Lydgate Farms Awarded Top Prize at the Cacao of Excellence Awards
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Lydgate Farms awarded the top prize at the Cacao of Excellence Awards
Hawaiian cacao farmer and local business owner Will Lydgate recently returned from Europe where he accepted gold at the prestigious Cacao of Excellence Awards recognizing Lydgate Farms for its high quality cacao (the agricultural product used to make chocolate).
Every two years, cacao farmers from around the world submit samples of their best cacao beans. The Cacao of Excellence 2023 edition received 222 cacao samples from 55 cacao producing countries. Standardized chocolate samples are made from the cacao beans following a uniform chocolate-making process and recipe. Then an independent panel blindly judges each chocolate based on its quality and flavor.
In late 2023, Lydgate Farms was named Top 50 Best in the world (its third time receiving the designation) and was invited to attend an awards ceremony at the Chocoa Festival in Amsterdam where gold, silver, and bronze recipients were announced. Representing the Asia & the Pacific region, ‘Will Lydgate and the Lydgate Farms Ohana’ was awarded gold.
Reflecting on the honor of bringing the gold back to Kauai (Hawaii), Mr. Lydgate shared, “This gold award was for my team, because I wanted them to know what a good job they are doing, and that they are producing the best cacao in the world. Lydgate Farms has become something bigger than me. We are making something special for Kauai, this place we all love so much.
I think we can make Hawaii a place people come for good chocolate. We may never be able to compete on volume, but we can make the top quality in the world, and we get a lot of support from our locals and visitors who come and buy the products. We have shown that farm tours are going to be a big part of regenerative agriculture and tourism in the future.
Farming has so many challenges, but this award makes it all worthwhile. And we are so stoked to share this with the community.”
In addition to growing award-winning cacao, Lydgate Farms is a pioneer of farm tours on Kauai. Ranked both as TripAdvisors #1 Tour on Kauai and the #1 Farm in Hawaii, it offers visitors a unique opportunity to see a working cacao farm and to taste top-quality Hawaiian chocolate.
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Lydgate Farms wants to change the way the world tastes chocolate, one person at a time, one bar at a time. Owned and operated by a 5th generation Kauai family, the farm business employs 26 staff that steward over 3,000 cacao trees across 46-acres, in addition to vanilla, and other tropical plants. The farm offers weekday farm tours and chocolate tastings from their upcountry estate on the east side of Kauai. Learn more at lydgatefarms.com
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Media Contact:
Ryan Gallagher
General Manager
808-821-1857
