Join us on a trip to
EL CACAO
We have created
A GOOD PLACE
As cocoa pioneers, we combine Nicaraguan cocoa know-how with Swabian inventiveness at our farm El Cacao. Together with our 450 employees, we rethink every step of cocoa production at our El Cacao farm. We want to show that it is also possible to grow cocoa under socially and ecologically decent conditions and at competitive prices at the same time.
Our cocoa from El Cacao
AT A GLANCE
450
Employees
1 Mio.
Cocoa Trees
30.000
Shade Trees
220+
Species
2,500
Hectares
DISCOVER OUR FARM IN 360°
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Get the
RIGHT COCOA
Meticulously
HANDMADE
We plant our cacao on about 1,200 hectares at El Cacao. After the young plants are grown, it takes about 3-5 years before the cacao tree bears fruit ready for harvesting. It is not so easy to care for and requires a lot of care from our colleagues. Knowing the right time to harvest the fruit is extremely important and requires a lot of experience and knowledge. The fruits are harvested individually by hand directly from the cocoa tree.
It's all about
PERFECT TIMING
After harvesting, our cocoa fruits are further processed and opened, and sorted for this purpose. The post-harvest treatment, which consists of fermentation and drying, then begins. This is a challenging task because the right timing during fermentation, the correct ventilation, and the right temperature during drying are crucial for the cocoa's quality and thus for its taste and that of our chocolate.
... in the
RIGHT WAY
We reconcile cultivation with
SPECIES PROTECTION
With a total area of 2,500 hectares, El Cacao is considered one of the most extensive coherent cocoa farms. However, only just under half is used for cocoa cultivation. Another 1,200 hectares consist of forest and wetland areas, which will remain untouched in the future to protect and promote biodiversity. Once El Cacao will reach its full productivity, we will be able to cover around 20-25 percent of our cocoa mass demand.
Something is
GROWING
To date, we have already planted over 1 million cacao trees on El Cacao. Since you can't just buy the right plants in sufficient numbers anywhere, we have built up our nurseries to grow our cacao plants. Incidentally, twelve different varieties of the fine Trinitario cocoa are grown on El Cacao.