To'ak Chocolate facts for kids
To'ak Chocolate (say "Toe-Ahk") is a special chocolate company from Ecuador. It was started in 2013 by Jerry Toth, Carl Schweizer, and Denise Valencia. They make their chocolate from a very rare type of cocoa bean called Nacional. In 2017, CNBC called To'ak Chocolate's Heirloom Nacional bar "the world's most expensive chocolate bar"!
Amazing Chocolate Bars
To'ak makes its chocolate bars from the Nacional type of cocoa bean. For a long time, many experts thought this special bean was gone forever.
Each chocolate bar is made carefully by hand. The cocoa beans go through a special process called fermenting. The bar is made only from Nacional cocoa beans, with just a little bit of cane sugar added. In the middle of each bar, there's a single roasted cocoa bean. This shows where the chocolate comes from. To'ak chocolate is pure and simple. It doesn't have nuts, gold dust, or creamy fillings. This is like some other very expensive chocolates around the world.
To'ak also makes unique chocolate bars by aging them. For example, their Vintage 2014 bar was aged for three years in a French oak cask that once held cognac. The company ages its chocolate in different wooden barrels, including ones that used to hold spirits. They are known for trying new things, like aging dark chocolate for 18 months in a 50-year-old Cognac barrel. They have also aged chocolate for two years in a Laphroaig Islay whisky barrel.
Helping the Planet with Cacao
To'ak works with a group called TMA (Third Millennium Alliance). TMA helps protect rainforests. Together, they run a special project in Ecuador to grow "regenerative cacao". This project helps farming communities near the Jama-Coaque Ecological Reserve. The main goal is to stop trees from being cut down in the Pacific Equatorial Forest.
TMA gives local farmers money, young cacao plants, and tools to water their crops. They also give farmers financial help. This encourages them to turn land that was cleared of trees back into healthy forests. The program gets money from "carbon offset revenue." This money helps farmers for the first five years, before their cacao trees start producing beans. Once the trees grow and make cacao pods, To'ak promises to buy the cacao at good prices. This helps both the farmers and the environment.
