Krak Chocolade – Thailand Chanthaburi 70%

“Chantaburi This cacao comes from Chantaburi province. In south east Thailand, in the Gulf. Home to waterfalls, mountains, a wildlife sanctuary, lush forests, and tropical fruit. Khun Suriya Chaisutti and his wife have been planting cacao in the Chanthaburi region for over 9 years now, being one of the first of a new generation of farmers to do so. Today they have a network of 40 farmers who they support through access to proper training, resources and a market place needed to maintain sustainable cacao farming. Suriya Farm focuses on growing premium grade quality cacao. They have set up their own fermentation centre. They now have 4 teams that collect wet cocoa from closeby farms and control the entire process. Together with 2 chocolate makers locally in Thailand and in the US Suriya Farm has been able to grow and has put Thai cacao on the map.

In 1982, the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperative imported cocoa varieties from Malaysia and 18 varieties from the SubTropical Horticulture Research Station in Florida. In 1992, they imported an extra 10 varieties from the University of Reading in the UK to explore the possibility of growing cocoa alongside coconut trees, and develop the industry at the Chumphon Horticultural Research Center in Thailand. The team discovered one particular variety, the Parinari 7x Nanay 32 (Pa7 x Na32), was highly successful. This variety was then named “Chumphon 1 hybrid” in honor of its origins and its potential in the Chumphon region.”