John's chocolate musings
One question I often get asked is where do I get my cocoa beans from?
I often wonder why people are asking. Sometimes I think they’re asking because they want to know if I’m connected to the cocoa bean Mafia or maybe they have a cocoa bean connection in some far away land called chili con carne. As far I know, there is no cocoa bean mafia or county named after a meat dish. Side note, I heard of someone called kidney bean jimmy, but it was related to the two cans of kidney beans he ate after working out not because of cocoa beans. Anyway, sometimes I get asked about my cocoa beans by an individual from a particular cocoa bean growing country, I’m guessing it has something to do with missing their homeland and are hoping to spread its cocoa bean love, but that is pure speculation. So, what about Third Planet Chocolate cocoa beans, where do they come from?
Well, great question, glad you asked.
Third planet buys cocoa beans from four distributors in the US: Chocolate Alchemy, Meridian Cocoa, Uncommon Cocoa, and Cocoa Supply. In the bean to bar world, these are well-known, well-respected businesses with ethical practices. The reason is this, I don’t have a direct connection with cocoa bean farmers, so the distributors provide a much needed commodity (think about how hard it would be to make bean to bar chocolate with no beans). The distributors allow me to buy cocoa beans from all over the world and because of this I can blend the beans. The blending gets more flavor depth from my chocolate. The distributors also do a great job filling in all the who, what, and where information related to the cocoa beans and the farmers.
So back to the original question, where oh where, does third planet chocolate get cocoa beans from? Worldwide. And the list of distributors below.
Uncommon Cacao – Wholesale Specialty Cacao
Cocoa Supply – Wholesale Sustainable Cacao Products and Specialty Ingredients