Region and Country
Island of Saint Vincent, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Story
Cacao was introduced to the island of Saint Vincent in the 18th century by the British. It was grown extensively, but after banana exports became the main agricultural export in the 1970’s, cacao production declined and remained unmanaged for decades.
In 2011, a couple of very committed entrepreneurs took over a foreign cacao investment and founded the Saint Vincent Cocoa Company - SVCC. The Company owns about 250 hectares of farmland which was left unused after the island's banana trade crashed in the 80's as a result of changing European tariff policies.
Additionally, SVCC buys cocoa from around 100 local small farmers around the island. These farms are 2 hectares on average. Cacao is grown along with short cycle crops such as banana, plantain, ginger, maize and local root crops. Timber species such as coconut, melina, and mahogany are used as shade trees.
SVCC now employs 150 Vincentians, which makes them the largest agricultural employer on the island. In the words of SVCC: "All employees have contracts and are paid wages above the Government guidelines and far higher than Fairtrade recommendations, together with NIS contributions, holiday pay etc. We have put in place, from scratch, a fully functioning industry including an office, chocolate factory (operating in SVCC only), plant nursery, cocoa processing plant and gene bank."
Want to know more about SVCC and their sister company Islands Chocolate? Check their amazing products and story here.
Harvest
November – March (Main) April – October (Mid-crop)
Genetics
Trinitarios from Trinidad introduced in the 60’s/70’s and ICS varieties from Reading University
Post Harvesting Process
Fermentation and drying take place in a central facility owned and operated by SVCC. Beans are fermented in tiered fermentation boxes for 6-7 days depending on the desired flavour profile. They are then dried in a solar dryer to get the moisture level to around 6-7%.
Flavour
Bright acidity; sweet, citrus tropical fruit notes of pineapple, orange peels, and pine nuts.
