Cacao
Est. 2020 · Côte d'Ivoire & Ghana
Cacao
Single-origin bars traced to the exact cooperative, the exact harvest, the exact fermentation shed.
Where it begins
The Exact
Coordinates
We don't source from "West Africa." We source from three cooperatives, mapped to GPS coordinates, harvested in named seasons, fermented in specific sheds by specific hands.
CAFUGO Cooperative
4°59′N 6°28′W
Bas-Sassandra, Côte d'Ivoire
Red laterite soils · 72% cacao
Takyikrom Community
6°41′N 1°37′W
Ashanti Region, Ghana
Banana-leaf fermentation · 85% cacao
ECAM Cooperative
5°22′N 6°47′W
Nawa, Côte d'Ivoire
Humid forest terroir · 100% cacao
Flavor Profile
Assembled from tasting notes across 3 harvests, 2 regions, 6 fermentation profiles
Single-Origin Collection
Three Origins.
One Standard.
Hover each bar to meet the farmer behind it. Every card carries a hidden portrait.
Kofi Mensah
CAFUGO Lead, 18 seasons
4°59′N 6°28′W
CAFUGO Cooperative, Côte d'Ivoire
Bas-Sassandra 72%
Red laterite soils, humid canopy, long sun-dry
Ama Owusu
Takyikrom, 114-woman collective
6°41′N 1°37′W
Takyikrom, Ghana
Ashanti Grove 85%
Banana-leaf fermented, 7-day sun-dried, Ashanti forest
Yao Brou
ECAM Founder, Nawa Region
5°22′N 6°47′W
ECAM Cooperative, Côte d'Ivoire
Nawa Dark 100%
Pure unsweetened couverture, no additions, no apology
From Pod to Bar
The Process
Leaves Nothing Out
Pod to Heap
Ripe pods split by machete within 24 hours of harvest. Beans and white pulp heaped on banana leaves, covered, left to ferment 6–7 days with two manual turnings.
Sun Drying
Beans spread on raised bamboo mats, raked twice daily for even drying. Seven days under equatorial sun drops moisture to below 7.5% — the standard for export quality.
Roast & Conch
Small-batch roasting calibrated per origin. Conching 48–72 hours develops the long, round finish. No lecithin, no vanilla, no shortcuts.
Temper & Mould
Couverture tempered to 31.5°C, poured into stamped moulds, cooled slowly. The crack when you snap it — that's 72 hours of discipline.
Who Trusts the Origin
The People
Who Read the Wrapper
"I've sourced couverture from Valrhona and Cluizel for fifteen years. Cacao's Ashanti 85% is the first single-origin that doesn't need anything added — not vanilla, not extra butter, nothing. The fermentation is that precise."
Isabelle Moreau
Executive Pastry Chef, Le Bernardin, New York
Uses Ashanti 85% for bonbon shells
"My customers read every gram of a wrapper before they buy. When I can hand them a bar with GPS coordinates and a farmer's name, the sale is already made. Cacao gives me that story — and the chocolate backs it up."
Marcus Webb
Founder, Provisions Specialty Grocery, Brooklyn
Stocks all three origins, reorders monthly
"The 100% Nawa is genuinely challenging — smoke, earth, raw cacao — and our customers love it precisely because it doesn't apologize. That's what single-estate means: a place with a point of view."
Priya Nair
Confection Buyer, Eataly Chicago
Featured Nawa 100% in winter tasting event
Our Cooperative Partners
800,000 farm families depend on West African cocoa. We pay above-market for above-standard beans — and we publish the price.
Follow the Bean — Full Sourcing Story →Something already
halfway to your mouth.
Three origins. Three fermentation profiles. One standard: you know exactly who grew it.
Taste the Origin