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For the Love of Chocolate

Cacao history of the Caribbean— settling to a taste of the Dominican Republic

Ed Seguine Chocolate Research Fellow

Mars Global Chocolate Science & Technology

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• Raising the bar in chocolate experience

• Raising the bar in chocolate experience

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Criollo

Forastero

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Criollo

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Olmec

Maya

Toltec, God Quetzalcoatl Aztec

Cocoa growing region in ancient Mesoamerica—1500s Aztec empire

The Spread of Cacao: Origins

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1519—

One Reed

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Avis Pour le transport par mer des arbres, des

plantes vivaces. Date: 1779. Courtesy: Real Jardin

Botanico (Royal Botanical Garden), Madrid, Spain.

Spanish Trade Routes: Mid-1500s

Source: Historical Atlas of Central America, Carolyn Hall and Hector Perez Brignoli, Cotter cartographer, 2003

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Criollo Forastero

Trinitario

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Fine or Flavor Classification

ICCO, 2010

Selected ICCO Fine and Flavor

Caribbean countries Production Classification

Trinidad & Tobago 100%

Grenada 100%

Jamaica 100%

St. Lucia 100%

Dominican Republic 40%

Haiti 0%

Source: ICCO, 2010

Cocoa producers in the Caribbean – current status

Country Cocoa Production

(approx. MT)

No of farmers Cocoa cultivated (acres)

Belize 60 1.000 3000

Dominica 5 >1000 > 2000

Dominican Republic

62000 45000 >300000

Grenada 500 3000 > 5000

Haiti 3500 20000 10500

Jamaica 450 11000 8900

St Lucia < 10 App. 500 -

St Vincent Now starting 700 -

Trinidad and Tobago

700 2000 > 5000

Adapted from: Maharaj, 2012

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Our

Chocolate

Journey—

Dominican Republic

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Kathy’s philosophy—

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Chocolate—What it’s about!

Desire Joy

Passion Delight

Seduction Rapture

Indulgence Moments

Romance – Rituals--Memories

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Anticipation—remembrance

Prequel—the aroma

Beginning

Middle

Final

Lasting finish—longing

The CHOCOLATE EXPERIENCE: like the symphony

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Conacado—

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Knowledge

makes the

difference.

Los Bejucos & El Ramonal: Our two

newly established official

Denominations of Origin, where a

limited number of highly trained

farmers produce distinctive beans

DO Los Bejucos:

86 farms

63 farmers

683 Ha

445 Mt per year

DO El Ramonal

129 farms

69 farmers

554 Ha

310 MT per year

TAINORI: Grand Cru de Terroir Dominican Republic

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Hacienda and Farm, Hato Mayor del Rey

Factory and Boutique, Gaithersburg MD

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Genetic Composition—

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New Classification Today—

Motamayor, et. al., Geographic and

Gentic Population Differentiation of the

Amazonian Chocolate Tree (Theobroma

cacao L.), PLoS ONE 3(10):e3311