Which country grows the best cacao?

Image by Bean To Bar World.

The honest truth is the existence of fine cacao is grown in a range of countries, and can be grown anywhere cacao can grow. Many countries where fine cacao is grown also grow a great deal bulk cacao. Some cacao sold as fine cacao from reputable countries can sometimes be mediocre at best. To overgeneralize that one country is superior in regards to cacao is not only untrue, but can actually harm the effort of conserving and encouraging fine cacao around the world.

It may be safe to assume that a chocolate bar with the origin “Bolivia” would more likely be a higher quality chocolate than say a bar with the origin of Ivory Coast or Ghana. This is due to the fact that countries like Ivory Coast or Ghana are the power houses for most of the cacao in the world, almost all of which is lower quality bulk cacao. The chance that cacao grown from there is a fine quality is slim, but it doesn’t mean it’s not possible. It would be unwise to assume all cacao from Bolivia is going to be of fine quality. As well, it would be counterproductive to completely ignore a bar because the cacao was grown in Ghana. It is true, that when I see origins like Ghana or Ivory Coast, I am very skeptical, and with good reason. Truth is, I have yet to have chocolate made with that origin that I would consider fine or interesting, or worth the price tag of $10+ per 50g bar. However, if a trusted chocolate maker one day does happen to find an estate in Ghana that is producing some superb cacao, it would also be unwise not to at least try it. It’s not likely to happen today, but it’s not impossible to happen in the future.

You see, the quality of raw cacao is based mostly on factors such as genetics and curing (harvesting, fermenting, drying). The soil it is grown on (often referred to as “terroir”) has a very minimal (if any) impact on the flavour of the cacao. This is what has lead to many misconceptions about which country grows the best cacao. Since too much importance has been placed on terroir (which most often refers to soil/geography/climate - for which we have little to no evidence to back up this claim), many makers and consumers assume the country of origin is the be all and end all of producing good flavour. If we want to see countries not known for fine cacao to begin to grow in that direction (not pun intended), then we need to stop overgeneralize which country can grow fine cacao. Any country that can grow cacao can grow fine superb cacao, and we need to be open to trying chocolate from those countries labeled as less desirable.

Who Decides?

Image by Roman Kraft

There are some organizations which “decide” which cacao is fine and which isn’t, and therefore decide which countries get to be on the list as growers of fine cacao. There is truth to some of this, but it is very unwise to overgeneralize nowadays when it comes to a whole country and the quality of their cacao.

Ecuador is a good example, as it produces Nacional which is seen as a desirable fine cacao (although not all Nacional is of the same quality), but Ecuador also produces a great deal of CCN51, which is a poor quality yet more highly profitable cacao to grow. Ecuador can grow some incredible Nacional, some mediocre Nacional, poor quality CCN51, and unfortunately, some crosses of Nacional and other verities. Do you see how it becomes more difficult to generalize an entire country?

There are also some regions, like Venezuela, which have stolen the spotlight from other countries due to politics and marketing strategies within the fine chocolate world. In the earlier years of fine chocolate, many makers were seeking out regions that grew fine cacao. Eventually, the countries selected, such as Venezuela, were chosen as they did in fact produce a great deal of very wonderful cacao (and still do). However, Venezuela held no importance to the public at the time. Why would one care that the cacao used for this particular brand came from Venezuela? Therefore, the fine chocolate industry had to educate and convince the public that Venezuelan cacao was better than say, West African or Brazilian cacao. Third party organizations were established to reinforce this idea. Eventually, the public begins to associate fine chocolate with Venezuelan cacao. However, what may have started out to be based on truth has also been used to mislead. Not all “fine” cacao from Venezuela produces wonderful aromatic chocolate. As well, putting too much of an emphasis on the country of origin rather than the cacao itself leads other countries who produce fine cacao to become overshadowed and ignored. Eventually all makers are trying to seek out bars made with Venezuelan cacao because the stage has been set, and consumers have been convinced of Venezuelan cacao. When you introduce a new origin without the hype, many fine chocolate consumers would be more hesitant, regardless of the quality. A maker may pass up some incredible Guatemalan cacao because well, it doesn’t carry the prestige or the marketing hype.

Philippines is another example of a country that for a long time did not make the list of fine cacao producers. This leads many uninformed people to believe that perhaps the terroir of the Philippines, or the stains of cacao, are just poor quality, and so no good cacao can come from there. The truth of the matter is, The Philippines has been growing cacao since the 17th Century, and there are many small estate growers who do grow some wonderful cacao. The problem is that these farmers are not connected to chocolate makers who appreciate their cacao, and their fine cacao ends up being sold and mixed into the national commercial cacao market. This is where the idea of direct trade comes in, where a fine chocolate maker comes across these unknown farmers of fine cacao, and decide to do business together. However, the point is that, when we overgeneralize which countries produce fine cacao, many makers may not even look at certain countries since the powers that be have decided which country is worth looking into. This is bad news. This ignores the small-scale farmers who are in fact growing cacao in a country not regarded highly, forces them to perhaps give up growing that fine cacao, and keeps this country out of sight for future potential.

