Exactly one year ago, in mid-July 2021, I traveled to a country of cacao origin for the first time. My destination: Ecuador. In Quito, the capital, I was welcomed by two friends who had already spent two months in Ecuador. The plan was to spend the next month exploring the country together and in particular visiting our cacao partners Tesoro Escondido in Ecuador.

However, before heading into the hot and humid rainforest, we traveled through the Andes, the highlands of Ecuador. Of course, we did not miss a short but very adventurous detour to the almost 6000 meter high picturesque volcano Cotopaxi, the landmark of Ecuador.

Starting at minus 14 degrees Celsius on the summit, we proceeded directly to the 25 degrees Celsius warm Amato, where Ivo was waiting for us with his rental car. After five hours of driving and one less car tire, we finally reached Quevedo and the Hacienda Limon, where we were warmly welcomed by Silvia. We spent the next two days tasting, discussing, admiring the new fermentation facility and, a personal highlight, trying the pulp of a fresh cacao bean for the first time: tender, sweet with a very subtle acidity – incredibly refreshing!

The onward journey to Tesoro Escondido was adventurous and diverse. We stopped at a vanilla plantation, crossed a river on a tiny ferry, spent four hours jolting over potholes, and dodged countless trucks filled with tropical wood. In Hoja verde we were warmly welcomed by Javier’s family, who after a well-deserved post-work beer drove us another 30 minutes into the rainforest with their pickup truck. After that, we faced an equally long walk through the mud. Within the first 100 meters, one of my rubber boots got stuck so deep in the mud that the only way to get out of the mud was with the help of Ricardo, Javier’s eldest son. Once we arrived at the beautiful family home, Magali greeted us with a lovingly prepared dinner.

During the next days, Javier and Ricardo showed us around their property, with all its old and new cacao trees and the ancient primary forest. Back at the house, we got down to business: Javier had prepared nearly 20 microfermentations from different trees for us, which we tasted and then evaluated together to find our favorite flavor profile. Our three favorite beans would then be planted, which actually means grafted onto old trees. This project is planned for the long run and is built on great mutual trust, which strengthens the bond between laflor and ASOPROTESCO.

In celebration of our visit, all the farmers of ASCOPROTESCO gathered at Javier and his family’s house in the afternoon, and we tasted laflor chocolate together. It was touching and very nice to meet all the faces and names behind the project.

In the evening, the celebration continued, but this time we celebrated Javier’s 50th birthday. We spent the night singing, laughing, playing in the company of the whole family.

The next morning, it was already time to say goodbye and head back to civilization. Not only did we say goodbye to Tesoro Escondido, but also to Ivo, who continued his journey to the coast, while my friends and I headed south. The day of my return flight, I got another chance to enjoy some chocolate when I visited the production of HUMA Chocolate in Quito, where once again I was greeted by an extremely welcoming team and got to taste a lot of chocolate. With plenty of chocolate and even more memories in my luggage, I then made my way home.

It is possible to visit both cacao producers in Ecuador, so please feel free to contact the manufactory if you are interested.