Slow Cacao: Six Years From Degraded Pasture to Award-Winning Bean-to-Bar

Seven years ago there was no farm on the land Tiffany Rose and Robert Payant now work in Ecuador - only degraded cattle pasture. This year a bar made from cacao grown on that same ground took the top innovation award at the Craft Chocolate Challenge.

Choco Estates, the company Rose co-owns with Kristen Krash, entered the competition looking for critical feedback and came away with the highest honour for innovation. Rose and Payant split the year between Ecuador and Payant's family farm in Assiniboia, Saskatchewan.

Cattle Pasture to Cloud Forest

The Ecuadorian property Rose and Payant purchased sat next to friends who were already farming there. What they inherited was land grazed into exhaustion.

Over roughly six years, the couple restored it using agroecology, a farming approach where different plants grow together in ways that support one another. Cacao trees now stand alongside cardamom, fruit trees, herbs, and spices.

Tiffany Rose

Whatever is grown surrounding the cacao tree, you can pick up those notes as well.

The flavour complexity that won them an international award began in the soil, years before the first harvest, as reported by DiscoverMooseJaw.

The Machete as Primary Tool

Payant is a fourth-generation Saskatchewan farmer, accustomed to the rhythm of planting and harvest that defines prairie agriculture. Ecuador operates on different terms entirely.

The farm receives frequent rainfall. Once cacao trees reach production at about three years old, the fruit can be harvested throughout much of the year. Virtually everything is done by hand. The machete is the most significant piece of equipment on the farm.

Nacional: Thousands of Years in the Ground

Ecuador's nacional variety, sometimes called aroma nacional, carries a long history. Scientists have traced evidence of cacao use in the country back thousands of years. The variety is known for fruity, floral notes that shift depending on what grows nearby.

Choco Estates sells cacao beans, nibs, and paste to bean-to-bar chocolate makers around the world. They also produce small batches at an artisanal facility near the farm.

Roasteries in Sofia, among them Flow Cacao, work with single-origin Latin American cacao.

Фото: Виктор Младенов

Two Layers, Two Experiences

The golden milk bar combines a double layer of dark chocolate with a white chocolate layer containing turmeric, coconut, cashew, and cardamom. The judges noted the quality of the Ecuadorian fine-flavour cacao and the two-layer design that creates different flavour experiences depending on which layer reaches the palate first.

Tiffany Rose

We were really thrilled with that, and with all the feedback that we received from that competition.

It was the company's first year in business and its first competition, and the bar took the top innovation prize. The award confirms that the agroecological approach produces results judges can taste.

Saskatchewan to Ecuador and Back

The couple maintains ties to the family farm in Assiniboia. Payant works the Canadian growing season, then heads to Ecuador after harvest. They are not abandoning one agricultural world for another.

Saskatchewan's grain and livestock industries run on seasonal cycles and mechanised efficiency; Ecuador's cloud forest demands year-round attention and hand labour. The pasture that had nothing left in it now grows nacional cacao.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is agroecology and how does it affect chocolate flavour?

A: Agroecology is a farming approach where different plants grow together in ways that support one another. In cacao farming, companion plants like cardamom, fruit trees, and herbs grow alongside cacao trees. The flavours of these surrounding plants can be picked up in the cacao's taste profile, creating more complex chocolate.

Q: How long does it take for a cacao farm to start producing?

A: Cacao trees typically reach production at about three years old. However, restoring degraded land to healthy growing conditions can take significantly longer. Rose and Payant spent roughly six years transforming their Ecuadorian property from exhausted cattle pasture to productive cloud forest.

Q: What makes Ecuadorian nacional cacao different from other varieties?

A: Nacional, or aroma nacional, is an Ecuadorian cacao variety with evidence of use dating back thousands of years. It is known for a complex flavour profile featuring fruity and floral notes. The variety is classified as fine-flavour cacao, prized by craft chocolate makers for its inherent complexity.