Two miles up the mountain slope from the blue waters of Kealakekua Bay on the west side of Hawaii island lie the family farms that produce the nuts we use in our macadamia nut butters. At an elevation of almost 1000 feet, the microclimate is perfect for the growth of these trees, planted by the forebearers of the families who tend these trees and harvest the nuts to this day.
When the Tiny Isle macadamia nut butter product line was conceived, part of what inspired it was the unique availability of raw, air-dried macadamia nuts from these farms. This is important whether we're making raw macadamia nut butter for the Original or Kauai Honey flavors or toasting them for the Toasted and Chocolate flavors.
We visited Rock Bottom Road farm in 2018, where Doug the farm manager (and 2nd generation macadamia nut farmer) showed us the trees and processing facilities. The orchard's rocky soil supports these 80-year-old trees surprisingly well, and the ground below the trees is paved with the green fallen nuts waiting to be scooped up by the harvesters.
While there is some machinery involved in the processing of macadamia nuts, it is primarily manual labor that goes into harvesting, hulling, drying, and cracking of the nuts.
We're proud to be using these nuts, and we're sure you'll enjoy them as much as we do.