Cacao Products

Theobroma cacao, also known as the cacao tree, is a small evergreen tree in the family Malvaceae, native to the deep tropical regions of Central and South America. Its seeds, cacao beans, are used to make cacao mass, cacao powder, and chocolate.

Our Cacao Products

Our local team in the Peruvian jungle carries out a wide number of quality control measures on all our cacao crops and also supervise the production of other crops by third parties. We firmly believe that, as far as Cacao is concerned, the crops of greatest value are those that are grown with agro-forestry methods. Agro-forestry involves growing cocoa under the forest cover together with other endemic species, the incidence of pests is reduced to a minimum and the quality in terms of taste also improves. The agroforestry method is much more ecological than the most common monoculture methods, since it respects the native forests and their importance for the health of the crop:

  • Only agroforested cacao

    We source all of the organic cacao beans used for our liquor, paste, nibs and powder from agro-forested farms only and not from farms, that practice mono-cropping. Mono-culture (single crop farming) has a higher incidence of pesticide use even when organically certified.

  • Cooperating partners completely mapped

    Each cooperative we partner with has been fully mapped. We do pesticide testing at source and take many other factors into account when assessing the quality of produce from each individual farm within a cacao growing cooperative.

  • 100% Traceability

    When purchasing beans, the overall lot/batch is split into sub-lots which relate to a particular farm or area within a cooperative. Should problems arise with a particular batch, it can be 100% traced back to the source of the problem sub-lot.

  • Second round of tests

    Once the cacao has been processed into butter, liquor, nibs or powder, it is stored in Lima for a second round of randomized testing for heavy metals & pesticides. Only once these tests are passed does the product ship to final customers.

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