where the first trees appeared.
Cravalho became a legislator in the 1950’s and on to become the mayor of Maui County between 1969-1979. In the late 1950’s, Elmer pursuaded the Territorial Highway Commission officials to plant the Jacaranda trees along the upcountry highways including the Pukalani and Kula areas.

How big do the Jacaranda Trees grow?

These trees can grow up to a whopping height of 60 to 90 feet, and their canopy can spread as large as 30 feet! Depending how much water they receive, in 7 to 14 years a Jacaranda can reach a height of 25 to 30 feet.
Seedlings typically take up to two whole years to bloom! The purplish blue flowers have a small hint of a honey smell to them. Once the flowers have dropped to the ground, they lose their scent completely.
In some parts of the world, there are Jacarandas that are over 200 years old!

Where to find the Jacaranda

After all this talk, you must be ready to see the Jacaranda, and even take some photos too!

Upcountry is the beautiful countryside part of Maui. You will find this area on the Haleakala mountain side, away from the shoreline. The largest towns found Upcountry are Pukalani, Makawao, Kula and Haiku. This part of Maui is a very rural, agricultural and residential area. However, there is also quite a bit for visitors alike!

You definitely won’t be able to miss these trees during your drive up the mountain. Our favorite place to view the magic is on the road toward Maui Winery which is on Kula Highway. The Kula baseball park also has some beautiful views!
After visiting the Jacarandas, get ready for some coffee and chocolate!
Come visit us a MCCT, and you will even be able to spot Jacarandas on your way to us on Naalae road.

Breakfast at Grandma’s Coffee House

Would you like to make a full day of your trip Upcountry? First stop on the list, we would recommend having coffee and breakfast at our beloved Grandma’s Coffee House. You will find this cozy cafe with a scenic deck at 9232 Kula Highway. Relaxed vibes and organic coffee made from local, house-roasted beans. This is a great way to start your day off right!

A little bit of history on Grandma’s Coffee House. Grandma AKA Minnie Franco, was just 16 years old when she started hand-picking, drying and roasting wild coffee beans grown on the slopes of Haleakala! Back in 1918, water was extremely scarce, and this was the only stop for coffee Upcountry. Grandma would barter her brewed coffee with the ranchers and paniolo (cowboys) on their way back and forth from Ulupalakua and Kaupo.

To this day, the beans are still roasted in a century-old wood-fired roaster, the same one which Minnie acquired in 1885.
You can feel the history when you walk into this coffee shop. It is just like you are at Grandma’s! Not to mention, the baked goods are so very tasty!

Whether you come up country to see the Jacaranda, visit us at MCCT, or are heading all the way up to the volcano of Haleakala, we recommend putting this beautiful gem of Maui on your bucket list. It really is such a special place! Now that you know when Maui’s Jacaranda Spring into Bloom, tag us on instagram so we can see your photos of the Jacaranda!

The worldwide pandemic has changed and effected us all, especially businesses. There were some positive changes, while others negative. Hawaii has taken a drastic hit with Covid. Many businesses had to permanently close down, while others were able to transition and figure out a way to survive and thrive. This pandemic has given us “fresh eyes” and we chose to take the positive route, and find a solution! Continue reading if you would like to know how businesses in Hawaii have pivoted during COVID 19.

What is a business pivot?

This is the process of addressing a problem when a company is experiencing an important or difficult challenge that is keeping it from achieving its goals. This can include anything from changing a product to entering a new industry. Many businesses are transitioning into the online world, or learning to expand to clients or customers in new, innovative ways.

How MCCT has pivoted

Here at Maui Chocolate Coffee Tours (MCCT), we previously offered private tours or group tours. Now, with COVID 19 safety restrictions, we choose to offer private tours only. This allows us to stay open and operate in a very health safety environment for our guests and for those who live on the farm. Not only this, but it is also much better for our guests. You get a private and more intimate experience with more one on one interaction with your tour guide, and a better learning environment with the smaller size group. This is truly an exclusive experience! We are excited to offer a much more memorable and enhanced tour for our guests. We minimize the “footprint” at the farm and offer the “less is more” concept.

With MCCT making this transition into 2021, we are realizing very positive results. Unfortunately many other businesses are being deeply affected by the pandemic. I am now going to talk about a few of our favorite businesses and their success stories with adapting during this unprecedented time.

Miso Phat Kihei, Maui

Miso Phat is a sushi restaurant located in Kihei, Maui. With Covid hitting Hawaii quite hard, this restaurant needed to make a pivotal decision in order to save their business. Online ordering has become a very popular way of eating out. Restaurants on island are only operating at less than 50% capacity and people are cautious about dining in. This makes online ordering a huge convenience. Miso Phat made the business savvy decision to revamp their website with enhanced online food ordering with the expertise of Charles Oreve, the owner and CEO of the marketing agency, The X Concept.

Now, Miso Phat’s online sales have soared! They are doing better than they were pre-Covid, all with a few changes, business minded creativity and guidance from Charles.

Charles has also helped us at MCCT and Hawaii Farm Tour with the re designing of our website, and is currently building us a new website for Hawaii Farm Tour.

Hawaii Farms

All over the state, we have many farms. Some farms sell their vegetables at local farmers markets. Others sell produce in local heath food stores, Costco and local restaurants that have re-opened. In April 2020, when businesses really started to close down and quarantine came into effect, certain farms made the executive decision to start selling CSA boxes. These affordable farm boxes are packed with fresh fruit and veggies from your local farm, and delivered to your door. With this, you can take away the worry about going to the grocery store and getting possible exposure, and you also have the convenience of fresh food being delivered! Not to mention, there is zero waste, and the cardboard boxes are re used by the farms to pack future boxes.

The CSA farm boxes are quite affordable, making it an option for any family to have! Depending which farm you choose, some have organic options or even customization. This makes your weekly or bi weekly order unique to what you want. Click here or here to visit two different farms on Maui that offer CSA farm boxes.

There are many examples of how businesses in Hawaii have pivoted during Covid 19 and the creative new ways to operate their businesses. Some are bakeries that have shut down and started selling DIY baking kits. Others are wineries that could not offer in person tasting. Now you can order a tasting kit delivered to your door!

What ever it may be, it is quite interesting to see how the world has adjusted and changed. Especially during one of the most difficult times in history. We would love to hear your success story! Please share with us by tagging us on instagram or commenting below.

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