Well, hello there. You made the journey from our product in hand to our space online all because of QR code technology. Pretty wild.
And you know what else is wild? How about us sharing the google sheet where we track all our cacao purchasing at the links below. You'll be able to see what origins and, in many cases, which farmers we work with to co-create our incredible cacao beans. This document is live and updated every time we purchase cacao.
Holy Fudge
TCHO proudly collaborates with ABOCFA cooperative for the cacao beans used in this bar. ABOCFA is a Fair Trade and Organic certified farmer organization located in the Eastern Region of Ghana in the Suhum district. TCHO recently partnered with ABOCFA on a series of trainings for farmers and staff on best practices for harvesting cacao with high quality flavor that brings out the decadent chocolatey notes only found in the best of Ghanaian cacao.
Born Fruity
The cacao in Born Fruity is from the ACOPAGRO cooperative in the San Martin region of Peru in Juanjui. TCHO installed a flavor lab here in 2009 and has collaborated ever since to improve their unique fruity cacao. ACOPAGRO is a leader in Organic cacao production, regenerative agriculture and is a Fair Trade Certified organization. The coop began in 1997 with 27 members and has grown steadily to over 1,800 farmers today.
Dark Duo
Dark Duo is a unique combo of two very distinct flavor origins, Ghana and Peru, making for a remarkably balanced, indulgent dark cacao experience. The outer dark chocolate shell, with fudgy chocolate notes, is made with cacao from ABOCFA cooperative in the Eastern Region of Ghana. The cacao on the inside, with a naturally fruity profile, is made with cacao from ACOPAGRO cooperative, located in the San Martin region of Peru.
Choco Latté
Choco Latté combines cocoa beans from farmer organizations in five distinct origins: Ecuador, Peru, Ghana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Haiti. Our chocolate makers carefully blend each of these cacao origins with a specific and unique flavor profile to create an exceptionally well-rounded plant-based milk chocolate designed to pair seamlessly with Blue Bottle’s perfectly punchy espresso blend.
Aww Nuts!
The freshly roasted small batch almond and sea salt filling in Aww Nuts! begs to be surrounded in big indulgent chocolatey notes, so once again, we look to our partners at ABOCFA cooperative in the Eastern region of Ghana to supply cacao with the fudge and brownie flavors only found in the best of Ghanaian cacao.
Toffee Time
The chocolate in Toffee Time combines cocoa beans from farmer organizations in five distinct origins: Ecuador, Peru, Ghana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Haiti. Our chocolate makers carefully blend these cacao origins with a specific and unique flavor profile to create an exceptionally well-rounded plant-based milk chocolate that comes to life with bits of crunchy vegan toffee and flakes of sea salt.
An Investment in Beyond Quality
Traceability and transparency are the essential precursors to the dynamic relationships that allow TCHO to co-create delicious cacao. Quite simply, you must know who you are working with to have meaningful conversations and collaborations, and that’s the cornerstone of what we do here at TCHO and the starting point of all excellent chocolate making.
Most issues in the cacao industry stem from the low prices cacao farmers get paid for their beans. The commodity market price for cacao often dips significantly below the cost of cacao production. Fair Trade and Organic premiums (cash over the market price of cacao), combined with our own TCHO quality premiums, means more money for farmers to cover their living expenses, cost of production, farm maintenance, capital investment, school fees, doctor visits, and more. We cannot overstate the importance of long-term commercial partnerships and paying more for cacao. Please see our TCHO Source page for more information about our years of work in farming communities worldwide.