Although it was just introduced into the American market in September, 2004, Plantations chocolate has been in development since 1997. It was then that Pierrick Chouard (founder of Vintage Chocolates and eChocolates.com) visited Ecuador and got the idea to develop a chocolate using 100% Nacional cacao beans.

At the turn of the 20th century, Ecuador led the world in cacao production and one of its key competitive advantages was the Nacional cacao bean – the golden seed – the only source of the famed Arriba chocolate flavor. Since the 1920’s, the Ecuadorian cacao industry has fallen on hard times and has only recently started to recover. One key element of that recovery is a forastero cacao hybrid that goes by the name CCN51. CCN51 is grown because it is a high-yielding and disease-resistant variety, not because of its superior taste.

A cacao seedling nursery near Guayaquil.

For Pierrick, the trip to Ecuador was an eye-opener. Not only was he distressed at the state of the cacao crop but he saw firsthand the plight of the smallholder cacao farmer. He decided the world would be a poorer place if Nacional cacao was allowed to fall by the wayside and that by working to reinvigorate the Nacional crop he could also enrich the lives of cacao farmers. This notion followed him through his travels through the region over the next several years.

Unlike many other chocolate professionals, Pierrick has made chocolate his profession since leaving college. After receiving a degree in Tropical Agronomy from the prestigious institute ISTOM, he joined M&M Mars working on improving the quality of the cacao they sourced from Africa for their European chocolate operations. After leaving Mars he came to the US and eventually went to work with Leonidas/Daskalides and then helped establish Neuhaus in the US. With a partner he started Café-Tasse chocolates in 1993 and after being bought out in 1996, founded Vintage Chocolate and began importing Michel Cluizel products.

Not too long after visiting Ecuador, Pierrick learned that the Rainforest Alliance was developing a certification program for cacao. Like coffee, cacao can be grown in relative harmony with the rainforest. In their natural state, cacao stands serve as refuges for a huge variety of birds and animals that roam Latin America’s rainforests. However, economic pressures have caused many farmers to replace native cacao with hybrid strains that are grown in open sun and that require the application of large quantities of pesticides and fertilizers.

The Rainforest Alliance and its Ecuadorian partner Conservacion y Desarollo (Conservation and Development or CyD) have been working since 1997 to restore Ecuador’s native cocoa heritage and return it to a sustainable state. This coalition is providing technical assistance, training, and financing to cacao farmers, producers, and processors. The standards for sustainable cacao production maintain critical conservation areas, reduce pressures to cut down rainforest, and provide social and economic benefits to local communities. As a result, all of the cacao used to make Plantations chocolate is grown under the shaded canopy without the use of chemicals. Furthermore, farmers are being trained in the important steps of post-harvest processing, especially proper fermentation, and are paid a significant premium over prevailing market prices to deliver well fermented, well dried cacao to be made into Plantations chocolate. While Plantations chocolate is not yet certified organic, the cooperative from which Plantations sources its cacao is scheduled to receive its organic certification in 2005.

Developed by CyD, these simple and inexpensive maquesinas can be located right on the plantation enabling farmers to dry their cacao properly even on rainy days.

In contrast to the decision made by many other chocolate companies, the beans used to make Plantations chocolate are not shipped to the United States for processing; instead Plantations chocolate is manufactured “in country” in Ecuador. While this required substantial investment in upgrading the manufacturing capabilities of a local processor, it provides the benefit of shortening the distance between the farmer and the factory, enabling Plantations representatives to closely supervise post-harvest processing steps and ensure that they get priority access to this higher quality cacao. Representatives from the factory travel to the cooperative on a weekly basis, ensuring that the premium paid to produce quality beans gets paid directly to the farmer and not to some middleman. All of the wrapping takes place in Ecuador; the finished product is not shipped to the US for re-melting and packing providing further relatively high-wage opportunities for Ecuadorian workers.

Plantations chocolate is made without any masking flavors or emulsifiers or the addition of extra cocoa butter. This required rethinking many aspects of the manufacturing process and it also places great emphasis on getting beans that have been properly fermented. (The beans Plantations uses have been certified genetically by CIRAD, the French agricultural research institute, as being true Nacional type.) Conching and refining gets the particle size well below 20 microns ensuring that the chocolate is not gritty and is nicely fluid when melted.

As a result, Plantations chocolate is naturally very low in acidity while exhibiting the fruity/floral notes Arriba is famous for, and consumers know that they are getting a chocolate that is true to the underlying beans that are being used.

Plantations chocolate is available at The Chocolate Co-Op. 1kg bars suitable for baking and making confections are available in 55%, 65%, 75%, 90%, and 100% cocoa contents, and 100gr bars for eating are available in 65%, 75%, 90%, and 100%. A 38% milk chocolate is also available.

To learn more about the Rainforest Alliance’s sustainable Agriculture Certification program click here.

To learn more about the Rainforest Alliance’s certification principles click here.