Our Story
Chocolate that restores you
...and the Earth
Finca Rica was founded with the goal of making fine, high quality chocolate with cacao plants from the birthplace of cacao. Our farm is outside of Las Golindrinas, between the Andes and the Pacific Ocean; right near the equator, where cacao cultivation originated with the Mayans over 5000 years ago. We put our longitude 0°0'0" on our packaging to honor this place of origin and the people who originated cacao farming.
Our Founder, Rosa Maridueña, is a native Ecuadorian raised in the US, but who maintained ties with Ecuador. Before she established Finca Rica, the land was a mono-culture African Palm farm, grown for industrial palm oil production. We were able to restore the land to produce a crop indigenous to Ecuador, growing cacao as the ancients did. We grow organically, using local workers and expertise who are paid a fair wage. No children are ever used in farming our cacao. On the contrary we work with the local schools' agriculture programs to keep kids in school.
Our chocolate is made with a mix of traditional and modern methods to create rich, deep flavors. We use a mix of Naciónal and hybrid varieties of cacao grown among fruit trees, increasing the flavor complexity. Our cacao is then naturally fermented to deepen flavor, and sun dried before roasting. The chocolate produced in this way is deep and rich, with natural notes of coffee, tropical fruit, vanilla, and flowers.
When you enjoy Finca Rica cacao and chocolate, you can do so knowing it's good for you, the community, and the planet we share.
