Island Princess is a local brand of Made in Hawaii candies, snacks, and treats. This Kamaaina company has their own macadamia nut orchards on the Big Island of Hawaii where the finest macadamia nuts are grown, hand picked, and processed to create the foundation for all of their delectable gourmet confections. The attention to quality that starts off with their macadamia nuts, also carries into all of the other ingredients used in their original recipes.
The Island Princess corporate office and candy manufacturing plant is on Oahu, but we recently found out that Island Princess has an office at their macadamia nut farm (not open to the public) in Keaau where we live. This was great news to us as it gave us an opportunity to sample and review some of their wonderful products, and it insured that we could always get the freshest Hawaiian candies for our online customers. We are now selling some of these Hawaiian candies and gourmet snacks that we got to enjoy. Following is a candy review of the Island Princess Candies we now offer.
Island Princess Mini Meles toffee coated macadamia nuts covered in milk chocolate--Review: This delicious candy starts with perfectly roasted macadamia nuts (halves and pieces) that are coated with a thin tasty toffee hard candy shell, then drenched in smooth milk chocolate with a final dusting of white powdered sugar. I think this added touch makes a nice visual statement as the white powdered sugar contrasts beautifully with the rich brown chocolate color of the candy. The Mini Meles are related to the famous Mele Macs that is the same candy but with whole macadamia nuts in the center instead of halves and pieces. These candies can be quite addictive as they have a sweet complex taste and sublime combination of textures.
Island Princess Dark chocolate covered Kona coffee beans from Hawaii--Review: Aromatic Kona coffee beans and espresso coffee beans are custom roasted to perfection then wrapped in a layer of rich dark chocolate. This high quality chocolate seals in the taste, flavor and aroma of the precious coffee bean like a secret wonderful surprise. When you bite into it there is a pleasant sensation of the smooth lingering chocolate with the light crunchy gritty texture of the roasted coffee bean. This coffee candy confection is great to have around when you want the caffeine but can't get to a cup of coffee.
Island Princess Wasabi macadamia nuts with authentic Japanese wasabi--Review: First of all if you are not familiar with wasabi or "Japanese horseradish", it s a root used as a spice and has an extremely strong flavor. Its heat or hotness is more like a hot mustard rather than the capsaicin in a chili pepper, and the vapors irritate your nose more than your tongue. This unique snack starts with a roasted macadamia nut half or piece that is then coated 3 times with a real wasabi (not cheaper imitation wasabi) mixture to ensure an intense spicy flavor throughout.
It is then baked into a crispy crunchy wafer thin shell--if you have ever tasted an iso peanut snack, that is what it reminds us of. This is not surprising as both are made with mochi rice flour or glutinous rice flour which creates a delicate crisp cracker texture. Don't just pop a bunch into your mouth unless you are brave or will absolutely love the rush of hotness that will stream out of your nostrils! Start with one green colored piece of wasabi mac nut and put your tongue to it. You will immediately feel a hot burn on your tongue and taste the phenomenally strong wasabi flavor. Its intenseness is short lived and mellows so you can bite into the macadamia nut and experience the wonderful combination of flavors and textures together.
Island Princess Chocolate covered macadamia nut candies--Review: How to improve on a classic combination of chocolate covered macadamia nuts? First they use a custom blended chocolate recipe of rich milk chocolate with a hint of dark chocolate for just the right amount of sweetness. To keep the special flavor and texture of the roasted macadamia nut intact, they then layer the chocolate in two separate steps. The resulting candy is fun to eat and tastes great!
All of these Hawaiian candies and snacks come in clear 5 oz. plastic jars with nice labels and cost $7.25 each. They fit nicely into our custom Hawaiian lauhala gift baskets where you can choose from all of the Hawaiian products we offer to create your own custom Hawaiian gift basket.
Choose from our handmade Hawaiian natural candles, Hawaiian perfumes, Hawaiian soaps, Hawaiian lotions, Hawaiian bath salts, Kona coffee, macadamia nuts, and other Hawaiian gourmet treats.