Cacao trees grow 20 degrees north and south of the equator.  About 90% of the world’s cacao is grown in Africa.

Do you know where your beans come from?

Not a lot of companies can say this, but we have a direct relationship with our grower, a vertical supply chain where we choose to have transparency to show how the beans are grown, harvested, fermented, and dried.  It took Patricia 5 years to develop a relationship with a grower.  “Many companies didn’t want to divulge the information of exactly what region the beans were coming from, even how they were fermented and if the beans were roasted.  I found that very odd.  Why do you need to be so secretive about the beans unless you are hiding something?  It’s not easy to make chocolate and to develop a sustainable relationship with a grower.”  We are fortunate to have partnered up with a family-owned plantation in Tabasco, Mexico.  The grower isn’t producing quantity, but quality.  The grower understands each tree, how and when to pick the pods, the weather conditions during the maturation cycle and uses all the information for ideal fermentation.   These pesticide-free beans come from cacao trees that cover 29 acres.  This plantation is over 100 years old with robust cacao trees and is also a small hub for much research and development for different varieties of cacao – non GMO.  This is a true terroir region for cacao as this was the original cacao-producing areas during the Mayan and Aztec period.  Our grower uses pesticide-free methods of fumigating their cacao trees.  A mixture of garlic, vinegar and water serve as a natural pesticide that is sprayed on the trees.  And…There is no child slavery – a much longer and important topic.