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
FARMER IMPACT
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 & 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.
