{"id":186865,"date":"2023-11-12T07:55:24","date_gmt":"2023-11-12T17:55:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=186865"},"modified":"2023-11-13T10:04:15","modified_gmt":"2023-11-13T20:04:15","slug":"manoa-chocolate-butterbaugh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2023\/11\/12\/manoa-chocolate-butterbaugh\/","title":{"rendered":"From bean to bar, <abbr>UH<\/abbr> alum turned international chocolatier got his start at M\u0101noa"},"content":{"rendered":"<span class=\"span-reading-time rt-reading-time\" style=\"display: block;\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\">Reading time: <\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\"> 3<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">minutes<\/span><\/span><div class=\"responsive-video-wrap-post\"><figure class=\"wp-block-embed wp-block-embed-youtube is-type-video is-provider-youtube epyt-figure\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><div class=\"epyt-video-wrapper\"><iframe  id=\"_ytid_77225\"  width=\"676\" height=\"676\"  data-origwidth=\"676\" data-origheight=\"676\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Crrlubjxhwk?enablejsapi=1&origin=https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu&rel=0&autoplay=0&cc_load_policy=0&cc_lang_pref=&iv_load_policy=1&loop=0&fs=1&playsinline=0&autohide=2&theme=dark&color=red&controls=1&disablekb=0&\" class=\"__youtube_prefs__  no-lazyload\" title=\"From bean to bar, Â鶹´«Ã½alum turned international chocolatier got his start at M\u0101noa\"  allow=\"fullscreen; accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen data-no-lazy=\"1\" data-skipgform_ajax_framebjll=\"\"><\/iframe><\/div><\/div><\/figure><\/div>\n<p>Internationally recognized chocolatier Dylan Butterbaugh\u2019s passion for chocolate began when he was a student at University of <span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> M&#257;noa&#8212;but it was completely unrelated to his major. The founder of <a href=\"https:\/\/manoachocolate.com\">M&#257;noa Chocolate<\/a> graduated in 2011 with a degree in Spanish and interdisciplinary studies, but spent a lot of his time at <abbr title=\"University of Hawaii\">UH<\/abbr> in a lab with his friend Dan O\u2019Doherty, who was studying cacao as a potentially viable crop for <span aria-label=\"Hawaii.\">Â鶹´«Ã½.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I&#8217;d go into this lab and help him crack pods open, set up micro ferments and make chocolate on a really small scale,&rdquo; said Butterbaugh, who was helping in a <a href=\"https:\/\/cms.ctahr.hawaii.edu\/\">College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources<\/a> (<abbr>CTAHR<\/abbr>) lab with Emeritus Professor Harry &ldquo;Skip&rdquo; Bittenbender. &ldquo;[Skip] was so receptive to allowing just any student to come in and hang out in the lab and learn about whatever crops he was specialized in.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Manoa-ChocolateA-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"manoa chocolate shop\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-186847\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Manoa-ChocolateA-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Manoa-ChocolateA-130x73.jpg 130w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Manoa-ChocolateA.jpg 676w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>This is when Butterbaugh made his first piece of chocolate, all the way from the cacao tree to the finished product. Ironically, he didn&#8217;t even like chocolate before volunteering in the lab!<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Until I tried what Dan was making in that lab, and I tasted things like cherries and spices,&rdquo; Butterbaugh explained. &ldquo;I thought he&#8217;d added or infused these flavors somehow\u2026he said, &lsquo;no, no, that&#8217;s genetics, and that&#8217;s, like, the environment that it grows in.&rsquo; And I just thought that was so neat, because until then, I thought a Hershey bar was a chocolate bar.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<h2>Starting with trees<\/h2>\n<p>The experience inspired Butterbaugh to try his hand at producing high-quality chocolate grown and manufactured in <span aria-label=\"Hawaii.\">Â鶹´«Ã½.<\/span> He feared that growing and selling cacao seeds wasn\u2019t the right place for him to start, as the labor and growing costs were too high. Instead, he dreamt of how he might turn cacao farming into a viable industry for <span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> as whole&#8212;namely, by establishing a manufacturing center to turn those crops into finished, value-added products.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/25200034-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"chocolate bars on pan\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-186849\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/25200034-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/25200034-130x73.jpg 130w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/25200034.jpg 676w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I&#8217;d always wanted to grow trees,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;So I kind of wanted to figure out, &lsquo;How do I create a job that can grow trees and still make a living for myself? Where I can stay in the state of <span aria-label=\"Hawaii,\">Â鶹´«Ã½,<\/span> which is where I was born and raised?