A trip to the unknown

January is a slow month in our shop so we used the opportunity to take some time off. This year we took a long overdue trip to Africa to visit friends and family.  The highlight, was an expedition to the Northern Angolan cacao growing area of Cabinda. The cacao trees in the Maiombe jungle.  We were shown around by locals, people completely at one with their surroundings- it was inspiring and humbling!  

Although Angola has a history of cacao production, the country has suffered decades of civil war causing the cacao production ground to a complete halt.  Recent national and regional government incentives have blown new life into the industry.   Nurseries to cultivate seedlings have been set up and these have been distributed amongst local farmers; not only cacao, but also coffee, palm, and cashew to stimulate agricultural development in the area.  The new cacao trees are starting to flourish and sit like a hand in a well-made glove in this beautiful jungle called Maiombe.  

We had the good fortune to be able to harvest, ferment and dry this cacao on site and take home a few kilos of beans to experiment with. Our first attempt to ferment wasn’t quite what is could have been but we think Cabinda cacao has huge potential. Currently we are investigating what it would take to help the people of Cabinda get their cacao beans onto the international cacao market.