more chocolate travel in Ecuador

No chocolate travel to Ecuador would be complete without a visit to Kallari.

In previous posts, we explored Old Quito, a UNESCO World Heritage site, and got detained in a mudslide.  You met ex-pat (American) chocolatier Jeff Stern and Elizabeth Hendley, an ex-pat (Canadian) cacao grower, and former proprietor of the Chocolate Jungle Lodge.

The Kallari Cacao Cooperative was established in 1997 and makes its delicious chocolate bars in another location. Pictured above is their original office that I visited in 2012. A new factory was constructed at a new site in 2014.

a visit to kallari chocolate

The Kallari Cacao Cooperative is a company owned native Kichwa Ecuadorians who are growing cacao collectively as the Asociación Kallari cacao growers’ cooperative. Kallari Chocolate transforms its cacao into delicious chocolate products in its factory near Misahualli. During our visit, Kallari was building its brand new factory, complete with a tasting parlour and viewing room from where you can watch the chocolate being made. The new Kallari facility was opened in 2014.

We had the pleasure of meeting Carlos Pozo, the site manager and general coordinator in charge of construction of the new Kallari production facility

Kallari’s story is an interesting one. In Peru, we met cacao farmers and learned how they grow, harvest, and ferment the cacao. But they don’t make it into chocolate. The cacao is bagged and delivered to chocolate companies (domestically and internationally) who may complete the fermentation process to their specifications and then custom roast the beans before they are crushed and transformed into cocoa liquor and ultimately … chocolate.

The Kallari cooperative is comprised of 850 families living in five different counties and 21 different villages within the Napo province of Ecuador. In all, there are 3,500 Kichwa people involved in the entire bean-to-bar process, selecting and germinating the Nacional cacao beans into seedlings, planting and nurturing them, and then harvesting the beans, fermenting them, and roasting, crushing, and conching the cocoa nibs for a mere 8-12 hours (in contrast to European-style chocolate which may be conched for 48-100 hours to make it smooth and creamy.)

The 70-gram Kallari bars are sold in the US through Whole Foods and in Toronto at SOMA chocolatemaker; the 50-gram intensely flavoured Sacha bars are sold exclusively in Ecuador.

Kallari makes two distinctly different kinds of chocolate bars. The larger, 70- gram “gourmet” Kallari bars are gluten free and exported and available for purchase at Whole Foods and selected shops such as SOMA chocolate maker in Toronto, Canada. The smaller 50-gram Sacha bars are presently only retailed in Ecuador. You can buy both types of bars and Kallari couverture (used for baking and making your own chocolate creations) online.

The Sacha bars are my preference and truly decadent as they have a silkier texture and come in enticing flavours such as ginger that infuses three forms of fresh ginger and Andean salt into each tiny bar. Ultimately creative, and the fresh ginger flavour is intense, just the way I like it. In recent months, additional flavours have been added to the Sacha lineup and now include lemongrass, pineapple, banana chips, and more.

Kallari Chocolate also has a blog at http://kallarichocolate.blogspot.ca/ where you’ll find an assortment of recipes and additional information about the cooperative. Just click on one of the colourful pictures to read each full post and access the chocolate-focused recipes.

As an increasing number of consumers look to companies providing organic, natural products where they can trace the roots back to the producers, Kallari is an excellent choice for chocolate lovers with a social conscience who are looking for sustainable eco-friendly chocolate. Kallari cacao growers earn a much healthier living via their membership in the cooperative than independent growers do, and are therefore better able to care for their families. I urge you to look for organic, sustainable eco-friendly chocolate like Kallari wherever you buy your chocolate.