Stories

Nowadays, You might see the term “Bean-to-bar” a lot with new and emerging chocolate companies citing quality, in and around Indonesia. But what does it actually mean? What Exactly is Bean To Bar Chocolate? The term popped up a couple decades ago and describes chocolate that is made by an artisan company having direct control over every step of the chocolate making process; from the ethical sourcing of cacao beans to the final bar consumed by you, hence the name. Bean-to-bar chocolate producers have direct involvement in these processes: Plant Care and Upkeep Maintaining and caring for the cacao tree...

At Primo Chocolab, we do not only focus on the chocolate making aspect of production but we also ensure that every step of the our production chain, from farming, to harvesting, to building trust and within our farmer community is at an absolute the highest possible quality. One of the most significant factors contributing to excellent cacao harvests is the soil, its health, and its quality. This is what we will focus on with today's blog.Soil is not just a medium for the crop to be grown in but is also where nutrients, water, and minerals are stored for the plants...

On our last blog we briefly covered the origins of cacao in Indonesia. Where it came from, how it got here and how it adapted to our country. This time, we’ll be covering the present and the bright future awaiting indonesian cacao! Indonesian Cacao at Risk Cocoa Beans © World Agroforestery In recent years, cacao production in Indonesia has actually declined. We went from 3rd to 6th worldwide in terms of quantity of export, this might come as a shocker as many old articles predicted Indonesia to become the number one global exporter of cocoa beans by 2020. There are...

History of Cacao in Indonesia The chocolate we enjoy daily has an exciting history to explore, especially in Indonesia. Chocolate is a processed food product made from fermented cocoa fruit seeds and sugar (before sugar is added, the processed cacao is called cocoa liquor or cacao mass); the cacao tree (Theobroma Cacao) is a tree originating from tropical forests stretching from the North Amazon to Central America, it was cultivated approximately 5000 years ago by the Olmecs (Mesoamerica civilization). Olmecs Colossal Head The heads date from at least 900 BC and are a distinctive feature of the Olmec civilization of...