Learn about the World of Cacao Blog

A Journey to Origins in Ecuador September 2–9, 2022 Back by popular demand, Conexión Chocolate’s Cacao Expedition returns this September! Join Conexión founder Jenny Samaniego on a one-of-a-kind tour of some of Ecuador’s most magical cacao-producing regions. Immerse yourself in the lush landscap...

       March 30, 2022  Dale Erwin Returning back the way we came, we flew through the lush landscape alongside long-legged water birds.  We alighted at the white and green painted buildings of UOPROCAE, one of Conexión Chocolate’s partner cooperatives. Here our farmers collect their harvested cac...

 February 26, 2022  Dale Erwin      Last week, our team visited Esmeraldas. Raul invited us to his finca. He’s the former president of the UOPROCAE cacao Co-operative. His farm is about 4 hectares of jungle, reached by a bumpy road lined with emerald cow pastures and glassy ponds. I sat in the b...

Dale is the newest addition to the Sales team at Conexión Chocolate! While completing an MA focused on agriculture and ecology, he did an internship in Ecuador, where he learned about Conexión Chocolate during a chocolate tasting. He was impressed by the delicious chocolate and how Conexión was a...

This month marks the beginning of the cacao harvest season in Ecuador. The farmers we work with take part in a long tradition of growing some of the best cacao in the world. Over 4,000 farmer families produce cacao in agroforestry systems that promote the conservation of local flora and fauna. T...

Did you know that a significant portion of all cacao producers are over the age of 60? As the average age of cacao growers increases, we risk losing the important generational knowledge of growing, harvesting and processing cacao. This issue is particularly important for the farmers we work with,...