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The Uncommon Cacao Blog

Continuing to do the Anti-racist work and What that looks like over a year later

Continuing to do the Anti-racist work and What that looks like over a year later

It’s been over a year since the Black Lives Matter movement had renewed protests and calls for action and justice to be served over the unjust murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbory...

MOCCA project in Guatemala!

MOCCA project in Guatemala!

We have a lot to tell you about the work Cacao Verapaz has done this past year with the cacao producers of the northern region of Guatemala! It has been a long and intense road, but we are grateful...

Celebrating #motherswhofarm!

Celebrating #motherswhofarm!

Hi friends and partners, As a new mother myself, reading the stories about the incredible women below took my breath away. Kitalibara Base, Asiimwe Alice, and Biira Jowani are goddess level; they f...

Farmer Interview: Santiago Sotz Cholom, Chivite Guatemala

Farmer Interview: Santiago Sotz Cholom, Chivite Guatemala

Santiago Sotz Cholom, 50 years old, lives in San Juan Chivite, a municipality of Cahabón, Alta Verapaz, Guatemala. He is part of the Association for Development Maya Chivite called Ademayach (p...

Learn more about Cacao Genetics!

Learn more about Cacao Genetics!

Criollo, Trinitario, Amelonado, Forastero, Nacional, CCN51, ICS95… What does all this actually mean? We in the specialty cacao industry are nerds about our beans, scrutinizing pods, studying farmin...

Cocoa Barometer 2020 is out!

Cocoa Barometer 2020 is out!

The VOICE Network puts out the Cocoa Barometer, a report covering major challenges and issues in the cocoa value chain, every couple of years.

An Introduction to the Newly Implemented Living Income Differential (LID) in Ghana & Cote d'Ivoire

An Introduction to the Newly Implemented Living Income Differential (LID) in Ghana & Cote d'Ivoire

On Saturday, October 3rd, the cocoa harvest season officially opened in Ghana. ABOCFA member farmers sold their harvested, fermented and dried cacao to the cooperative’s Licensed Buying Company...

2019 Transparency Data - Now Live!

2019 Transparency Data - Now Live!

It’s that time of year: Transparency Report publication!

Formally Introducing ABOCFA

Formally Introducing ABOCFA

When we were introduced to ABOCFA (thanks Jesse and Tony’s!), we learned that the cooperative had been working in all of these areas already for many years. While we had initially thought that ...

Why Sign Purchase Agreements?

Why Sign Purchase Agreements?

In 2019 we tried out a new model of working with chocolate makers. We established annual purchase agreements, with a goal of ensuring long-term stability for your partners at origins and cacao ...

Quality Control & Evaluation in Cacao

Quality Control & Evaluation in Cacao

Uncommon Cacao has worked for years to calibrate with our origins, and set quality expectations around fermentation, bean size, humidity, defects, flavor profiles, microbial presence, and heavy met...

2019 Wrap-Up: Stasi’s Lessons and Reflections

2019 Wrap-Up: Stasi’s Lessons and Reflections

What a year! I initially got excited thinking about the opportunity to share some lessons learned and takeaways I have from a year of testing, tasting, hunting, and discovering cacaos. When I start...

Launching QR Codes to Bring Consumers Closer to Origin

Launching QR Codes to Bring Consumers Closer to Origin

The chocolate makers who buy from Uncommon Cacao know that they are participating in an ethical, transparent supply chain when they purchase our beans. Through our radically transparent price repor...

Back from Bundibugyo: An origin report of Semuliki Forest

Back from Bundibugyo: An origin report of Semuliki Forest

In western Uganda, twenty kilometers from the border of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, lies Bundibugyo, a town known for cocoa production. The community sits at 800 meters, nestled into the ...

The 2018 Transparency Report is in!

The 2018 Transparency Report is in!

Read the full Report Every year since 2012, Uncommon Cacao has published a Transparency Report showing pricing data for our supply chain and sharing stories and information about the incr...