• Our Farm

    Our family owned and operated single-estate 100-hectare cacao farm

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    A cacao pod being cracked open
  • Post-Harvesting

    Learn more about what goes into our fermentation, drying, and other post-harvest processes to bring our the very best from our cacao beans

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    Fermented cacao beans
  • Cacao Beans

    Our cacao beans have won numerous awards by both chocolate makers and have been recognized by the Cocoa of Excellence as one of the best cacao beans in the world

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    Roasted Cacao Beans

Costa Esmeraldas Cacao

Costa Esmeraldas Cacao Co. is the fruit of a dream to reconnect with nature, our roots and genuine flavors.

We operate a family owned cacao orchard in the northern coast of Ecuador, in the Esmeraldas province. Since 2008 we have made efforts to rehabilitate cattle pasture and mono-crop forest plantations into agroforestry systems where cacao is intercropped with fruit and local trees. One of our goals is to protect primary and secondary-growth forest. In here we can host local and endangered species that are left without a home due to the continuous expansion of the agricultural frontier.

Cacao produced in these agroforestry systems is carefully and meticulously processed, resulting in true exotic flavours featuring: Clean and clear raisin browned fruit note, and fresh fruit notes, floral, blueberry, coconut. Herbal or green bitter taste. Good balance to the core attributes. Mild sweetness. Astringency has a “velvety” quality. *

Costa Esmeraldas won the Cocoa of Excellence cacao liquor tasting evaluation and award 2019 edition.

Travel with us to the northern Ecuadorian coast and taste our expression of Nacional Cacao. Here you will find harmony between the sea breeze and the last patches of coastal cloud forest.

There are myriad and diverse wildlife in the region which are able to travel through our orchard via wild-life corridors. We aim to leave better soil, water and wildlife corridors for the generations to come. The Salazar family began to change the environment by implementing a new model, cultivating cocoa, fruit trees and species from the area, which creates an environment that attracts species of local flora and fauna to re-inhabit the place. After a period of research, they set out to produce the best cocoa beans in the world; taking care of every step of the cultivation, harvest and postharvest; in a meticulous, careful and detailed way in order to enhance the flavors and aromas of its beans. It is thanks to this effort, perseverance and commitment that it has become recognized as one of the best cocoa beans in the world.

Cocoa of Excellence

The Farm

Quilted Cacao

The Farm

Our single estate family farm is less than 10 miles inland from the town of Muisne in the Esmeraldas province. Cacao orchards were established six years ago on former cattle pasture with very steep terrain. Establishment of cacao, timber, and other fruit trees has reduced erosion on the farm site. Esmeraldas has an unusual climate, with little variation in average temperatures. The region has relatively short wet season from January to May each year, but during the dry season, the weather is almost always overcast with light drizzling rain.

The Costa Esmeraldas Family

Our Family

Costa Esmeraldas is a family owned and operated 100-hectare cacao farm. All members of the Salazar family (Fredy, Monica, and siblings Freddy and Indira) actively participate in the cacao business. Freddy is directly responsible for managing operations at the farm and post-harvest center.

Management of the cacao orchards create over 40 full-time jobs within the local community in rural Esmeraldas.

Origin Visits

Chocolate makers using Costa Esmeraldas beans, or those interested in learning more about the farm and process are welcome to schedule a visit to Ecuador. Please contact us for details.

Cacao Up Close

Cacao Beans

Flavour

Strong base chocolate, roasted nuts, light fruit and floral notes. Low acidity and very low bitterness and astringency.

Physical Qualities

Large, uniform size beans. 70 beans/100 grams. Exceptionally clean red-brown beans.

Genetics

Ecuadorian Nacional hybrids: EET-95, EET-96, EET-103

Notes

All cacao fruits are harvested, broken, and placed into fermentation boxes on the same day.

Order Bean Samples

To order or inquire about Costa Esmeraldas cacao bean samples, please fill out the form below.

Demonstrate what fermenting cacao looks like

Post-Harvest

Fermentation

Five-tiered cascade system. Cedro (Cedrela odorata) wood boxes with ~450 kg capacity. The fermenting mass is turned once at 36 hours, and then every morning until fermentation is complete. Total duration of fermentation is 5 ½ days.

Drying

All cacao is sun dried on sliding mesh racks. High-walled polyethylene tunnels cover all drying structures. Gradual drying is practiced during the first three days. Finish-drying to a moisture content of 7% is on concrete patios.

Grading

On every harvest day, each fermentation box is assigned an ID number. After fermentation and drying, cacao is sampled drawn from each ID number and is evaluated on appearance, aroma, and fermentation level.  Only cacao that meets our quality standard is retained and blended for our export grade product.

Aging

All dry cacao is stored in breathable jute bags for at least two months to allow oxidation and volatilization of acidity. After aging, beans are checked for moisture content, and if necessary, spread for re-drying. To prevent moisture ingress, contaminating aromas, and insect infestation, all aged cacao is stored and shipped in GrainPro-lined jute sacks.

Blending

Once we have a full container load (12.5 MT) of graded cacao in storage, we evenly blend all export grade beans so that once chocolate makers determine a roasting profile and processing protocol, it can be predictably applied to each sack contained in a single order of cacao. Typically, each separate fermentation and drying lot produces four to five sacks of finished cacao. In our facility, it’s possible to blend about three metric tons at a time, so we make four to five blends with one sack from each lot to produce a full container-load with a consistent composition.

Contact Us

To inquire about bean samples, purchasing, visiting our farm, or if you have any questions, please use the form below.

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