Producer   Zorzal

Region      Cacao Duarte

Cacao       70%   

Ferment    2 box system for 6 days

Drying      Greenhouse with mesh covered decks.

Story        This single estate organic cacao is grown and fermented within Charles Kerchner’s 1000 acre  bird sanctuary. 70% of the property is completely untouched and the remaining 30% is used to grow cacao. Kerchner produces cacao to sustainably finance the sanctuary operations.

Producer  Camino Verde

Region     Guyas

Cacao      70%

Ferment   Bag fermented for 6 days.

Drying      Sun drying patios and mechanical hot air when necessary.

Story        Vicente Norero is the owner of the Camino Verde fermentary which is located just outside of Guayaquil. Norero purchases wet beans from all over Ecuador and has years of experience in microbiology which adds a unique dimension to his fermentation process. Norero ferments in a humidity controlled room where he inoculates the cacao with enzymes to highlight the distinct flavours of the beans.

Producer   Cacao Tales

Region       Piura

Cacao        70%

Ferment     Linear box system for 7 days.

Drying        Sun dried on wooden beds.

Story          Cacao Tales was set up by Luis Mancinito connect smallholder farmers with chocolate makers globally. Cacao Tales works with a range of smallholder farmers in Northern Peru, providing a centralised bean processing infrastructure for the farmers to receive the best possible price for their beans. Cacao Tales is proud to work with the Gran Chililque co-op, which is run by a team of 50% women and 50% men.

Producer   Maya Mountain Cacao

Region      Toledo

Cacao       70%   

Ferment    Linear box system for 6 days.

Drying      Greenhouse with mesh covered decks.

Story        This private fermentary was set up to increase and stabilize the income of smallholder cocoa farmers. Maya Mountain Cacao purchases wet beans from multiple farmers and combine them during the fermentation and drying process. This combination also improves the quality of the cacao by centralising the post-harvesting processes. Maya Mountain Cacao is the first specialty grade cacao coming out of Belize.

Producer Akesson’s Organic Estate

Region     Sambirano

Cacao      70%

Ferment   4 tier box system for 6 days.

Drying      Drying decks on rails and sun patios.

Story        Akesson Estate is owned by Bertil Akesson and is located in northwestern Madagascar where cacao has been produced sincethe 1920s. Akesson’s highly regarded 2000 acre estate intercrops cacao with peppercorn trees which provide shade for the cacao trees below.

Producer   Kokoa Kamili

Region       Morogoro

Cacao        70%

Ferment     3 tier box system for 6 days.

Drying        Moveable mesh beds.

Story          Koko Kamili is a privately owned fermantary and social enterprise set up by Brian LoBue and Simran Bindra. They buy wet beans from over 3500 smallholder cacao farmers and combine them for fermentation. By centralising fermentation in a controlled environment Koko Kamili has helped improve the overall quality of the cacao, increasing income for the farmers.

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