Sierra Nevada

Colombia

SIERRA NEVADA

Award-winning earthy and complex cacao from the land of magical realism centrally fermented by the association.

The Sierra Nevada Association & Centralized Fermentation produces cacao near the Caribbean coast of Colombia.

Cacao Hunters has worked closely with 13 farming families to develop biodiverse cacao agroforestry, and a prosperous way of life alternative to the degenerative monocropping of bananas that is prevalent in this part of the country. Farmers’ degree of technical expertise really stands out as exceptional: farmers are even running their own pollination trials to improve quality and yields, which are currently around 700 Kg/hectare in the region.

In addition to excellent growing and processing practices, the cacao from Sierra Nevada tastes delicious. This cacao has consistently won over judges worldwide and over the years has aggregated 15 awards including the coveted Golden Bean Award in 2019.

TERROIR

The farms producing this cacao are located in a uniquely special terroir in between the dramatic Sierra Nevada mountain range to the south, and the Caribbean coast of Colombia to the north. The Sierra Nevada mountain range is located only 50 miles from the border with Venezuela. Cacao arrived in the Sierra Nevada region approximately 4,000 years ago from the Amazon further south. The cacao producers who work with Cacao Hunters to grow and process this delicious cacao are located in the three departments that run along the Sierra Nevada range: Magdalena, La Guajira, and Cesar.

The Sierra Nevada Association & Centralized Fermentation produces cacao near the Caribbean coast of Colombia.

Cacao Hunters has worked closely with 13 farming families to develop biodiverse cacao agroforestry, and a prosperous way of life alternative to the degenerative monocropping of bananas that is prevalent in this part of the country. Farmers’ degree of technical expertise really stands out as exceptional: farmers are even running their own pollination trials to improve quality and yields, which are currently around 700 Kg/hectare in the region.

In addition to excellent growing and processing practices, the cacao from Sierra Nevada tastes delicious. This cacao has consistently won over judges worldwide and over the years has aggregated 15 awards including the coveted Golden Bean Award in 2019.

TERROIR

The farms producing this cacao are located in a uniquely special terroir in between the dramatic Sierra Nevada mountain range to the south, and the Caribbean coast of Colombia to the north. The Sierra Nevada mountain range is located only 50 miles from the border with Venezuela. Cacao arrived in the Sierra Nevada region approximately 4,000 years ago from the Amazon further south. The cacao producers who work with Cacao Hunters to grow and process this delicious cacao are located in the three departments that run along the Sierra Nevada range: Magdalena, La Guajira, and Cesar.

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2022 Sierra Nevada Farmgate price

$2.31 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.

2022 Sierra Nevada Association price

$2.52 USD

This is the price the exporter pays the association for cacao.

In some cases in our supply chain there is an organized group of producers that aggregate cacao and sell it to an exporter.

Pictured is manager of the Guardabosques association Diego Arango

2022 Sierra Nevada FOB price

$5.75 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.

2022 Sierra Nevada Average sales price

$9.45 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.