From the Dominican Republic we source organic cocoa beans of the Hispaniola variety. These are Trinitario beans, a crossbreed between Central American Criollo and Forastero from Amazonia.

The Dominican Republic exports two different varieties of cocoa, known as "Hispaniola" and "Sanchez". Both come from the same plants, trinitario hybrids of Criollo and Forastero cocoa plants. What makes the difference is both the production method and the processing, especially fermentation.

Most of the cocoa produced is the 'Sanchez' variety. For this variety, the beans are only dried before sale and are suitable for the production of cocoa butter, for example.

Hispaniola cocoa accounts for only 4% to 10% of the total crop.

Hispaniola cocoa beans must be fermented for five to seven days. During this time, a full-bodied complex taste with a very special aroma develops.