You know that bumper sticker “No Farms, No Food”? Well, the same goes for cacao. We simply wouldn’t have chocolate if it weren’t for farmers, so we can’t talk about chocolate without shining a light on a few of the equatorial operations behind your favorite bars.
FARMS
AKESSON’S ORGANIC/SOMIA PLANTATION
Akesson’s farmers raking beans
Location: Sambirano Valley, Madagascar
Farmer: Bertil Åkesson
Used by: Dandelion, Dick Taylor, Fruition, Guittard, Omnom, Patric, Pump Street, Raaka, Ritual, Woodblock
In addition to cacao, Akesson’s farms banana trees, coffee, ylang-ylang, peppercorns, vanilla, and vetiver. They’ve been working their 2,300-hectare estate since 1920.
APEOSAE
Location: Zamora, Ecuador
Farmer: Monica Guaman
Used by: Askinosie, The Other Bar
It takes a plane, car, and boat to get to Zamora, where indigenous farmers grow cacao, coffee, and plantains deep in the Amazon rainforest. One 70-year-old farmer named Lenore farms the rare criollo varietal that’s been in the region for centuries.
ANAMALAI ESTATE
Location: Tamil Nadu, India
Farmer: Harish Manoj, Karthi Palaniswamy
Used by: Areté, Dandelion, Five Mile Chocolate, Solstice, Tiny House
This cacao, coconut, and nutmeg estate is run by two brothers-in-law, who also sell their own bars locally. They use drip irrigation to conserve water, and keep a small herd of cows for weeding and manure compost.
FERMENTARIES
KOKOA KAMILI
Fermentation boxes at Kokoa Kamili Fermentary
Location: Mbingu, Tanzania
Used by: 9th & Larkin, Areté, Askinosie, Dandelion, LetterPress, Nuance, Omnom, Raaka
Kokoa Kamili oversees fermentation and drying for farmers, helping them improve quality to get higher prices, and delivers seedlings back to the farms to increase future harvests.
MAYA MOUNTAIN
Sorting beans at Maya Mountain Fermentary
Location: Toledo, Belize
Used by: Dandelion, Dick Taylor, Ethereal, Raaka, Ritual, Taza
Maya Mountain ferments and dries beans from the certified organic farms of Mopan Maya and Q’eqchi’ farmers and provides them with equipment and training loans.
CAMINO VERDE
Cacao pod at Camino Verde Fermentary
Location: Duran, Ecuador
Used by: Dandelion, Dick Taylor, Ethereal, Ritual, Solstice, Videri
Formerly a cacao farmer, owner Vicente Norero now processes beans and consults farmers. He has a reputation for precision, working like a winemaker to control ferment and isolate regional flavors.
Linni Kral
Linni Kral is a writer, editor, activist, and friend living in Brooklyn, with past lives in Boston, L.A., and Chicago. Her writing has been featured in the Atlantic & Atlas Obscura, among others. She’s happiest in the company of cows, books, and groceries.
