Arriba chocolate is produced and packaged in Ecuador. Made from special cocoa varietals with a perfumed floral scent, its flavor is smooth with a dominant jasmine note and nutty after-tones. There is no vanilla, “covering” aroma, or vegetable fat added. The chocolate is Rainforest Alliance certified and will be labeled organic in the near future. The truffles are made with 55%, 65%, or 75% cocoa chocolate.
Unlike most other chocolate companies, the beans used to make Plantations Chocolate are grown, roasted and processed by cooperatives in collaboration with the Rain Forest Alliance. This chocolate is scheduled to receive its organic certification in 2005.
The cacao farmers are provided with technical assistance, training, and financing. The standards for sustainable cacao production maintain critical conservation areas, reduce pressures to cut down the rainforest, and provide social and economic benefits to local communities. As a result, all of the cacao used to make this chocolate is grown under the shaded canopy without the use of chemicals. Also, farmers are being trained in the important steps of post-harvest processing, especially proper fermentation, and are paid a significant premium over prevailing market prices. The finished chocolate is packaged by an Ecuadorian women’s cooperative before being shipped to the United States.
Cacao Trees serve as refuges for a huge variety of birds and animals that roam Latin America’s rainforests. However, economic pressures have caused many farmers to replace native cacao with hybrid strains that are grown in open sun and that require the application of large quantities of pesticides and fertilizers.
The finished chocolate is packaged by an Ecuadorian women’s cooperative before being shipped to the United States. 