In San Luis, Tolima, a family has cultivated cacao with dedication and knowledge for years. Their farm, located in one of the country’s most promising agricultural areas, bears witness to the daily effort to produce excellent-quality beans. Until recently, their business focused on selling cacao beans, as many cacao-growing families in Colombia do. But something made them stop and ask themselves a fundamental question:
What would happen if we didn’t just produce the bean, but also the chocolate?
Their curiosity to learn about the entire cacao process, from seed to bar, led them to a key decision: enroll in our Bean to Bar course. There, they discovered a world that goes far beyond fermentation and drying. They understood that cacao is not just a raw material, but the starting point of a sensorial, cultural, and creative experience.
What caught their attention most was the potential to transform their production into something with its own identity. It’s no longer just about selling an input, but about creating a final product that reflects the origin, flavor, and history of their farm. They learned that behind a good chocolate bar there are technical decisions, but also vision, design, and purpose. Their case represents many Colombian producers who have traditionally been good at growing coffee and cacao, but are now seeing a huge opportunity: creating value from the source. Moving from being suppliers to creators. From selling raw materials to offering an experience. Today, their goal is clear: to produce chocolate with its own character, a defined flavor profile, and a story that can be told and felt in every bar. They don’t just want to get to the bean: they want to create a product that speaks for them. And so, in a corner of Tolima, a family is preparing to show the world what it means to make chocolate from the heart of the cacao tree.