&rsquo;&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I&#8217;ve come to realize there&#8217;s two different types of industries here,&rdquo; Butterbaugh added. &ldquo;One is making candy and we&#8217;re trying to make really, really high-end chocolate. That&#8217;s a lot more like food.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Butterbaugh documented all of his successes and failures through his YouTube channel, with the intention of helping other chocolate makers and entrepreneurs. His videos have gained traction in the chocolate community, and he now has more than 30,000 subscribers from all over the world. In fact, a <abbr>UH<\/abbr> family member traveling through Poland heard about M&#257;noa Chocolate Factory and Butterbaugh\u2019s YouTube channel from a Polish chocolatier who is very grateful for the insights and expertise that he shares with the world.<\/p>\n<h2>Focus on sustainable development<\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Manoa-Chocolate4-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"chocolate pouring\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-186846\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Manoa-Chocolate4-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Manoa-Chocolate4-130x73.jpg 130w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Manoa-Chocolate4.jpg 676w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>M&#257;noa Chocolate\u2019s name originated from the Hawaiian word m&#257;noa which means solid, vast and depth. Butterbaugh found this name fitting: it summed up his goal to (1) make chocolate with deep, complex flavor profiles, and (2) create a vast impact on <span aria-label=\"Hawaii\u2019s\">Â鶹´«Ã½\u2019s<\/span> agricultural and manufacturing industries.<\/p>\n<p>M&#257;noa Chocolate incorporates sustainability through its packaging by using a plant-based cellulose film that is biodegradable. The exterior packaging is made out of paper to help keep more plastic out of the landfill. To further promote sustainability and eliminate waste, M&#257;noa also uses the shell of the cacao seed (a commonly wasted byproduct of the chocolate-making process) to make a delicious chocolate tea that has become very popular.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We use (additional) ingredients that everyone in <span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> loves; lilikoi, mango, coconut, banana, etc,&rdquo; said Butterbaugh. &ldquo;We also love doing single-origin bars where the cacao comes from different <span aria-label=\"ahupuaa\">ahupua&#699;a<\/span> in the state. This gives these bars a unique flavor profile.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>M&#257;noa Chocolate has a production facility located in <span aria-label=\"Kapaa\">Kapa&#699;a<\/span> Quarry Industrial Park, and a shop in Kailua which offers both in-depth chocolate tastings and pairings with wine. The in-house process of making M&#257;noa Chocolate includes roasting, tempering and molding the chocolate, with the Kailua shop manufacturing up to 7,000 bars per day. They sell their products across the Hawaiian Islands and the continental United States.<\/p>\n<p>Butterbaugh described his experience at <abbr>UH<\/abbr> M&#257;noa as a time that &ldquo;incubated M&#257;noa Chocolate.&rdquo; He loved Bittenbender\u2019s willingness to let him participate in lab work and the flexibility he had to craft a degree that fit his interests. M&#257;noa Chocolate is thriving due to Butterbaugh\u2019s commitment to locally-sourced products. Making <span aria-label=\"Hawaiigrown\">Â鶹´«Ã½-grown<\/span> chocolate and spreading aloha&#8212;a recipe for a sweet success story.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Founder and owner of M&#257;noa Chocolate Dylan Butterbaugh\u2019s passion for the business began in his undergraduate studies at <abbr>UH<\/abbr> M&#257;noa.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[90,679,212,734,1472,9,66],"class_list":["post-186865","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-people","tag-alumni","tag-alumni-recognition","tag-college-of-tropical-agriculture-and-human-resilience","tag-entrepreneurship","tag-interdisciplinary-studies-program","tag-uh-manoa","tag-windward-community-college","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/186865","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=186865"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/186865\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":186891,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/186865\/revisions\/186891"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=186865"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=186865"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=186865"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}