Brazil used to be a powerhouse of cacao growing, but due to disease (sabotage) they have taken a backseat in the past few decades. In fact, many of the strains of poor quality bulk cacao that were taken to West Africa (todays powerhouse of cacao growing) were taken from Bahia, Brazil. However, the range of varieties and genetics within Brazil is enormous, that although some poor quality cacao came from here, today we are discovered many wild and cultivated strains of cacao that produce chocolate with flavour profiles that are extremely unique in the world of fine chocolate.

Variety vs Genetics

Image by Bean To Bar World.

The flavour of the cacao is dictated firstly by the genetics of the trees. Keep in mind I’m not talking just about the “variety” such as “Nacional” or “Criollo” which encompass a huge range of genetic traits within those varieties. I’m talking about specific genetics about the trees on a particular farm. Many farmers in one region can grow the same “varieties” of cacao, but over time, the genetics of some trees on one estate can become genetically very unique, and grow to produce fruit and seeds that taste very different from another farmer in the same region. This difference, for instance, can be due to the farmer selectively breeding for specific trees with specific fruit and seed qualities.

Many people within the fine chocolate world have been grown to look for particular “varieties” or “heirlooms”, but these terms should not be given too much importance, especially from a consumers point of view. A variety is too broad to generalize what the flavour of the chocolate made with this cacao will taste like, even though so many people do so. Even on a single estate, there may be some trees that produce pods with very aromatic seeds and fruit, and some trees that are not as aromatic. All these seeds get pooled together, so much of the unique traits of one tree is lost or blended with others. The same is true where one farmer pools cacao from their estate with the cacao from other local farmers who may produce cacao of a different quality. Whatever fine qualities were in the cacao from one estate are lost or overshadowed by the poorer quality from other estates.

Genetics is, in my opinion, the least understood and most underrated factor of cacao and chocolate flavour. It’s a complex science, much of which most people find it difficult to read on and understand. This is why, even within the fine chocolate industry, so little is really known about genetics and its impact on flavour of cacao and chocolate. However, this is where it all begins!

Grades & Batches

So you purchase cacao from a region in a country, that batch after batch tastes wonderful with notes of bread and roasted hazelnut. One day, you get a new batch of cacao from the same region, the same farmers, and instead of tasting like bread and hazelnut, it tastes like soil and seashells. True story. The farmers insist nothing changed, but obviously something has, most likely the fermentation, drying, or how the cacao was stored. The cacao from the same region, same farmers, can sometimes change very much. You will see this in the suggested flavours of some bars that have been around for years. In the first batch or years, the cacao had distinct flavours of apricot and jasmine. Eventually, the cacao flavour changed (reasons known or unknown), but the maker does not change the suggested flavour notes on the bar. Therefore, as a consumer, what one tastes is so drastically different than what the makers suggest. The reason? They never updated the suggested flavour notes. Many often don’t. Either it is too costly to do so (all the labels and wrappers were already printed), they don’t like the new flavour profile and leave it, or perhaps the makers are having a moment of phantom aroma - tasting what isn’t really there. Either way, a cacao from a country that is prized as growing fine cacao, even if they do, can output some cacao one season or many seasons that has changed drastically. Does that mean the country should be removed from the list of the best cacao growing country? Probably not. It might be time for makers to have more of a say or idea of what’s going on, or to seek out other sources of cacao.

Perhaps you found cacao from the same region as a an award winning chocolate bar you tried once. Keep in mind that there are also grades of cacao that can greatly change the quality and aroma profile of the cacao. One distributor who sells cacao coming from Sur Del Lago Venezuela may not sell the same grade or quality of cacao as another distributor. This is another factor to keep in mind. Cacao coming from the same region within a country is not always the same quality or flavour. Just another reason how overgeneralizing cacao from a particular country or even region is not such a great idea.

It really comes down to making the chocolate

Image by Bean To Bar World.

Regardless of which country the cacao comes from, the variety/strain, the batch/grade, it really comes down to using that cacao and tasting the chocolate made from it.

I don’t care if my cacao is award winning from Venezuela, or from a no-name region in the South Pacific, if it produces a fantastic chocolate with wonderful complex aroma profile, not bitter, not acidic, and perhaps unique, then that’s the cacao I want to use.

Perhaps that country does not have a name for itself yet. Perhaps that country is known for also growing some mediocre or poor quality cacao. That all may be true, but if the cacao used is superb, none of that should matter. Fine chocolate connoisseurs who truly appreciate fine chocolate will look past such superficial ideals, and appreciate the chocolate for what it is.

The bottom line is, we need to stop putting too much weight on country or even region of origin of cacao. Although it holds some weight today, what it should come down to is flavour and quality, not what is most marketable. If we want to perpetuate fine chocolate, we need to support fine cacao growers regardless of where in the world they are. If we want more variety of high quality cacao, if we want to create an environment that it is worth it for famers to continue growing fine cacao, we need to support it regardless of where it is grown.

Also keep in mind that even if you do use cacao from a highly regarded country (or region, or co-op), it doesn’t mean the chocolate will also be incredible. Some makers don’t yet have the skill to take that cacao and make a chocolate which shines and showcases the potential of that cacao. Cacao and chocolate are complex foods, and the bottom line is don’t assume certain country origins of cacao are always better than others. Some countries may be known more for high quality cacao, and that’s great, but don’t gloss over others because they have not won awards, are not well known, or not on a international list of fine cacao countries. It could be a diamond in the rough.