Belize

MAYA MOUNTAIN

Flagship, award-winning, organic cacao with balanced fruit and chocolate notes.

2024 Data - Product

Quality: Ultra Premium

Flavor: Honey, Pineapple, Raisin

Fermentations Style: Box

Drying Style: Raised beds with a roof, patio & solar dryers

Quality Practices: Temperature monitoring during fermentation, cut tests during fermentation

Hand Sorting: Yes

Certifications: Organic

Number of awards in 2024: 12

2024 Data - Planet

Crops that are used for intercropping: Banana, Plantain, Coconut, Avocado, Cashew, Coffee

Environmental practices: 100% of the producers registered in the MMC network practices sustainable organic farming. Fruit tree intercropping is practiced in all cacao farms. Producers within the network must adhere to the organic policy of MMC and Mayacert who is the certifier. This is a means for both MMC and the producers to contribute to a sustainable environment as no slash-and-burn and chemical usage is authorized. Creating habitat for animals within the farming areas is another key part our farming practices

Organic hectares cultivated: 463.10

Average percent of shade of cacao farms: 30%

Distance of producer to facility (km): 22.9

Distance to port (km): 238.9

Ocean freight CO2kgs per MT (US):  48

Ocean Freight CO2kgs per MT (EU): 135

2024 Data - People

Community-focused initiatives: We provided small monetary and in kind donations to schools and community events. Farmers affected by wildfires were supported with small cash donations.

Trainings conducted: Farm productivity and maintenance (pruning assistance), ecological practices, cacao quality, organic certification

Producers purchased from: 418

Female producers:  41

Producers under 35 y/o: 80

Organic producers: 418

Total # of producers trained:  418

Total # of female producers trained: 44

Total # of producers under 35y/o trained: 80

Full time employees: 9

Full time female employees: 2

Part time employees: 11

Part time female employees: 2

Average farm size (ha): 1.03

Average sales per producer (dry kg): 177

Average annual cacao revenue per producer: $837.48

Founded in 2010, this centralized fermentation put Belize on the craft chocolate map as a pioneer in the social enterprise model.

The country’s first exporter of high-quality, centrally fermented cacao to the U.S. Today, they work with 420 smallholder farming families in the Toledo and South Stann Creek districts. Most of these producers are Q’eqchi’ and Mopan Maya, for whom cacao production goes back generations.

Maya Mountain Cacao’s 100% Belizean Maya team processes all cacao at a centralized facility where three unique stages of sun drying create optimal flavor. Maya Mountain Cacao is focused on building long-term, transparent partnerships with farmers and producing uniquely delicious cacao that supports the communities of southern Belize.

Download 2024 MAYA MOUNTAIN Transparent Trade Data

TERROIR

Belize’s rich history of cacao production, combined with the country’s stunning limestone karstic landscape and lowland tropical rainforest, created the perfect storm of flavor that was waiting to be fine-tuned through centralized post-harvest. While ancient criollo can still be found deep in Belize’s nature reserves and small private plots, the vast majority of cacao cultivated by the smallholder Maya farmers in the south are Amelonado-dominant hybrids and other Upper Amazon Forastero hybrids. Maya Mountain Cacao is intercropped with hardwood trees, banana, mango, avocado, and coconut.

Founded in 2010, this centralized fermentation put Belize on the craft chocolate map as a pioneer in the social enterprise model.

The country’s first exporter of high-quality, centrally fermented cacao to the U.S. Today, they work with 420 smallholder farming families in the Toledo and South Stann Creek districts. Most of these producers are Q’eqchi’ and Mopan Maya, for whom cacao production goes back generations.

Maya Mountain Cacao’s 100% Belizean Maya team processes all cacao at a centralized facility where three unique stages of sun drying create optimal flavor. Maya Mountain Cacao is focused on building long-term, transparent partnerships with farmers and producing uniquely delicious cacao that supports the communities of southern Belize.

Download 2024 MAYA MOUNTAIN Transparent Trade Data

TERROIR

Belize’s rich history of cacao production, combined with the country’s stunning limestone karstic landscape and lowland tropical rainforest, created the perfect storm of flavor that was waiting to be fine-tuned through centralized post-harvest. While ancient criollo can still be found deep in Belize’s nature reserves and small private plots, the vast majority of cacao cultivated by the smallholder Maya farmers in the south are Amelonado-dominant hybrids and other Upper Amazon Forastero hybrids. Maya Mountain Cacao is intercropped with hardwood trees, banana, mango, avocado, and coconut.

2024 Maya Mountain Farmgate price

$4.72 USD

This is the actual price paid to the cacao producer for their product (typically on a per kg or per lb basis) when they sell it to the first buyer. 

Farmgate price is often paid for "wet" or fresh cacao, recently harvested and scooped out of cracked pods for sale. Wet cacao loses 60-70% of its weight during fermentation and drying, typically reaching 7-8% humidity before it is sold. 

Uncommon calculates farmgate price for each cacao supplier based on the specific weight loss conversion percentage provided to us by the supplier, and we report farmgate price on a per kg dried equivalent basis for all cacao beans we source.

Pictured is Feliciana Kib Coh sorting cacao beans

2024 Maya Mountain FOB price

$7.64 USD

This is the price paid by Uncommon to our partners for cacao transported and loaded onto a ship for export. 

Uncommon then covers all of the costs of shipping, freight charges, insurance, import, domestic logistics, warehouse ingestion, customs and duties.

Free on board (FOB) is an international shipping term that represents the seller's responsibility for bringing the cacao over the rails of the export ship.

2024 Maya Mountain Average sales price

$12.66 USD

This is the weighted average price per kg for cacao sold to the premium & ultra premium chocolate makers who purchased it during this year from Uncommon Cacao.

Notable Awards

2022 Academy of Chocolate Gold

Manuel Cucul smiling with fermenting cacao

Flavor Profile

Honey, Pineapple, Raisin