Single Origin Chocolate: Fiji
When your average consumer hears, “Fiji,” they will likely attribute the word to a tropical paradise. This is true, although many consumers are unaware of the cocoa cultivation within the Island collection. Just recently in 2014, ‘Cacao Fiji LTD’ opened to prioritize the farming, processing, and specifically exporting of these cocoa beans. The local farmers are passionate about their work, although struggled to connect with outside markets. The flavor profile of Fiji beans is truly exceptional; the aroma is of raisins, which progresses into dried fruits and vanilla, and a crème brule tang which may surprise your senses. Still on the come-up, you can expect to see production of Fiji single-origin chocolate to only increase in the foreseeable future.
Reference: Cacao Fiji. (2018). Premium Fijian Cacao for Craft Chocolate.
Fiji
Our South-Pacific selection includes the limited release of 9th & Larkin’s Fiji Single Origin Chocolate. 9th & Larkin sources their Fijian beans from Cacao Fiji. Founded in 2014 by Arif Khan, Matasawalevu cocoa is part of a cocoa industry revitalization project on Fiji’s second largest island, Vanua Levu. Arif started Cacao Fiji after tasting a chocolate bar sourced from Fiji beans and learnt about farmers’ struggling in finding markets for their cocoa. As a native Fijian, he decided to return to his home country and made it his mission to revive Fiji’s cacao industry. Through Cacao Fiji, Arif runs the Matasawalevu Cocoa Project at the Matasawalevu Cocoa Farm located on 100 acres in the hills of Dreketi, Macuata in Northern Fiji. The Matasawalevu Cocoa Farm closely follows traditional post-harvest processing techniques and has a reputation for producing high quality cocoa. This blend portrays notes of fudge, caramel & molasses on a nice solid chocolate background.