Single Origin Beans
#SingleOrigin #DirectTrade
Saraca Island - Brazil
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Flavor Notes: Acai, Walnut
The Saraca people have been harvesting cacao for centuries, as it is a native species that grows wild and thrives in the floodplain biome. The cacao trees help maintain a healthy ecosystem and offer an ecologically-friendly monetary incentive for the Amazonian inhabitants to keep the forest they live in protected from logging, cattle ranching, and slash & burn agriculture.
River-Sea Chocolates believes the flavor specific to bean type, soil, climate, and the grower's touch are all to be celebrated. Most of the world's chocolate comes from big-chocolate processing facilities that mix commodity purchased cacao from bean brokers around the globe and process them together. What's lost in this approach is the unique regional qualities of each tree species and environment.
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Just like wine made with grapes from different regions carry distinct flavors, explore the world of chocolate by tasting the difference in our beans.
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La Colonia - Nicaragua
La Colonia is a community of hard working farmers in mountainous rainforests with no roads of electricity. They were cut off from industry and market knowledge that could help them earn a fair price for their harvests and were subjugated by buyers to only about $1.66/ day.
With the help of volunteer cacao agricultural specialists, the farmers (men and women) are now able to ferment and dry cacao beans, and have gained access to buyers willing to pay a price commensurate with the quality of their cacao. The community has selected roads and electricity as their first two community goals for the revenue.
Kilombero Valley - Tanzania​
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Winner of the 2017 Cacao of Excellence award, Tanzanian cocoa is among the best in the world. Kokao Kamili cooperative in the Kilombero Valley borders the Udzungwa Mountains, an area surrounded by highly fertile land with good rainfall.
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Kokoa Kamili works with approximately 1,500 small shareholder farmers, most of whom farm between 0.5-2 acres of cocoa.
Farms receive well above the market rate compensation and are paid immediately after the cooperative receives its wet beans.
Dak Nog- Vietnam
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Daknong province is located in the southwest of Vietnam’s Central Highlands. The region is known for the cultivation of coffee, pepper, and rubber.
Our beans are sourced through a French based company who works directly with family-owned cocoa farms across Vietnam. In each region, they partner with cacao groups of 30-40 members. Each group has a leader who, besides having a farm of 2-3 hectares, also buys wet beans from the others in the group and ferments them in wooden boxes at their farm. They purchase the cacao well beyond Fair Trade prices.
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Vanua Levu - Fiji
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Matasawalevu Cocoa Farm located on 100 acres in the hills of Dreketi, Macuata in Northern Fiji. The farm is part of a cocoa industry revitalization project led by Arif Khan of Cacao Fiji. Arif started Cacao Fiji in 2014 after tasting a chocolate bar sourced from Fiji beans and talking to farmers about the difficulties they had finding markets for their cocoa. Arif was inspired to return to his home country and build a link to the craft chocolate movement.
In 2015, Cacao Fiji’s Matasawalevu Cocoa was selected to be included in the 50 best samples leading up to the final International Cocoa Awards.
Ucayali River - Peru
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Ucayali River Cacao is a central fermentary that works with cocoa farmers along the Ucayali River outside of the Peruvian city of Pucallpa. The region has historically been afflicted with unrest from narco-trafficking and the presence of the Shining Path militant group. Ucayali River Cacao has partnered with USAID and Alianza Peru to give local farmers access to an alternate market to cocaine. Working with around 400 smallholder farmers with one to three hectares of land each, Ucayali River Cacao buys wet cacao at a premium price.
Anamalai - India
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Anamalai Farm is a cocoa, coconut, and nutmeg farm located near the town of Pollachi, in a region famous throughout India for its high quality coconuts. Harish Manoj and Karthi Palaniswamy, who own and operate Anamalai, have intercropped their own coconut palms with cocoa and nutmeg trees to diversify and keep the land healthy. They manage their water use with drip irrigation and keep a small herd of cows for weeding and manure compost. While the majority of the harvest is processed for export, a small portion goes to Harish and Karthi’s local line of bean to bar chocolates, which they are producing to keep up with India’s growing demand for craft chocolate.
Chumphon Collective - Thailand
A growing independent group of Thai cacao farmers with a mission we support: to empower and improve the lives of farmers, and the well-being of their families and the community they live in.
Chumphon Collective sources fresh cacao pods from 9 districts in the Chanthaburi Province. The fresh cacao pods are delivered to the Jaisutthi family farm for post harvesting (fermentation and drying) under Collective standards and farmers are paid at farmgate on the spot.
Santa Marta - Colombia
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Flavor Notes: Apricots, Floral and Fudge.
From Sierra Nevada, where snow-capped mountains overlook the Caribbean sea. The cacao is a notorious Criollo varietal, characterized by low bitterness and heavy floral tasting notes. Grown by indigenous farmers; imported via Sail Cargo.
Ucayali River - Peru
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Ucayali River Cacao is a central fermentary that works with cocoa farmers along the Ucayali River outside of the Peruvian city of Pucallpa. The region has historically been afflicted with unrest from narco-trafficking and the presence of the Shining Path militant group. Ucayali River Cacao has partnered with USAID and Alianza Peru to give local farmers access to an alternate market to cocaine. Working with around 400 smallholder farmers with one to three hectares of land each, Ucayali River Cacao buys wet cacao at a premium price.
Anamalai - India
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Anamalai Farm is a cocoa, coconut, and nutmeg farm located near the town of Pollachi, in a region famous throughout India for its high quality coconuts. Harish Manoj and Karthi Palaniswamy, who own and operate Anamalai, have intercropped their own coconut palms with cocoa and nutmeg trees to diversify and keep the land healthy. They manage their water use with drip irrigation and keep a small herd of cows for weeding and manure compost. While the majority of the harvest is processed for export, a small portion goes to Harish and Karthi’s local line of bean to bar chocolates, which they are producing to keep up with India’s growing demand for craft chocolate.