To'ak Chocolate (pronounced Toe-Ahk [1] ) is an Ecuadorian chocolate company founded in 2013 by Jerry Toth, Carl Schweizer, and Denise Valencia. [2] It produces its chocolate from the rare Nacional cocoa bean variety. [3] To'ak Chocolate's Heirloom Nacional cacao bar has been dubbed "the world's most expensive chocolate bar" by CNBC in 2017. [4]
To’ak's chocolate bars are produced from the Nacional variety of cocoa bean, which was thought to be extinct by some experts. [5] [6]
The chocolate bar is handcrafted, and its production involves fermenting the cocoa beans. [7] [8] [9] [10] The chocolate bar is composed entirely of the Nacional cocoa bean, with a small amount of added cane sugar. [5] [11] A single roasted cacao bean is placed in the middle of the bar to signify the bar's origin. [12] The company ages bars in wood casks and empty spirit casks. [13] [14]
To’ak and the rainforest conservation organization TMA (Third Millennium Alliance) jointly manage a regenerative cacao project in coastal Ecuador, specifically with the agricultural communities that surround the Jama-Coaque Ecological Reserve. The program was designed as a strategy to reverse the trend of deforestation of the Pacific Equatorial Forest (also known as the Pacific Forest of Ecuador).
TMA provides local farmers with start-up capital, seedlings, irrigation equipment, and financial incentives to convert deforested land into regenerative forests. The program is financed by carbon offset revenue, which provides bridge income to the farmers for the first five years, before the cacao trees reach productive age. Once the cacao trees start to produce cacao pods, To’ak offers to purchase the cacao at premium prices. [15]
Chocolate is a food made from roasted and ground cocoa beans that can be a liquid, solid, or paste, either on its own or as a flavoring in other foods. The cacao tree has been used as a source of food for at least 5,300 years, starting with the Mayo-Chinchipe culture in what is present-day Ecuador. Later, Mesoamerican civilizations consumed cacao beverages, of which one, chocolate, was introduced to Europe in the 16th century.
The cocoa bean, also known simply as cocoa or cacao, is the dried and fully fermented seed of Theobroma cacao, the cacao tree, from which cocoa solids and cocoa butter can be extracted. Cacao trees are native to the Amazon rainforest. They are the basis of chocolate and Mesoamerican foods including tejate, an indigenous Mexican drink.
Theobroma cacao is a small evergreen tree in the family Malvaceae. Its seeds - cocoa beans - are used to make chocolate liquor, cocoa solids, cocoa butter and chocolate. Although the tree is native to the tropics of the Americas, the largest producer of cocoa beans in 2022 was Ivory Coast. The plant's leaves are alternate, entire, unlobed, 10–50 cm (4–20 in) long and 5–10 cm (2–4 in) broad.
A chocolate bar is a confection containing chocolate, which may also contain layerings or mixtures that include nuts, fruit, caramel, nougat, and wafers. A flat, easily breakable, chocolate bar is also called a tablet. In some varieties of English and food labeling standards, the term chocolate bar is reserved for bars of solid chocolate, with candy bar used for products with additional ingredients.
Hot chocolate, also known as hot cocoa or drinking chocolate, is a heated drink consisting of shaved or melted chocolate or cocoa powder, heated milk or water, and usually a sweetener. It is often garnished with whipped cream or marshmallows. Hot chocolate made with melted chocolate is sometimes called drinking chocolate, characterized by less sweetness and a thicker consistency.
The Santiago Mariño Municipality is one of the 18 municipalities (municipios) that makes up the Venezuelan state of Aragua and, according to the 2011 census by the National Institute of Statistics of Venezuela, the municipality has a population of 211,010. The town of Turmero is the shire town of the Santiago Mariño Municipality and Chuao where some of the finest cocoa beans in the world are produced. The municipality is named for Venezuelan independence hero Santiago Mariño.
The history of chocolate dates back more than 5,000 years, when the cacao tree was first domesticated in present-day southeast Ecuador. Soon after domestication, the tree was introduced to Mesoamerica, where cacao drinks gained significance as an elite beverage among different cultures including the Maya and the Aztecs. Cacao was extremely important: considered a gift from the gods, it was used as a currency, medicinally and ceremonially. Multiple cacao beverages were consumed, including an alcoholic beverage made by fermenting the pulp around cacao seeds, and it is unclear when a drink that can be strictly understood as chocolate originated. Early evidence of chocolate consumption dates to 600 BC; this product was often associated with the heart and was believed to be psychedelic.
Ivory Coast leads the world in production and export of the cocoa beans used in the manufacture of chocolate, as of 2024 producing 45% of the world’s cocoa.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to chocolate:
The environmental impact of cocoa production includes deforestation, soil contamination, and herbicide resistance. The majority of cocoa farms are now located in Ivory Coast and Ghana.
Fair trade cocoa is an agricultural product harvested from a cocoa tree using a certified process which is followed by cocoa farmers, buyers, and chocolate manufacturers, and is designed to create sustainable incomes for farmers and their families. Companies that use fair trade certified cocoa to create products can advertise that they are contributing to social, economic, and environmental sustainability in agriculture.
Theo Chocolate is an American chocolate maker headquartered in Seattle, Washington. Established in 2006, it is the first organic fair trade-certified cocoa producer in the United States.
Castronovo Chocolate is a micro-batch chocolate maker headquartered in Stuart, Florida.
The chocolate industry in the Philippines developed after the introduction of the cocoa tree to Philippine agriculture. The growing of cacao or cocoa boasts a long history stretching from the colonial times. Originating from Mesoamerican forests, cacao was first introduced by the Spanish colonizers four centuries ago. Since then the Philippine cocoa industry has been the primary producer of cocoa beans in Southeast Asia. There are many areas of production of cacao in the Philippines, owing to soil and climate. The chocolate industry is currently on a small to medium scale.
Malagos Agri-Ventures Corporation is a Philippine bean-to-bar chocolate manufacturer based in Davao City.
Ruby chocolate is a style or distinct variety of chocolate that is pink or purple in colour. Barry Callebaut, a Belgian–Swiss cocoa company, introduced it as a distinct product on 5 September 2017 after beginning development of their product in 2004. It has a pink color, and Barry Callebaut says it is a fourth natural type of chocolate. Some other industry experts have said that some cacao pods are naturally pink or purple in colour, and thus pink chocolate has been available before.
The Nacional is a rare variety of cocoa bean found in areas of South America such as Ecuador and Peru. The Ecuadorian cacao variety called Nacional traces its genetic lineage as far back as 3,500 years.
Bean-to-bar is a business model in which a chocolate manufacturer controls the entire manufacturing process from procuring cocoa beans to creating the end product of consumer chocolate.
Regenerative cacao is defined as cacao that is produced on a farm that employs regenerative agriculture and agroforestry methods. It is most closely associated with the Ecuadorian chocolate company To’ak, the organic food supplier Navitas, the rainforest conservation organization TMA, and the social-agricultural enterprise Terra Genesis. Cacao is the raw material that is used to produce chocolate.
Rogue Chocolatier was an American bean-to-bar chocolate maker founded and almost entirely operated by Colin Gasko. Started in 2007, Rogue used cocoa beans from locations not typically used in chocolate production, and through an unusually long and meticulous production process, created small quantities of chocolate bars for retail. Across the business's lifespan, it operated out of Minnesota and Massachusetts.