Dominican Republic - Öko Caribe

The Spanish introduced cacao to the island of Hispaniola at the end of the XVI and the beginning of the XVII century. Throughout the centuries, cocoa remained a big part of the agricultural production of the country. Dominican cacao is a mixture of different genetic varieties: Jamaican, Amazon Amelonado, Ecuadorian Nacional, Venezuelan Criollo, Rio Caribe, and Trinitario hybrids.

Nestled in the heart of the cacao rich Duarte province in the Dominican Republic, Öko-Caribe (or “eco-Caribe,” in German) is a gem amongst cacao suppliers. Öko-Caribe works with small holder farmers in the northeast of the island. Their cacao is collected fresh and brought within the first 4 to 6 hours to a centralized fermentation station. With more than 50 years of combined experience in cacao, owners Adriano de Jesus Rodriguez and Gualberto Acebey Torrejon have fine-tuned their systems to ensure consistent, superior quality in their 500+ tons of annual production.

During the post-harvesting process the beans are fermented in tiered wooden boxes during 5 to 6 days. Once fermented, the cacao is dried in solar dryers.