COSTA ESMERALDAS

Ecuador

SHOP THIS ORIGIN

ABOUT COSTA ESMERALDAS

In the province of Esmeraldas along the Pacific Coast of Ecuador

On a 100-hectare cacao farm, the Salazar family owns and operates the business. The cacao orchards were established six years ago on former cattle pasture with very steep terrain. All members of the Salazar family actively participate in the cacao business and have been able to create forty full-time jobs for the local community. 

Along with Nacional hybrid cacao trees, different fruits -- oranges, limes, lemons, bananas, plantain and papaya, to name a few -- are interspersed to reduce erosion on the steep terrain and the fruit is eaten by everyone on the farm. 

Learn more about this cacao origin

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.

Flavor Profile of Cacao Beans:

Roasted Nuts, fruit, floral

POST HARVEST PROCESSING

Fermentation

Centrally fermented in cascading wooden boxes

Fermented for five 1/2 days 

Harvest Season

July through September

Drying Protocol

Solar drying on sliding mesh racks under high-walled polyethylene tunnels

Certifications

USDA Organic Certified

Fermentation

Centrally fermented in cascading wooden boxes

Fermented for five 1/2 days 

Harvest Season

July through September

Drying Protocol

Solar drying on sliding mesh racks under high-walled polyethylene tunnels

Certifications

USDA Organic Certified

FERMENTATION & DRYING

The post-harvest facility is built on a nearby off-farm site with an unusually dry and sunny micro-climate which greatly limits mold development and bacterial spoilage during the drying process.