Origin Updates
Origin Trip 2023: Davao, Philippines
After traveling for over 40 hours, I was thankful to arrive safely in Davao City. It was good to be back in a place I know so well, and that is so ...
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Origin Updates
Origin Trip 2022: Mababu, Tanzania
It’s hard to believe it’s been 15 years. It feels like it’s been so much longer, but when I go and visit our origins, I feel the same sense of awe ...
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Origin Updates
Fourteen Years of Direct Trade And Counting
This month marks our fourteenth & most challenging year of practicing direct trade and sharing profits to source premium cocoa beans from small...
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Origin Updates
Origin Trip #44: Mababu, Tanzania- 2019
This years’ profit share was one of our biggest ever because it was a great year for sales of chocolate made with their beans. We always couple the...
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Origin Updates
Origin Trip #43: Zamora- 2019
Monica, our lead farmer partner in Zamora, Amazonia, holds the single origin chocolate bar (now featuring a 2019 Good Food Award emblem!!) made wit...
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Origin Updates
Origin Trip #42: Ecuador- 2019
This was Shawn’s fourteenth visit with Vitaliano; we’ve been buying outstanding Arriba Nacional cocoa beans to make our Ecuador chocolate bars fro...
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Origin Updates
Origin Trip #41: Davao, Philippines- 2019
This year marks our eleventh anniversary of being the first chocolate makers in the world to export cocoa from the Philippines, and of collaborati...
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Origin Updates
ORIGIN TRIP #40: MABABU, TANZANIA- 2018
After 60+ hours of travel, the 2018 Chocolate University Class arrived in Tanzania!! The final leg of the trip included a long bus ride to the remo...
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Origin Updates
ORIGIN TRIP #39: ZAMORA, AMAZONIA- 2018
After meeting with Vitaliano, our lead farmer partner in Ecuador, I made the short trip to see our newest farmer partner group in Zamora, Amazonia....
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Origin Updates
ORIGIN TRIP #38: DEL TAMBO, ECUADOR- 2018
I met with our lead farmer partner, Vitaliano, his son, Moises, and the rest of his family, from whom we purchase all of the Arriba Nacional cacao ...
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Origin Updates
ORIGIN TRIP #37: DAVAO, PHILIPPINES- 2018
On the first origin trip of 2018 Shawn met with lead farmer, Peter Cruz, pictured here alongside farm manager, Johnny. They inspected our next ship...
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Origin Updates
ORIGIN TRIP #36: MADAGASCAR- 2017
After wrapping up the last week of the 2017 Tanzania origin trip, Shawn took a quick detour to Madagascar before heading home! For now, the details...
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