“If there’s no chocolate in heaven, I’m not going.” — Jane Seabrook

There have been dire predictions recently from the International Cocoa Organization (ICCO), and others, that the world is running out of chocolate. Said the Washington Post, “We are in the midst of what may be the longest streak of consecutive chocolate deficits in more than 50 years.” Experts predict a severe chocolate shortage by the year 2020.

This chocolate shortage is attributed to climate change, the rising demand for cocoa in Brazil and China, the specter of Ebola in chocolate-growing nations, and a cocoa plant fungus which decimates entire fields of crops at once.

Here in Costa Rica, research organization CATIE (Centro Agronomico Tropical de Investigacion y Ensenanza) is developing a hybrid strain of cacao which is disease-resistant and exceptionally fecund, producing a much higher fruit to tree ratio than previous strains. This variety tastes delightful and has won prizes at the Paris International Cocoa Awards.

We’re Saved!

We are not suffering from a shortage of good cacao here in Costa Rica; in fact, according to the cacao watchdog group Cocoa Runners, “We are experiencing a modern day Chocolate Revolution, whereby a handful of pioneers from Madagascar to Belize and from Vietnam to Costa Rica, have made available ‘premier cru’ quality cocoa beans for the first time.”

Says George Soriano, co-founder of Sibu Chocolate Company, based in the province of Heredia, CR, “The cacao landscape is changing. Costa Rica’s chocolate renaissance can be compared to the craft beer explosion, which is in full swing here. Cacao is being exported as a raw material; we are trying to change that. Why should Costa Rican chocolate become Belgian chocolate, with no reference to the country of origin? Chocolate is part of our past, but it is also part of our future.”

In the Southern Zone, where much of the best cacao is grown, we are also lucky enough to have several small-batch craft chocolate makers, who turn that first-rate cacao into a life-altering chocolate taste experience. They are joining a growing list of individuals who have chucked their 9-5 jobs, and wholeheartedly devoted themselves to the Chocolate Revolution – right from our tiny country in Central America. So far, they are mostly expats, who are applying their international ingenuity to create new businesses which employ locals, and expand the global chocolate footprint.

They don’t compete with the behemoth chocolate company from Belgium – Hageland – who take cacao from Costa Rica to process in Brussels, to supply Walmart’s exclusive brand Hageland Costa Rica. What these craft chocolatiers have done instead, is create a niche market for boutique chocolates: creative, organic, imaginative, and delicious. Yum.

The following 3 companies all source their cacao and make their chocolates in Costa Rica, using Costa Rican labor. You can also find smaller chocolate companies at your local ferias (farmers’ markets), which are well worth a taste. Chocolate is happening in this country; you should jump on the bandwagon.

Perhaps the most well-established chocolate endeavor in the south is Samaritan Xocolata Chocolate Factory, which not only has fine chocolate that can compete with European brands, but a gripping story of the history of the company. Samaritan was founded by a Canadian, Kimberley Blackwell, in the Osa Peninsula, but Blackwell was shot execution style, and her murderer has never been prosecuted. The company has been lovingly continued by Tao Watts, a former chef, and Blackwell’s best friend.

Samaritan continues to evolve and grow, and is now in over 50 stores in CR. Watts has used her chef’s palate to create a mouth-watering array of bonbons, truffles, and chocolate bars which will satisfy even the pickiest chocolate connoisseur. Watts’ passion for her craft is revealed in each succulent bite.

Another amazing chocolate company which is well worth a try, is Rio Sierpe Café and Chocolate, located in Sierpe de Osa, but sold at many BM grocery stores, and at many tourist sites in the south – and growing. Rio Sierpe Chocolate was founded by a former coffee roaster from Wisconsin, James H. Cameron, who began with roasting coffee, but quickly realized he had a knack with cacao as well. He makes 5 different bars, but the chocolate infused with coffee seems to highlight both of Cameron’s strong suits – heavenly.

Yet another local chocolate company is ChocoPrisma, who work with the Ngobe Indigenous, a tribe who have been chocolate experts since the time of Columbus. Rosemary Sylvester Bradley is the force behind this company. A British expat, she is a microbiologist by trade, and puts those skills into making a scientifically superior chocolate, meanwhile sharing 5% with her indigenous farmers and employees.

The following is the contact information for these southern chocolatiers:

Samaritan Xocolata Chocolate Factory +506.8820.7095 Canaan de Rivas, Rivas

www.samaritanxocolata.com

“Peace, Love and Chocolate…. Helping People to Feel Good”

Rio Sierpe Café and Chocolate +506.8701.5650 or +506.2788.1019 Sierpe de Osa, Southern Zone

www.riosierpecafe.com

“Chocolate, not just a second thought, we love making it right”

ChocoPrisma +506.2770.2002 or +506.2770.2003

Finca Juana, Pacuare

www.chocoprisma.com

“100% Natural Costa Rican Chocolate”

About the Author

Carol Blair Vaughn holds a Master’s Degree in Performing Arts and is a retired college professor from Washington, D.C. She inherited her love for Latin America from her father, the former U.S. Ambassador to Colombia, Panama, and Director of the Peace Corps, Jack Vaughn. Carol writes for the Association of Residents of Costa Rica (ARCR) and for an English language club in the southern region of Costa Rica. In the past, Carol served as Editor in Chief of What’s on Tap magazine.