1. INGREDIENTS
ECUADOR has emerged as
a leading producer of
premium cacao beans over
the last decade, in line with
rising consumer demand
for finer chocolate and
ethical production.
Ecuadorian cacao comes
from the endemic species
arriba, and flavour-wise is floral
and nutty and it has a smooth,
velvety finish. It’s also
sustainable, single origin and
organic – and production is
ramping up.
It hasn’t always been this way,
however. In the late 1800s to
mid-1920s, Ecuador was one of
the world’s leading exporters,
until poor farming practices
took a major toll on the
industry, according to Carlos E
Gallegos-Anda of Sydney-based
XOCOLATL Brokers.
A government-led push
to boost planting and educate
farmers, however, has
resulted in the industry’s
resurgence, he says.
XOCOLATLBrokersimports
wholesalebulkcacaoingredients
fromEcuadorincludingbutter,
powderandnibs,aswellas
kibble,dropsandmass.
Gallegos-Anda was promoting
Ecuadorian cacao last month
at Exquisite Ecuador, a Sydney
event showcasing products
from Ecuador.
The arriba species of cacao
reflects the flavours of the
region where it is grown, as
well as how it is dried and
fermented, according to
Gallegos-Anda.
However, it grows best in its
home on the equator, in the
Andes, surrounded by
volcanoes, he says.
“The latitude, soil
composition, water and
altitude give Ecuador cacao a
special edge. Despite efforts to
replicate this in other latitudes,
it doesn’t develop the same
flavour profile.
“Some mainstream chocolate
manufacturers like Cadbury
and Nestlé use a combination of
cacao – say 80 per cent from the
Ivory Coast and 20 per cent
from Ecuador – to boost the
flavour profile.”
Arriba is also a key
ingredient in much of the fine
chocolate made in Belgium
and Switzerland, and Ecuador
is also increasingly producing
its own premium chocolate
products to bring more
value back to the country,
Gallegos-Anda says.
As has occurred in the
coffee market, he says,
many Australian consumers
are beginning to appreciate
good quality cacao – the
aroma, the flavour, and
how to work with it.
The two key retail markets
for Ecuadorian cacao are in
the health food arena and for
personal use – consumers
wanting to make their own
chocolate, according to
Gallegos-Anda.
Interest in premium cacao
is also on the rise in New
Zealand, South East Asia and
China, he says.
National treasure
Ecuador is ramping up production of premium, ethically-sourced cacao,
and it wants the world to know. Amanda Bryan reports.
36 | Food&Drink business | September 2015
AROUND
OF ECUADORIAN
ARRIBA CACAO
WAS WIPED OUT BY
DISEASE IN 1916
95%
It may be gaining favour around
the world, but Ecuadorian cacao
is also very important to the
Ecuadorian people.
It is deeply connected to the
history of Ecuador, which was
one of the world’s largest exporters
of cacao until the beginning of
the 20th century.
The booming industry
imploded, according to Carlos E
Gallegos-Anda of Sydney-based
XOCOLATL Brokers, thanks to
monoculture, which wiped out
the crops and led to the collapse
of an industry which employed
five per cent of the population.
At the same time, a rise in
mass-produced chocolate saw
a shift in demand towards the
higher volume cacao beans grown
on the Ivory Coast.
These days, cacao is sustainably
farmed in Ecuador by farming
families as a cash crop. The way
it’s farmed doesn’t involve the
clearing of rainforest, and it’s also
organic, Gallegos-Anda says.
“In contrast to the past, it’s now
grown by indigenous families on
small parcels in the Amazon.
Farming cacao now also carries a
social responsibility to preserve
the rainforest as the plants need
the cover of trees.”
According to Gallegos-Anda,
the farmers are mostly native and
they live in national reserves which
are communally owned.
“This represents a good way
to preserve the traditional culture
and the rainforest,” he says.
RETHINKING AN
INDUSTRY
Cacao is grown under the cover of trees.
RICH TRADITION✷